Here’s your chance to weigh in on the next AquaSox stadium

EVERETT — The question as to whether or not Everett will continue to have a professional baseball team remains unanswered.

On Thursday, the city released a draft version of an Environmental Impact Statement. It contains three options — do nothing and likely lose the AquaSox, move downtown or renovate Funko Field to conform to Major League Baseball standards for minor league teams.

A new downtown stadium near Angel of the Winds Arena is projected to cost about $120 million. A renovation of Funko Field would be somewhere around $70 million.

However, revenue projections for a downtown stadium are higher. The tradeoff would be displaced businesses and increased initial cost.

The public can comment on the 258-page draft statement until Oct. 4. The city hopes to issue a final Environmental Impact Statement with a preferred option by the end of the year. The final deadline for minor league teams to adhere to the new MLB stadium rules is opening day in 2025.

Deadlines, including one on June 1, for a firm plan forward for the AquaSox have been “blown through,” said Chad Volpe, part of the AquaSox ownership group.

“We sort of tested the patience of Major League Baseball. The Mariners, to their credit as they’ve always have been incredibly good partners in supporting us and being in this process and just doing everything that a good partner does,” Volpe said Thursday. “Ultimately, our license agreement is with Major League Baseball. It’s not with the Mariners.”

Financing remains the biggest hurdle and Volpe said that while the Multiuse Facility Fiscal Advisory Committee has been hard at work trying to find money, it’s a slow process. It’s next meeting is 3 p.m. Sept. 18, and can be joined virtually.

Volpe said Everett’s looming budget deficit is a “consideration” for everyone.

A tax increase to fund the stadium could also be a dicey path. Proposition 1, a tax increase proposed by city officials to help fix the deficit was overwhelmingly voted down last month.

At some point, the MLB will begin to force the AquaSox hand in looking at potential relocation sites, Volpe said.

“As they’ve done in other markets, Major League Baseball will make us look at relocation as an option,” Volpe said. “That doesn’t mean staying in Everett is dead and buried. It would be, ‘Hey, keep talking, but you also need to look at relocation.’ Just have options, right? We have not entered that as of yet because we really, really, really want to stay in Everett.”

The environmental impact statement is one of the last steps before money becomes the last main obstacle, Volpe said. Much of the document is dedicated to answering questions about how the three options would impact life in Everett, covering everything from noise pollution to its impact on sites of historical interest.

The statement also includes diagrams and maps of the proposed ballpark. It also mentions two potential problems with staying at Funko Field — player and staff parking, as well as the height of the outfield walls. As a High-A team, Everett now draws better players and fence height becomes an issue. Batters are aiming for the low spot in the fence.

“Any one of those are not necessarily a deal killer,” Volpe said, “but they get added up, and it’s a slightly bigger problem.”

How to comment

Mail:

Yorik Stevens-Wajda, AICP,

Planning Director

City of Everett Planning Dept.

2930 Wetmore Ave., Ste 8A

Everett, WA 98201

Email:

ystevens@everettwa.gov

Public meeting:

Sept. 24, 2024,