It’s not just a hockey arena, folks. It never was just a hockey arena. But critics bent on forcing the Everett Events Center out of the downtown area — or out of town altogether — have labeled the proposed community structure as nothing more than an arena that will never draw the necessary crowds.
Hopefully serious talk of including the city’s first historic museum on the upper floor of the planned building — which is also being modified with a more historic look — will help people understand that this structure truly is an events center. Home shows, boat shows, wedding shows, Disney on Ice, music concerts, you name it, can all be a part of the new center. And, oh yes, hockey — which is likely to draw crowds from throughout Snohomish County as well as from Whatcom, Skagit and Island counties, not just from Everett’s 100,000 residents as one letter writer argued in opposition of the center.
Everett leaders have been looking for years for a place to house a museum but haven’t had much luck. What better place than an events center in the downtown core to draw large crowds of people to a museum who might not otherwise think of visiting Everett’s host of artifacts? A community center should attract all types of people and be easily accessible. That’s what this building will do for Everett and its struggling downtown.
City leaders have been seeking public input for well more than a year, but it wasn’t until last summer that some people started voicing their opposition to the center. Some complained that the council’s decision to go forward with the project and select the Hewitt Avenue site was rushed, but in reality public meetings had been going on for quite a while.
People often don’t get involved until it impacts them directly. That appears to be the case with this project. It’s wise to hold public officials accountable and it is appropriate to give them credit where credit is due. That the city council is working with the center’s architects to make changes, based on public concerns, offers proof that Everett officials are still listening to the people.
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