Tag: Everett Sports

What’s at stake: On Wednesday, April 29 at 12:30 PM, Everett City Council will vote on whether to approve another $10.6 million for the downtown Outdoor Event Center — the future home of the AquaSox and two new United Soccer League teams (men’s and women’s). The vote covers $5.6M for property acquisition and $4.8M in contractor amendments. If approved, design hits 100% complete and the path opens toward a possible August project go-ahead vote, ground-breaking in September, and a late-2027 opening. If it doesn’t pass cleanly, the timeline starts to wobble.

If you care about the AquaSox staying in Everett — and the city’s two incoming USL professional soccer teams actually having a place to play — Wednesday afternoon’s council vote matters more than any single game on the schedule this spring.

Everett City Council is set to vote April 29 on a package of four items tied to the future Outdoor Event Center: an additional $10.6 million in spending, contract amendments with four project contractors worth $4.8 million, acceptance of a $7.4 million state Department of Commerce grant, and the addition of one more land parcel to the project’s acquisition list.

The fan-perspective version of all that procedural language: Everett is one council vote away from finishing the design phase of a stadium that determines whether minor-league baseball stays here and whether professional soccer ever gets here at all.

What the $10.6 Million Actually Buys

The breakdown, per City of Everett project documents and reporting from the Snohomish County Tribune and HeraldNet:

About $5.6 million is allocated to the costs of acquiring the properties needed to clear the stadium block — bounded by Hewitt Avenue, Pacific Avenue, Broadway, and the railroad tracks, one block east of Angel of the Winds Arena.

About $4.8 million is for contract amendments with the four firms working on stadium design and pre-construction.

The funding mechanism is an interfund loan — Everett borrows the money from its own general fund balance, then issues municipal bond debt to repay the loan. Long-term bonds backed against city tax revenues handle repayment. This is a way to move quickly on cash flow without holding up design while waiting for outside grants and bond markets.

Counting earlier spending, the city has already invested about $7.2 million in capital funds into the project since site selection in late 2024. That money has gone toward environmental studies, conceptual design, and putting properties under purchase-and-sale agreements.

The Real Number You Should Know

The total project cost is now estimated at $120 million, up from the $82 million estimate the city used when it asked for $4.8 million in funding back in June 2025.

The funding stack so far: roughly $17 million committed by the AquaSox and incoming USL ownership groups in exchange for 30-year leases (with operations and maintenance handled on-site and ticket and parking revenue shared with the city); $30+ million from other bonds repaid through lease and ticket revenue; and roughly 21% of the funding pie that, as of last week’s council presentation, is not yet identified.

That 21% gap is the one to watch. City project staff said they intend to return to council in summer with more financial models, with possible sources including state, regional, and private dollars. “We are pursuing all possible options,” the project representative told the council.

Why This Matters for the AquaSox

Major League Baseball changed minor-league facility requirements in 2021. Funko Field, which has been the AquaSox’s home for decades, doesn’t meet the new standards. If Everett doesn’t build a compliant stadium, the AquaSox lose their MLB affiliation. They go away. The economic, cultural, and identity hit to the city would be real.

Mayor Cassie Franklin has called the project a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” prompted by the league’s facility-standard changes. She framed Everett’s decision to put the stadium downtown — in late 2024 — as the city already making “tangible progress.” Wednesday’s vote keeps that progress moving.

Why This Matters for USL Soccer

The Outdoor Event Center is being designed as a true dual-purpose venue: artificial turf, the ability to convert the field between baseball and soccer in the span of a few hours, soccer played on the diamond’s infield, and a retractable mound. The plan calls for hosting two USL teams — a men’s team in either USL Championship or USL League One, and a women’s team in the USL Super League.

This is why we don’t yet have team names, colors, kits, or a confirmed league level. Without an approved stadium plan, USL won’t finalize franchise placement. Without USL franchise placement, the city can’t fully market what the soccer side will look like. Wednesday’s vote moves the design from 60% complete (where it sits today) to 100% — and that opens the door for the August funding decision and the broader project go-ahead.

The USL teams won’t be playing in 2026. The current target is a late-2027 opening, which means a 2028 inaugural season at the earliest. But every step on the design timeline is a step closer to seeing professional soccer in Everett.

The Take

This stadium project has been criticized — fairly — for cost growth. $82 million in June 2025 to $120 million today is a real escalation, and the 21% unidentified funding share is a legitimate concern.

But the alternative — losing the AquaSox, losing the chance at USL, leaving the downtown stadium block as a parking lot — is worse. The downtown location is a significantly better long-term play than rebuilding at the existing Funko Field site. The dual-purpose design that makes baseball and soccer both work in one venue is genuinely innovative for a city Everett’s size. And the public-park amenities and walking loop in the design plan turn what could be a single-use box into a downtown asset that serves the city year-round.

The April 29 vote isn’t the final yes. It’s the vote that lets the project finish its homework before the bigger August decision on the full project. If Everett wants to be a city where minor-league baseball thrives, professional soccer arrives, and the downtown stadium becomes the anchor of a real entertainment district next to Angel of the Winds Arena — Wednesday afternoon matters.

How to Weigh In

The City Council meeting is Wednesday, April 29 at 12:30 PM at 3002 Wetmore Avenue. Public comment is part of the council process for items like this. If you have a take — for or against — that’s the room and that’s the meeting where it lands.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Everett Outdoor Event Center?
A planned 5,000-seat dual-purpose stadium in downtown Everett that will host the AquaSox baseball team and two new United Soccer League teams (one men’s, one women’s). It also includes an urban park and walking loop.

When is the city council vote on the additional funding?
Wednesday, April 29, 2026 at 12:30 PM at Everett City Hall (3002 Wetmore Avenue). The council will vote on four items tied to the project.

How much will the stadium cost in total?
The current total project cost estimate is $120 million, up from $82 million in June 2025. Property acquisition and business relocation alone is estimated at $35 million.

When will the stadium open?
The current project timeline targets construction starting in September 2026 and the stadium opening in late 2027, with a 2028 inaugural USL season at the earliest.

Will the AquaSox leave Everett if the stadium isn’t built?
Funko Field doesn’t meet the post-2021 MLB facility standards for affiliated minor-league teams. Without a compliant stadium, the AquaSox would lose their MLB affiliation and likely leave the city.

What USL teams are coming to Everett?
The city has agreements in place to host two USL teams — one men’s professional team and one women’s professional team. Specific league level (Championship vs League One for the men, Super League for the women), team names, colors, and ownership branding have not been publicly finalized pending stadium approval.

Where will the stadium be located?
On the block bounded by Hewitt Avenue, Pacific Avenue, Broadway, and the railroad tracks — one block east of Angel of the Winds Arena in downtown Everett. The city is acquiring 15 properties on that block to clear the site.

Who pays for the stadium?
A combination of city interfund loans repaid by long-term municipal bonds, $17 million committed by the AquaSox and USL teams (in exchange for 30-year leases), state Department of Commerce grants ($7.4 million pending council acceptance), and approximately $25 million still to be identified by July.