Maine seat maker sued by Fla. stadium

PORTLAND – The agency that maintains the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ stadium has filed a lawsuit against a Maine seat manufacturer, claiming that shoddy craftsmanship caused the stadium’s red seats to turn pink.

In the lawsuit, the Tampa Sports Authority says the original red seats, designed to match the team’s uniforms, have faded to an “unsightly pink” and that the paint on the seat stanchions has bubbled and peeled.

The suit says that Hussey Seating Co. of North Berwick last year promised to replace the seats before the start of the 2005 football season. But Hussey officials told the authority earlier this month that it could not meet the deadline.

“It’s not only pink, but they’re kind of streaked,” said John Van Voris, an attorney for the authority. “Some of them have almost turned white. They just look bad.”

Hussey Seating over the years has manufactured seats for numerous sports stadiums, arenas, movie theaters, convention centers and other venues. Its seats can be found in the stadiums used by the New England Patriots, Washington Redskins and Denver Broncos in the National Football League, and by the Seattle Mariners and Colorado Rockies in Major League Baseball.

Company officials declined to comment on the suit on the advice of the company’s attorneys.