Arena should go on one of four other sites

Regarding the Dec. 6 letter by Bill Quistorf, “Events Center: Sad to see building go, but arena needed”: Citizens For a Better Arena is happy to see that at least one member of the Downtown Everett Association objects to the current events center design. This represents a large portion of what our group stands for. The City of Everett has wasted millions of dollars acquiring properties – millions that could have provided the real “first-class” facility the city council charged the Everett Public Facilities District with building. The aluminum exterior and the mast feature do not meet that mandate; Everett deserves a better arena. Everett deserves a real first-class facility.

We also question the essentialness of this building being placed in downtown Everett. This is something no other city has done in their downtown. Arguably, any of the four remaining sites selected in the feasibility study provide an equal economic benefit to downtown. The coming rework of Hewitt Avenue will go a long way to sparking economic revival on that street, and the placement of an events center on a site other than Hewitt Avenue would only add to a local revival on Hewitt Avenue.

Chairperson

Citizens For a Better Arena