Everett City Council Paving the Path for a Downtown Stadium

Latest rendering of the stadium in Downtown Everett.

On Wednesday the Everett City Council approved an extra $10.6 million and other items to ensure the new downtown stadium, or “outdoor events center” stays on track for completion in late 2027.

All councilmembers voted in favor, except Judy Tuohy, who wanted more signed contracts and guarantees. In particular, she didn’t like that United Soccer League still needed a buyer for the soccer franchise.

She stated, “My vote tonight is not a vote against the project, it’s really a vote out of caution regarding the city’s financial risk. We need to ensure that the funding foundation is in place before we commit more of our city dollars.”

The full stadium price tag is now $120 million. Costs went up after acquiring the land from current commercial property owners.

North Star Building off Hewitt will remain, but the parking lot behind it will be taken via eminent domain.

The last parcel is being acquired through eminent domain. It appears to be a parking lot owned by Hewitt Worklofts, LLC. which operates the North Star Building, a co-working space that charges $75 a month for those parking spots. Hewitt Worklofts literature shows they’ve been marketing their potential stadium field view and proximity as a benefit to future tenants.

Initially the city was looking at renovating Funko Field to meet new MLB requirements, but the renovation cost was estimated to be around $80 million. The current Funko Field property is owned by Everett Public Schools, which limits funding and tax collecting opportunities.

Missing from much of the conversation is that the City of Everett collects 5% admissions tax, which is 50 times more revenue than they collect from B&O taxes (o.1%) and 1.5 times what the city & county collect for local sales tax (3.4%).

Between naming rights and ticket fees on a 30-year lease, the two teams alone are expected to contribute $100 million in city revenue.

Economic Development Director Dan Eernissee, stated the forecast is for the outdoor events center “will generate business revenue of over $80 million a year, over 600 jobs, and combined city and tax revenue will be nearly $1 million a year.”

“This is double the estimate of the remodeled Funko Field.”