For the second year in a row, the University of Washington will ask Olympia to repurpose existing King County tourism taxes to pay for half of its proposed $300 million renovation of Husky Stadium. But, saddled with concerns over a $5.7 billion deficit, state lawmakers once again appear unlikely to put publicly-funded sports stadiums high on their agendas.

Rep. Ross Hunter (D-Medina), who co-chairs a joint task force commissioned to give the Legislature a recommendation on the proposal and others like it in King County, said the renovation is not his highest priority.

“It’s very difficult right now because the national economy has gone to hell in a hand basket,” Hunter said last week.

Hunter explained that cutting 13 percent from the UW’s academic program while at the same time allotting $150 million for a new football stadium isn’t very realistic.

“I’m guessing that the politics of that will be quite difficult to do,” he said.

Complicating the UW’s appeal this year is competition from other groups also asking for funds, especially since there isn’t enough money to go around.

This includes $75 million the City of Seattle is seeking to complete a $300 million renovation of KeyArena in hopes of attracting a new NBA team and a proposal for legislators to dedicate some of the funds for an expansion of the Washington State Convention & Trade Center.

The UW wants access to revenue from taxes already levied on King County hotels, motels, car rental facilities and restaurants to pay for the other half, which would cover safety and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) issues. The taxes are currently used to pay off the Kingdome, Qwest Field and Safeco Field.

When asked why public funding for sports stadiums has been so difficult to find, even when the taxes involved are not new and cannot go toward the state’s general fund, Hunter said it’s because that distinction is largely lost on voters.

“So legislators tend to be, in some cases, more concerned about the appearance of things than their reality,” he said. “This may be one of those things.”

Most agree that the stadium is dilapidated and needs some kind of refurbishment. Its crumbling lower bowl dates back to 1920, and the stadium itself needs work to meet seismic codes and the conditions of ADA.

“This is emergency kind of stuff,” Senate budget Chairwoman Margarita Prentice (D-Renton) told the Associated Press a year ago. “We just can’t keep putting people in a stadium like that and not have a safe place for them.”

The UW is hoping to break ground sometime this year in order to keep pace with Sound Transit, which will begin construction on an underground station very near Husky Stadium shortly.

Chip Lydum, associate athletic director for operations and capital projects at UW, said performing these two projects in tandem would provide the best value.

As for a prediction of what kind of decisions the Legislature might make, Hunter said he just isn’t sure.

“Sometimes I know what’s going to happen ahead of time,” he said. “Sometimes I don’t know what’s going to happen. This is one of those times.”

Reach reporter Maks Goldenshteyn at news@dailyuw.com.