Behring Talks Up Future With L.A. Partner

Seattle Seahawk owner Ken Behring, saying he is now most interested in becoming part of a huge sports-entertainment complex, planned to begin meeting with business leaders in Los Angeles on Wednesday night as a prelude to finding a minority partner and permanent site for a new football stadium here.

“I want a sports town around a new stadium,� Behring said. “That’s crucial to where I want to be. I know that’s what R.D. Hubbard is talking about at Hollywood Park. Anaheim has plans for that kind of complex, there’s somebody in downtown L.A. and Disney has talked about it.�

Behring said he wants to be in position to move swiftly to complete deals with a local minority partner and begin construction of a new football stadium once his legal problems in Seattle are resolved. A trial date to hear conflicting lawsuits between King County and the Seahawks is expected to be set for late April or early May.

Behring said he will hear preliminary presentations from Hollywood Park and the Coliseum in the next few days, and similar discussions with Orange County officials have been scheduled for next month. He said Peter O’Malley, owner of the Dodgers, has expressed no interest in the Seahawks’ impending arrival.

“I’m meeting with HOK, the designers and builders of new stadiums [today], and although we don’t know for sure where we will be, we’re coming,� Behring said. “The carpet is going in and will be ready by Friday at Rams Park, and we’re spending a lot of money to get everything ready for the team’s arrival.�

The Magnolia School Board has yet to approve a lease for the Seahawks’ use of Rams Park, which was formerly the Juliette Low Elementary School. The Board continues to be at odds with the Rams on renovation costs for the facility. Jim Ruth, Anaheim City Manager, said he hopes the city can bring about a temporary solution to open the gates for the Seahawks, but because of the City Council’s busy agenda Tuesday night the matter did not receive attention.

Behring met with Bob Whitsitt, president of the Portland Trail Blazers and point man for Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, Tuesday, and once again said the Seahawks are not for sale.

“There was no offer to buy the team,� Behring said. “I said it wasn’t for sale, and there were no discussions about getting together to talk about such a thing.�

NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue met with Seattle officials Wednesday in New York and reiterated that the NFL wants a franchise in the Pacific Northwest. But he indicated that the league did not want to become involved until after the Seahawks and city and county officials had settled their disputes either through negotiations or the courts.