Everett to ask for eminent domain authority at stadium site

Published 2:50 pm Thursday, June 11, 2026

EVERETT — The city of Everett is asking for authority to go forward with eminent domain proceedings that would allow it to acquire properties needed to build a proposed stadium in the city’s downtown core, staff said in a council meeting Wednesday.

The city council first gave the mayor’s office permission to begin negotiations with the property owners on the stadium site in June 2025, including the possible use of eminent domain, but state law requires cities to take a “final action” through an ordinance before moving forward with condemnation proceedings.

City staffer Scott Pattison told the council Wednesday that the city would prefer to negotiate voluntary deals with property owners rather than go through the courts, but the ordinance would preserve an option to utilize eminent domain if necessary.

“The city has made substantial progress through negotiated property acquisition, which remains the preferred approach,” Pattison said.

Everett would need to buy 15 parcels in order to build the project. It has signed agreements with the owners of five parcels, has pending agreements with the owners of three more and is continuing negotiations with the owners of seven others, Pattison said.

Any final closings of the sales of property would require further city council approval.

Everett first started studying a potential stadium upgrade in 2022 when Major League Baseball announced new standards for minor league stadiums. Funko Field, in its current state, doesn’t meet those requirements, and officials worried the AquaSox could leave the city without a new stadium.

In 2024, the city council decided to study building a stadium in the city’s downtown core, which would be funded via public and private dollars, because they could secure more money for the proposed project by hosting the AquaSox along with men’s and women’s United Soccer League teams.

Everett has allocated nearly $18 million toward the stadium project, known as the Outdoor Event Center, through about $7.2 million in city capital funds and $10.6 million through an interfund loan planned to be paid back by a bond measure if the project moves forward. The money has gone toward site studies, design of the stadium and work toward acquiring properties at the project site, located between Pacific Avenue and Hewitt Avenue along Broadway.

The stadium has still not received the city council’s final stamp of approval, which would come after the development of a final funding plan and a council vote to buy property and begin construction. But the city has already taken major steps forward with the project, the most significant being the $10.6 million the city loaned itself from its general fund in April. That paid for the completion of the project’s design and further work toward property acquisition.

The city still needs to find a way to fill a funding gap for the project, currently expected to cost $120 million. In 2025, city staff previously estimated the stadium would cost $82 million, but that increased because of rising construction costs and the fact that Everett would need to buy more properties than previously anticipated to complete it, officials said in February.

Everett has secured a $7.4 million grant from the state and future funding from Snohomish County totaling $5 million for the project. The Everett AquaSox and United Soccer League also agreed to financial terms of a future lease, staff said in April, committing to contribute about $17 million in capital funds.

A city-issued bond package, planned to be paid back by the stadium’s future revenue, would serve as the bulk of the stadium’s funding. Other money could come from additional public-private partnerships.

Design plans for the stadium show it would include 5,000 seats, a clubhouse area and a public walking path around its perimeter. A road is also expected to be included at the rear of properties along Hewitt Avenue to allow for freight access, a preliminary site plan the city released in May shows.

The city council is expected to vote on the proposed ordinance on June 24.

Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.