Q: What is the current cost estimate for the Everett downtown stadium?
A: As of early 2026, the Everett Outdoor Event Center is estimated to cost $120 million — up $38 million from the previous estimate — with construction now targeted for 2027 and games beginning in 2028.

Everett’s Downtown Stadium Price Tag Climbs to $120M: What the $38M Gap Means for the AquaSox and USL Project

We have been following the Everett Outdoor Event Center closely since the city first committed to the concept, and the latest numbers deserve an honest look. Documents shared with city council members in January 2026 and reported publicly in February revealed that the stadium’s estimated cost has grown to $120 million — about $38 million more than the estimate from last May. That is not a rounding error. It is a real funding challenge that the city, the AquaSox, and prospective soccer tenants now have to solve before a shovel goes in the ground.

Here is where things stand as of April 2026, and what we think matters most about the path forward.

How Did the Cost Jump by $38 Million?

The short answer: construction costs have gone up across the board, and the stadium project is not immune. The city’s original financial model anticipated a cost significantly below $120 million, with a planned $40 million in revenue bonds — paid off by the stadium’s own revenue stream — providing the bulk of the funding. State contributions, Snohomish County dollars, and commitments from both the Everett AquaSox and the prospective United Soccer League (USL) teams were also part of the mix.

That plan still exists. But the new $38 million gap has to be closed before the city council can formally approve the project. City staff are clear about the sequencing: find the funding, finalize the lease agreements with the teams, negotiate the property purchase at the site, and then bring it to council for approval. The council cannot move forward until those three conditions are met.

The Site and What Gets Built There

The planned location is downtown Everett, with most of the block between the site boundaries — except the buildings fronting Hewitt Avenue — slated for demolition to clear the footprint. Twenty-eight privately owned parcels make up most of that block, and property acquisition is part of the pre-construction work the city needs to complete.

The design-build team is DLR Group and Bayley Construction, selected through the city’s Progressive Design-Build (PDB) process. As of early 2026, the design is at roughly 60 percent completion. The full plan and budget — the version that actually goes to council — is expected to be ready soon, with the city’s stated goal of having the stadium ready for baseball by April 2027. Following the funding news, city staff placed the revised construction start in 2027, pushing the opening to 2028 for both baseball and soccer.

Mayor Franklin’s Take: Momentum and a Funding Plan Coming

Mayor Cassie Franklin addressed the stadium directly at her March 5, 2026 State of the City address inside the New Everett Theater on Colby Avenue. The speech leaned into the city’s broader momentum — crime reduction, housing growth, annexation plans — with the stadium cited as a symbol of downtown revitalization. On the funding gap, the mayor signaled that a formal funding plan is coming to council soon, with an emphasis on private-public partnership dollars as the preferred first approach.

The city is working first with private investors — regional businesses and corporations — plus public agencies to find as much non-city funding as possible. If that falls short, additional city bonds are on the table to fill whatever gap remains. The editorial board of the Everett Herald has weighed in supporting the effort to fund the project, and the Everett Chamber of Commerce has issued formal support. There is also community pushback: a piece in the Snohomish County Tribune argued that taxpayer funding for a minor league stadium is not the right use of public dollars. That debate is real, and the council will have to navigate it.

The AquaSox and USL Dimension

The stadium is designed to serve both the Everett AquaSox (Minor League Baseball, an affiliate of the Seattle Mariners) and potentially both a men’s and women’s United Soccer League team. The AquaSox currently play at Funko Field at Everett Memorial Stadium, which was built in the 1960s and has aged considerably. A new downtown facility would represent a major upgrade for the franchise and for fans.

The USL angle is compelling from an economic standpoint: dual-sport use expands the number of event days the facility can generate revenue, which directly improves the financial model underlying the revenue bonds. More event days means stronger debt service coverage, which means the bonds are a safer bet. That is why both sports tenants matter to the funding math, not just the fan experience.

What We Are Watching

There are several decision points ahead that will determine whether this stadium actually gets built on the current timeline:

The council presentation: City staff have committed to presenting a formal funding plan to council soon. That presentation will include how the $38 million gap is proposed to be closed — and whether private investment dollars materialize, or whether additional city bonds are needed.

Property acquisition: The city needs to negotiate the purchase of 28 privately owned parcels. That process involves appraisals, negotiations, and potentially condemnation proceedings if sellers do not agree on price. Timeline uncertainty here is real.

Lease agreements: The AquaSox and USL tenants need signed lease agreements before the project can move to council. Those negotiations are ongoing.

Design completion: The 60 percent design milestone needs to reach 100 percent, with a budget that the city and its design-build team can both commit to. Any further cost escalation at this stage could reopen the funding math again.

Is This Stadium Still Happening?

We think the honest answer is: probably yes, but on a compressed timeline with real funding risk. The political will exists — the mayor is behind it, the chamber is behind it, the council has already approved $4.8 million in stadium spending to get to this point. The question is whether the private investment dollars materialize quickly enough to keep the 2027-2028 construction and opening timeline intact.

If the private funding effort comes up short and the city has to go to additional bonds, that will face a political test with the council and with the public. Everett voters and taxpayers are paying attention. The Herald editorial support helps, but so does the Tribune’s skepticism — it represents a real constituency.

What we know for certain: the stadium as designed, at $120 million, would be a transformative piece of downtown Everett’s physical fabric. Whether the city can close the gap and break ground in 2027 is the story we will be tracking all year.

See also: Everett’s $120M Stadium Gap: What Needs to Happen Before Ground Breaks | What the Stadium Means for Downtown Business Owners | Visitor’s Guide to Everett’s Planned Stadium

Q: What just opened at the Port of Everett waterfront?
A: Tapped Public House opened March 2, 2026 at Waterfront Place Restaurant Row, bringing craft beer, Pacific Northwest cuisine, and the largest open-air rooftop deck on the Snohomish County waterfront.

Restaurant Row Is Filling Up: Tapped Public House Opens at Port of Everett Waterfront Place

We have been watching the Restaurant Row building at the Port of Everett Waterfront Place take shape for months, and on March 2nd, the second tenant officially swung open its doors. Tapped Public House held a ribbon cutting that drew more than 100 people to the waterfront, and if the buzz that evening was any indication, this spot is going to be a fixture on Everett’s dining scene all summer long.

The new Tapped location sits on the second floor of the Restaurant Row building at Waterfront Place — the same building that houses Rustic Cork Wine Bar and Menchie’s at the Marina at street level. Walk upstairs and you find yourself looking out through floor-to-ceiling windows at Port of Everett Marina and Possession Sound. On warmer days, roll-up garage doors open the space completely to the outside. And then there is the rooftop deck — reportedly the largest open-air waterfront rooftop deck in Snohomish County.

What Is Tapped Public House?

If you have not been to one of the other three Tapped locations in Camano Island, Mill Creek, or Mukilteo, here is the short version: it is a craft beer-focused public house that takes its food seriously. The Everett location continues that tradition with a scratch kitchen turning out Pacific Northwest-inspired dishes, alongside craft beer, cider, wine, and other beverages curated for the setting. The vibe is casual enough for a post-hike beer and refined enough for a date night.

The Everett outpost is the brand’s fourth location, and based on what we are hearing, the Port of Everett waterfront may be its most dramatic backdrop yet. The combination of marina views, the rooftop experience, and the proximity to other Waterfront Place destinations makes this a natural anchor tenant for what the Port has been building out along Restaurant Row.

The Bigger Picture: Restaurant Row Is Taking Shape

Tapped Public House did not open in a vacuum. It is part of a deliberate buildout that the Port of Everett has been executing along its Waterfront Place mixed-use development — a 65-acre, 1.5-million-square-foot project that represents years of planning and investment. The Port has been methodically filling the Restaurant Row building, and the pieces are coming together.

Rustic Cork Wine Bar was the first tenant announced for Restaurant Row, establishing the wine-and-small-plates anchor. Menchie’s at the Marina adds the dessert and family-friendly dimension. And Tapped Public House brings the craft beer and full-menu draw that pulls a broader dinner crowd. Together, these three tenants cover a meaningful amount of the dining occasion spectrum without competing directly with each other.

But there is still one major opening left. The Port of Everett has publicly confirmed it is searching for a flagship dining tenant to occupy the final available parcel along Restaurant Row — specifically, the Port is seeking a high-end steakhouse or experiential dining concept to anchor the waterfront dining scene. That search is ongoing as of April 2026, and whoever lands that lease will be walking into an increasingly established dining corridor with built-in foot traffic from the marina and the surrounding Waterfront Place amenities.

Getting There and Getting Around

Tapped Public House is located at the Port of Everett Waterfront Place, in the Craftsman District of the development. If you have not been out to Waterfront Place recently, this spring is a good time to make the trip. The Port has also been expanding its free waterfront shuttle service, now rebranded as the Trawley, with plans for year-round operation and expanded capacity coming this season. Parking is available in the Port’s two-hour free zones, and the Trawley provides a free loop connecting the key Waterfront Place destinations.

We stopped by the area recently and the energy is noticeably different from even a year ago. The marina is full, the Restaurant Row building looks sharp, and having actual functioning restaurants with people dining in them changes how the whole development feels. It is starting to look like the vision the Port has been pitching for years.

What We Are Watching Next

The flagship dining search is still open: the Port is actively looking for a high-end steakhouse or experiential dining operator for the final Restaurant Row parcel. This is the capstone tenant that would complete the Restaurant Row vision.

S3 Maritime also recently opened its Port of Everett facility at 1205 Craftsman Way, Suite 107 in the Craftsman District in early March. It brings over 2,600 square feet of marine repair, refit, and technical services to the port — another piece of the commercial ecosystem the Port has been assembling alongside the dining and retail tenants.

And the Trawley expansion is coming: the Port plans year-round service with added capacity this spring. For visitors who want to park once and explore the whole waterfront without moving their car, the Trawley makes Waterfront Place significantly more accessible.

Why This Matters for Downtown Everett

A single restaurant opening is not a transformation. But the sequence of openings at Waterfront Place over the past 18 months — viewed together — tells a story of a major public-private development actually delivering on its promises. The early phases involved infrastructure, marina expansion, and capital projects that do not generate foot traffic. Now, in early 2026, we are watching the public-facing layer of the project come alive: dining, retail, marine services, the shuttle. These are the elements that turn a development project into a destination.

Tapped Public House and its rooftop deck opening in March is not the headline of the Waterfront Place story — it is one more confirmed chapter. The question we are watching: who lands the flagship steakhouse parcel, and when?