Everett approves $1.9 million loan, property purchase for stadium
Published 4:46 pm Wednesday, July 29, 2026
EVERETT — The Everett City Council approved an additional funding measure and the purchase of another piece of property for its proposed downtown stadium project on Wednesday.
Through two separate measures, the council approved another $1.9 million loan from the city’s general fund to go toward property acquisition work and gave the city permission to purchase a property at 2914 McDougall Ave., near the north end of the stadium’s footprint, for about $3.8 million.
With the votes, the city has now approved the purchase of five of the 17 parcels of land it will need to build the project, and it brings its total allocation for the project up to this point to about $19.7 million, including $7.2 million of capital dollars. Earlier this month, the council approved buying four properties on the stadium site — located between Hewitt Avenue and Pacific Avenue east of Broadway — for about $10.7 million.
Two other parcels of land, at 3001 Broadway and 3011 Broadway, are currently the subject of an eminent domain lawsuit the city filed against their owners in Snohomish County Superior Court earlier this month. That case is still pending.
The council voted unanimously Wednesday to approve the purchase of the fifth property. It voted 6-1 to approve the $1.9 million loan, with council member Judy Tuohy voting against.
The city has now loaned itself a total of $12.5 million from its general fund for the project, money that is allocated toward designing the stadium and buying properties needed to build it. It plans to repay itself those funds when it approves a funding measure to pay for the construction of the stadium.
Officials are still working on a plan to come up with the money for the project. It is expected to cost about $120 million, more than the $82 million the city originally anticipated. City staffer Scott Pattison previously said that the city has made progress on closing that funding gap, but couldn’t share specifics.
Everett is looking for additional money from public-private partnerships and plans to announce deals it is making with two private funders by mid-August, Pattison previously said. A final funding plan for the project is expected in early fall, Pattison said Wednesday.
The multi-use stadium, if built, plans to host the Everett AquaSox along with both men’s and women’s United Soccer League teams.
The project, currently known as the Outdoor Event Center, still hasn’t received final approval from the council. But it’s unlikely at this point that the city council would walk back on it, because failing to repay the money the city has already loaned itself would lead to a multi-million-dollar hit to the general fund.
City officials have previously said that they plan to repay the loan through a bond measure, funded by revenues from the stadium’s operations. Both the United Soccer League and Everett AquaSox have agreed to make $100 million in lease payments over a 30-year period, city staff have said, along with about $17 million in upfront capital contributions.
Other sources of funding include $5 million from Snohomish County and $7.4 million from the state.
Work on the project began in 2022 when Major League Baseball announced new regulations for minor league stadiums. The home of the Everett AquaSox, Funko Field, didn’t meet those regulations, and the team needed either a rebuilt stadium or a new stadium in another location to avoid fines from the MLB.
City officials feared the team could leave the city without a new ballpark. They looked at multiple locations before the city council chose to study a downtown site, arguing that having the room to include a soccer pitch — and therefore, soccer teams — would bring in more revenue and make the project more financially feasible.
The stadium, if built, would include 5,000 seats. If the city council gives the project the go-ahead, construction would begin this fall, and officials hope to open the stadium by the end of 2027.
Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.
