EVERETT, Wash. — Everett's Minor League Baseball team will move to a new location after a decision by the city council Wednesday night.
The AquaSox will call a brand new multipurpose facility home in the future. It will be located in downtown Everett just east of the Angel of the Winds Arena.
Major League Baseball mandated changes to the current facility for the Everett AquaSox, which led to the project.
The council was presented with three options in November: renovating Funko Field, building a new downtown stadium, or making no changes to Funko Field. If no changes were made, the AquaSox would more than likely have been forced to leave Everett.
Renovating Funko Field would cost less money than building a new stadium, but the return on investment would be less partly because the school district would own it.
Building a new stadium downtown would cost the most, but the city would see the highest return on investment.
The new facility will also generate more revenue, as it can be used for other events, such as concerts and sporting events. It will be built on a 12.5-acre site and is expected to cost approximately $100 million.
“We've heard overwhelmingly from the community that they want to keep the AquaSox in Everett, and I advocated early on for the incorporation of soccer so it would be financially feasible without raising taxes. The downtown site is the option that does that,” said Councilmember Mary Fosse.
According to the city council, the final environmental impact study showed "environmental impacts for the downtown location would be generally comparable to the present and can be appropriately mitigated."
Mandated changes from MLB include the following: a larger clubhouse, renovated locker rooms, field lighting improvements, an area for female staffers, and updated training facilities. Every year those changes aren't in effect, the AquaSox would be fined thousands of dollars by MLB.
The design process will start in early 2025.