TACOMA -- The Seattle Mariners are close to selling out the
rest of their season at Safeco Field -- and turning a profit for the
second time in their 24-year history, the team's chairman and chief
executive says.
"In a nutshell, the Mariners are firing on all cylinders,"
Howard Lincoln told the Economic Development Board of Tacoma-Pierce
County on Friday.
"Last year, we made a profit. That's how it's supposed to
work."
Until the team left the Kingdome, it lost money annually. When
the Mariners moved outside to Safeco Field in 1999 and brought in
Lincoln, their financial performance began to match their success
on the field.
Lincoln wouldn't say how much the team has lost since the
current owners bought it from Indianapolis media mogul Jeff Smulyan
in 1992. But last year's winning team drew more than 3 million
fans, combining with rising television ratings and revenues for a
$9.5 million net profit, Seattle's first ever.
"We have struggled mightily to preserve and build this
franchise," Lincoln said.
Going into Saturday's game against the Anaheim Angels, the M's
had a 54-18 record, their best ever and one of the best in major
league history.
And their Japanese stars, Ichiro Suzuki and Kazuhiro Sasaki,
have turned the team into baseball's main Pacific Rim attraction,
with fans flocking to Safeco Field from Japan. All of the home
games are televised in Japan as well.
"We figured we would break even this year," Lincoln said.
"But all of our projections will be far surpassed this season."
It's virtually certain the team will outdraw the 3.2 million
fans of last season, he said.
The Mariners' great start is clearly a factor, and this year's
All-Star Game, scheduled July 10 at Safeco Field, is helping,
Lincoln said.
"In the very near future, we could sell out the rest of the
season," he said.
Souvenir sales and television ratings are up as well.
"We're 100 percent above projections at our five (souvenir)
stores," Lincoln said. And the team's television ratings
"literally are off the charts."
Though he declined to reveal revenues from the team's television
contracts, they are a major part of the team's estimated $160
million in income this year.
Lincoln also revealed a few of the hazards of running a
successful baseball team.
Earlier this month, after a barrage of criticism, he backed off
an effort to get trains that run past Safeco Field to refrain from
blowing their whistles during the All-Star Game telecast.
"I love train whistles," he said. "I will never touch the
subject of train whistles again."
Lincoln's job title also makes him a target for sports
columnists, one of whom called him "a money-grubbing, soulless
leech" -- a quote he uses himself for two reasons.
"I kind of like to think of myself as a money-grubbing,
soulless leech," Lincoln said. "It also serves as a reminder of
just how risky running a baseball team can be."