By John Sleeper
Herald Writer
The Western Hockey League isn’t discouraged by recent opposition to the Everett’s proposed hockey arena and still is targeting Everett as the spot for an expansion franchise starting in 2003.
“We still feel that Everett is an ideal location for us,” WHL commissioner Ron Robison said Tuesday. “We’re still negotiating with the city on a lease that would be suitable for everyone involved.”
Robison wants Everett to be the WHL’s 20th franchise, the fifth team in the U.S. Division of the Western Conference. Currently, the U.S. Division has teams in Seattle, Spokane, Portland and the Tri-Cities.
A citizens group is gathering signatures for a city initiative that would block the construction of the $75 million arena and special events center at its proposed site at Hewitt Avenue and Broadway. The construction would necessitate the destruction of buildings in a two-block section of Hewitt.
On Thursday, the Public Facilities District Board approved moving the arena 20 feet to save one building, the Ancient Scottish Rite Temple. David Blacker, chairman of the Everett Historical Commission, has said the move is not enough. While the group is not opposed to the arena’s construction, it is against the proposed location.
The Everett City Council scheduled a meeting for 8:30 a.m. today at the Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave., during which it is expected to decide whether to accept the Historical Commission’s recommendation not to tear down two buildings on the Everett Historical Register.
Robison said he primarily is concerned about negotiating a lease for the building and the sale of the Seattle Thunderbirds franchise by owner Bill Yuill. Under WHL bylaws, Yuill has rights to all areas within a 50-mile radius of Seattle. He has the first option to buy the Everett franchise, but must give up ownership of the Seattle team to do so.
In September, the Everett City Council chose the WHL over the West Coast Hockey League to be the anchor tenant for the proposed arena.
Robison said supporters of Everett hockey should not be alarmed that the league recently granted permission for Victoria, British Columbia, to apply for a WHL franchise. He said “seven or eight” cities have been granted the same status for the purpose of setting longterm goals for the league.
“It really has nothing to do with Everett,” Robison said.
The multipurpose arena, expected to open in the fall of 2003, would be funded largely through sales-tax rebates from the state. Construction must begin by January 2003 for the city to receive the tax-rebate money.
Construction of the arena, which would seat about 8,000 for hockey games and 10,000 for concerts, is tentatively scheduled to begin in March 2002.
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