Judge Puts Move On Hold -- County Scrambles For Potential Buyers

Seattle's 19-year relationship with professional football, a marriage that went from infatuation to disillusionment, moved to the brink of divorce yesterday.

The day began with a meeting between the Seattle Seahawks and King County - and one last hope of conciliation. But before long the two sides were racing to the courthouse, and Seattle was the latest U.S. city to be dumped by a National Football League team.

The Seahawks haven't left yet, thanks to a temporary restraining order granted yesterday afternoon by King County Superior Court Judge Dale Ramerman. Also, the NFL refused to sanction Seahawk owner Ken Behring's bid to take the team to Southern California. And county officials set up meetings with representatives of Behring and billionaire Paul Allen for today and tomorrow to discuss whether the team might be sold.

But by themselves, those developments offered no great reason to believe that Behring would abandon his stated intention to move the club in time for next season.

After the county filed suit to block the move, the Seahawks filed one of their own in Kittitas County, seeking legal permission to leave by claiming the county had broken its part of the Kingdome lease by failing to maintain a first-class facility and make seismic upgrades.

The team's lawyer told Ramerman that the Seahawks planned to begin moving supplies to Southern California as early as today.

And while the county pressed its efforts to work out a deal by which the Seahawks would be sold to a local owner, most business leaders considered to be potential buyers doubted that the team is for sale.

For their part, local officials voiced their determination to block Behring's move.

"Mr. Behring gave his word that he wanted to keep the team in Seattle," County Executive Gary Locke said. "We will do everything we can do to see Mr. Behring keeps his word. We will see Mr. Behring in court."

With their dash to the courthouse, county representatives delayed Behring's move for at least two weeks.

Ramerman's decision barred the team from moving to Los Angeles as well as from entering into contracts to play there or to sell the team to interests outside Washington state.

Ramerman found that the county's right and ability to enforce its reading of the Kingdome lease - which has 10 years remaining - could be "irreparably harmed" if the team were allowed to enter into California agreements.

Ramerman set a Feb. 16 hearing date in which the county will seek to make the restraining order a more permanent injunction while the case is litigated.

The county is suing to hold the Seahawks to the terms of the lease. The county says it is not interested in financial damages.

Ramerman's ruling was the climax of a dizzying day of legal wrangling that erupted just minutes after an angry meeting broke up in Kirkland between the Seahawks and county officials.

Seattle attorney Timothy Leyh sued the team and sought the restraining order on behalf of King County at 9:51 a.m.

About 30 minutes later, and unaware of the county's lawsuit, the Seahawks filed their own lawsuit in Kittitas County.

Behring's L.A.-based attorney, Ron Olson, called the county's lawsuit "sneaky" and promised to pursue the Kittitas case and whatever other litigation is necessary.

Behring argued again yesterday that the condition of the Kingdome left him no choice but to leave.

"It is with great regret that I am announcing today that the NFL franchise we purchased in 1988 is leaving Seattle," he said in a videotaped statement.

"This decision was an extremely difficult one to make, and one that was not made in haste. In the end, however, the insurmountable problems with the Kingdome, and the county's unwillingness or inability to solve those problems, ultimately made the decision for us."

Earlier this week, Behring said the Kingdome would need $90 million in seismic improvements to make it safe in an earthquake.

Ramerman allowed the Seahawks to move equipment as long as it didn't interfere with the team's ability to play its first home game in the Kingdome in August.

Arthur Harrigan Jr., a Seattle attorney who argued on behalf of the county, told Ramerman that on Wednesday Behring said he was staying. On Thursday he said he was leaving, and yesterday morning he said he was leaving and ready to sue.

Harrigan argued that if the Seahawks are claiming the county is not upholding its end of the contract, the remedy is to sue to force compliance, not to immediately try to break the contract. He said once the team enters into contracts with outside interests not bound by a King County judge the situation would become severely tangled.

Olson acknowledged the Seahawk suit was filed in Kittitas County to find a more impartial venue.

Behring defended

After the hearing, Olson angrily defended Behring from the pointed criticism of county officials.

"Mr. Behring was called dishonest, duplicitous and not dealing in good faith," Olson said. "I am disappointed the county has stooped to that type of personal attack."

Olson spent much of his lengthy argument citing the Kingdome's seismic deficiencies; he said Behring has hired an expert to study the structure's quake safety.

"Mr. Behring has said he will under no circumstances put a team in the facility and assume the liability," the attorney said.

Players' and fans' lives would be in jeopardy in a major earthquake at the Kingdome, Behring claims. And he complained that while state and local officials bent over backward to help the Mariners get a new stadium, the Kingdome's needs have been ignored.

Harrigan countered that Behring in the past has complained that improving quake-readiness might take away from revenue-producing improvements and that making more money has been his theme.

Olson said yesterday's temporary restraining order will not deter Behring from moving the team.

At a news conference, Locke and Prosecutor Norm Maleng sounded a tough note, with Maleng vowing Seahawk officials will "have the fight of their life" in court.

County Councilman Pete von Reichbauer said Behring had made a single concession - to continue listening to the possibility that a local buyer might step in. But Behring gave no indication that he would favor selling the team; rather, he specifically said he planned to move it to California.

The National Football League released a statement yesterday morning saying its officials would wait to see what happened in court.

"As a result of the litigation filed today, these issues evidently will be determined by the courts," said Joe Browne, NFL spokesman. "Until these matters are resolved, the team will remain in Seattle as far as the league is concerned. Any further comment would be speculative."

Potential buyers lying low

Meanwhile, business leaders considered to be potential buyers of the Seahawks kept a low profile.

A spokesman for John McCaw Jr., the cellular-phone magnate who invested $180 million in a Vancouver, B.C., arena and expansion National Basketball Association team, said, "It's too speculative for any of us to spend time commenting on interest or non-interest because no one has offered to sell the team."

"We don't want to get in the way of the negotiations going on," said Stan McCammon, vice chairman of Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment in Vancouver, B.C. McCammon said the company has not been approached about the Seahawks and had not sought out Behring or the county to talk about a deal.

Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, issued a statement reiterating a possible interest in purchasing the team. As owner of the Portland Trail Blazers, Allen helped build a $262 million Rose Garden arena that opened last fall. He had no comment on whether he would be interested in sponsoring another team in Seattle if the Seahawks left for Los Angeles.

Former Seahawk owner John Nordstrom, who expressed disappointment at the Seahawks' possible departure, had no comment on whether he would be interested in buying back the team.

Scott Oki, retired Microsoft executive and UW regent who owns Seattle's professional soccer team, said he had no interest in buying the Seahawks.

"Owning the Seattle Sounders is enough for me," said Oki, who said he doubts the Behrings are interested in selling.

Sale or no sale, Maleng said Seattle is in a much stronger position to keep its football team than Cleveland and Houston, which have just lost theirs.

In Houston, the Oilers' lease had expired. In Cleveland, only two years remained on the Browns' contract.

Even more important, Maleng said, neither city had the "performance clause" Seattle does in its lease. Under it, no amount of money can buy the Seahawks out of their obligation to play professional football in Seattle, Maleng said.

Normally with a lease, the landlord's only recourse is to sue for monetary damages and let the tenant go. Legal experts disagree on the likelihood of a judge's taking the radical action of forcing the Seahawks to remain here.

"With a specific performance clause like that, the Seahawks are going to be stuck in Seattle, or they'll have to pay an awful lot of money to get out," said Thomas McNulty, a Chicago real-estate attorney.

Russ Tousley, a Seattle real-estate lawyer, said the clause may help the county get a temporary court order blocking the move, but he was skeptical that a judge would make the team stay against its will.

Locke said Behring had asked county officials to let him make "a graceful exit," offering to pay the county $1 million a year until either the lease ran out or another NFL team moved to Seattle.

"There can be no grace in breaching the faith of a community," Locke insisted.

After the news conference, Sen. Slade Gorton appeared at the courthouse, pledging any assistance he can provide to keep the Seahawks in town. Gorton was instrumental in finding a group of local buyers to keep the Mariners in Seattle.

Gorton said Locke and Maleng "are doing exactly the right thing" by taking the matter to court, and he predicted the county would prevail.

Behring bought the team from the Nordstrom family in 1988, when the love affair between the Seahawks and the Puget Sound area was still going strong. But the Seahawks have not had a winning season since 1990, and attendance has dropped precipitously since then.

Asked if the lawsuit would force Behring to remain against his will, Locke said, "We don't care if Mr. Behring goes. We just want the team to stay here."

Seattle Times staff reporters Richard Seven, Paul Andrews, Jack Broom, Barbara A. Serrano, Leyla Kokmen and Deborah Nelson contributed to this report.