Comcast Arena — 5 years later

EVERETT — When Comcast Arena opened five years ago today, city leaders hoped it would revive a stagnant downtown.

They didn’t know it would become a chapel of love.

At least seven people have proposed to their significant others at the 10,000-seat arena since it was built. It has hosted 25 weddings, including one couple whose ceremony took place on the ice during intermission at a Silvertips game. They later had twins.

Even Tammi Bryant-Olson, marketing director at the arena, met her husband at the events center.

So did he pop the question there?

“Oh God, no,” said Bryant-Olson, who gave birth to her daughter this summer. She said he proposed in New York’s Central Park.

Not that there’s anything wrong with proposing to your girlfriend at a hockey game.

Whether Comcast Arena has fulfilled its goal of reviving downtown is another matter.

It has triggered tens of millions of dollars in public and private investments, and buoyed the hopes of a smattering of new retail shops and restaurants.

Still, some business owners say the arena isn’t living up to its potential.

Joel Starr, co-owner of Tailgater Joe’s across Hewitt Avenue from the arena, says he is disappointed with the arena’s slumping concert calendar.

While he’s excited that rock icon Neil Young is scheduled to perform at Comcast Arena with Death Cab for Cutie later this month, Starr said businesses need the arena to book more concerts to put more feet on the street.

“In my opinion, the arena has not been spending the money necessary to compete with other arenas and venues,” Starr said. “If it wasn’t for the Silvertips, downtown would be in a heck of a lot more trouble than it is now.”

The events center hasn’t completely wiped out the retail hole left by department stores that fled to Everett Mall decades ago, said Earl Dutton, president of the Everett Public Facilities district, the public board that oversees the $71.5 million facility.

It has brought people, though.

“We’ve had 3 million people in there to enjoy themselves,” Dutton said. “That’s what we set out to do. To provide entertainment for the community and we’ve done that. And I think everyone will admit that we’ve revitalized the downtown area.”

Originally known as the Everett Events Center, the public arena topped by towering twin masts has become a symbol for a new Everett.

It was constructed on a hardscrabble block of Hewitt Avenue, once notorious for drug dealing, rowdy taverns and prostitution.

It opened with its first event — a Silvertips game — on Oct. 4, 2003.

Jo Levin has attended dozens of games and events at the arena. She and five other families were early purchasers of a luxury-box suite and they call themselves “Friends of Everett 2.”

She is happy with the overall experience and she believes building the arena was a good move by the city. But she echoes Starr’s concerns about the number of concerts.

“The last few years have been pretty lean,” she said. “We are all very understanding that the Tulalips and the reservations can pay more; still, we have been a little disappointed with concerts.”

Mark Olson, an Everett City Councilman who is also on the public facilities board, said stiffening competition in the Seattle market has complicated negotiations for concert deals.

In addition to Tulalip Amphitheatre nine miles away, Tacoma Dome, WaMu Theater at Qwest Field, The Paramount and The Moore theaters in Seattle viw with Comcast Arena for the same concert acts.

With the loss of the Sonics this year, KeyArena is also expected to fill out its calendar with more concerts.

“What we’re trying to do is saddle up closer to the big concert promoters,” Olson said. “It’s a relationship-based industry and we’re pursuing every possible opportunity.”

Kim Bedier, general manager of Comcast Arena, said the arena is in negotiations with a possible successor to the Everett Hawks arena football team, which folded after three seasons. The Everett Explosion, an International Basketball League team, also left the arena last year after it had trouble filling seats.

The Everett Silvertips, on the other hand, have consistently packed the house. Last year, it drew 251,055 spectators, accounting for nearly half of the arena’s overall attendance.

With money becoming tighter for many families, Bedier said it’s important that the arena focus on keeping family events affordable.

One example is Skate America, the three-day, Olympic-style figure skating competition scheduled for Oct. 26-28. The event will garner international television coverage and is expected to attract thousands of skating enthusiasts.

Family events are important.

“It’s great for the kids,” said Laura Gardner, a Snohomish hockey mom whose son Ben, 10, and daughter, Alexandra, 7, play in the Everett Youth Hockey League, which opened last week. Her husband, Kevin, is a coach for both kids’ teams.

That night, across a rain-soaked Hewitt Avenue, Brooklyn Bros. Pizzeria dished up its signature Bensonhurst pies to a family gathered around a table festooned with balloons.

A few doors away, Matt Martin helped customers from behind the counter of his Next Level Video Games, where everyone can try out the latest releases on big screen plasma TVs.

Martin, whose day job is corporate sales at Comcast Arena, opened his store in June. He doesn’t expect the arena to be the only thing to draw people to his business. “I can’t expect it to be my cash cow,” he said.

Still, he acknowledges that his fortunes as a downtown business owner are linked somewhat to the arena’s events calendar.

The same can be said for the city. For better or worse, downtown Everett is married to Comcast Arena.

Reporter David Chircop: 425-339-3429 or dchircop@heraldnet.com.

The arena by the numbers

Concession sales

In five years, vendors at the arena have sold:

112,440 hot dogs

257,840 bottles of soda

209,850 bottles of beer

Biggest concerts

The top concert draws at Comcast Arena, listed by attendance:

8,394: Tool, December 2007