The owner of the Seattle Mariners signed...

The owner of the Seattle Mariners signed a new Kingdome lease with King County, then pledged to keep his financially ailing American League baseball franchise in the city.

During the negotiations, George Argyros, who lives in Southern California, had threatened to move the Mariners by declaring bankruptcy unless he got a better deal from the county for the domed stadium it owns and operates.

The new lease, running through 1996, provides financial benefits to the team ranging between $10 million and $19 million, County Executive Randy Revelle said. In return, the Mariners will drop a breach-of-contract suit against the county and will invest an additional $7 million in the team.