The City Council of Everett, Washington, has approved another $1.9 million loan from the city’s general fund for the acquisition of property that will be used for the construction of a new 5,000-seat stadium.
Heraldnet.com reports the city – which is 25 miles north of Seattle – has loaned itself a total of $12.5 million from its general fund for the project. The council also gave its permission for the $3.8 million purchase of a property near the north end of the stadium’s footprint. Earlier this month, the council approved buying four properties on the stadium site for roughly $10.7 million.
To date, the city approved the purchase of five of the 17 parcels of land needed for the development, which brings its total allocation for the project to about $19.7 million, including $7.2 million of capital dollars.
However, there are still obstacles in the city’s plans. The smallest obstacle is the lack of formal approval for the project by the council, although by now it seems too late to cancel the endeavor due to the amount of money allocated.
More contentious is the refusal of the owners of two parcels at the proposed stadium site who are unwilling to sell their properties. The city is pursuing eminent domain lawsuits to seize them.
Also, the city lacks the funds for its input into the stadium project, which was originally budgeted at $82 million but has since been recalculated into about $120 million. Everett is trying to find private entities to cover the costs, and a final funding plan for the project is expected this fall.
As for the stadium’s potential tenants, they would include the Everett AquaSox minor league baseball team and both the men’s and women’s teams of the United Soccer League.
Photo of downtown Everett by Quinton Soloviev / Wikimedia Commons
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