The Club was losing money while playing in the Kingdome, a multi-purpose facility owned and operated by King County. When a new local ownership group was found, they began to look for ways to stem the annual projected losses the Mariners would continue to experience if they continued to play in the Kingdome.

Early in 1994, King County Executive appointed a citizen's task force to study the issue and develop a recommendation for consideration by the Executive and Metropolitan King County Council. They were asked to answer some difficult questions:

• Did it make economic sense to build a new, baseball-only facility for the Seattle Mariners?
• If so, how should it be financed? Did it make sense for public money to be part of the equation?

Led by staff director Pat Steel and co-chairs Andy Smith and Shelly Yapp, the task force undertook a rigorous study of stadium alternatives. They researched potential sites, construction costs, and economics of a new ballpark.

The task force recognized that a key economic factor for baseball is a generous number of seats with good sight lines of the playing field, particularly in the lower bowl (that seating area between the field and the main concourse) which are most attractive for season ticket sales. In comparison to newer ballparks where a minimum of 20,000 seats are available, the Kingdome offered only about 10,000 seats. The newer ballparks also have more amenities for fans, such as broad concession choices and abundant restrooms, and more opportunities to produce revenue for the teams, such as suites and club seats. The Mariners believed the club's long term economic viability in Seattle could be assured only with a new ballpark. In other cities, ball clubs were reaching the same conclusion. Camden Yards in Baltimore; Coors Field in Denver; and Jacobs Field in Cleveland are some of the most recent examples of this trend toward traditional baseball parks where every fan experiences the thrill of the game while enjoying more modern comforts.

In January, 1995, after nine months of intensive study, the Stadium Alternatives Task Force delivered its recommendations. They concluded that a new outdoor ballpark was essential to the successful economic future of major league baseball in the Pacific Northwest. They reached that conclusion after evaluating alternatives including making modifications to the Kingdome for baseball. The task force concluded that revenue opportunities in the Kingdome were not sufficient to sustain a major league baseball club into the future. The report called for a public-private partnership, a long-term lease with the Mariners, and operation of the ballpark by the Club under contract with an owning authority.

Armed with the Stadium Alternatives Task Force report, King County and the Mariners petitioned the Washington State Legislature in 1995 to provide a funding mechanism for a new baseball park. The Legislature approved a bill that allowed King County to place on the ballot a county-wide sales tax of one tenth of one per cent for a ballpark that included natural turf and a retractable roof and required a $45 million contribution by the Mariners.

Meanwhile, the Mariners were involved in their first-ever run for the pennant. Community enthusiasm for the team was at an all-time high, and it kept building as the Mariners moved into championship play. The ballot measure ultimately failed, but only by the slimmest of margins: 50.1% voted no; 49.9% voted yes. Afterwards, elected officials were inundated with calls from constituents demanding that the leaders find a way to save the Mariners.

In October, Governor Mike Lowry called a Special Session of the Washington State Legislature. The Legislature granted authority and provided the necessary funding mechanisms for the creation of a public facilities district to site, design, construct and operate the ballpark. Markedly different from the defeated sales tax measure, this funding recognized the economic value of baseball to the state and added state revenues to a variety of county funding sources. (For more information on the financing package, see Ballpark Financing).

The state law established several requirements:

• The ballpark must have a natural turf.
• The ballpark must have a retractable roof or canopy.
• The ballpark must be built within the city limits of Seattle.
• The team must agree to play at least 90% of its home games in the ballpark.
• The team must contribute $45 million toward the construction cost.
• The team must share a portion of the profits generated by the baseball club after offsetting any losses incurred by the Mariners after June 30, 1995, through the opening of the new ballpark.
• The Public Facilities District must be governed by a 7-member board of directors.

On October 24, 1995, the Metropolitan King County Council voted to implement the taxes authorized by the State and to create a Public Facilities District. The County Council named it the Washington State Major League Baseball Stadium Public Facilities District.

On November 22, 1995, the first board members were appointed. On December 18, the new Public Facilities District held its first meeting. By September, the Environmental Impact Statement was completed and a site chosen. In December, 1996, a lease was concluded with the Mariners. On March 8, 1997, ground was broken, and on April 2, 1997, bonds were sold to finance the construction.

On July 15, 1999, Safeco Field was open for its first game.