By Theresa Goffredo
Herald Writer
EVERETT — Minor league hockey has hogged the spotlight as the lead act for the proposed $62.5 million Hewitt Avenue arena.
But when the doors open, the lineup at the special events center is expected to span the entertainment spectrum, from sports such as curling, singers such as Joe Cocker, comics such as Bill Cosby and civic happenings including high school graduations.
And that’s what arena promoters are banking on — something for everyone, because variety means a return of big dividends.
Project promoters say the Everett Regional Special Event Center will revitalize downtown, although critics object that two buildings listed on the historic register will be lost, and they have filed an initiative to get the project moved off Hewitt.
Indeed, hockey revenue will account for just 12 percent — or $745,000 — of the projected annual revenue of $6 million for the first full season in 2004. That leaves 88 percent, or $5.3 million, to be earned through other sources, including concerts, trade shows and sales tax rebate money.
Part of that $5.3 million will come from sources such as a company that officials expect will pay for the naming rights to have its corporate logo become part of the arena’s insignia.
Money also is expected to flow from beer and soft-drink distributors who will pay for advertising and pouring rights to sell beverages to the thousands of spectators. Should projections prove true, the event center will produce about $1.6 million in reserves after nine years.
"This is a little bit different type of building," said Don Hale, executive director of the Everett Public Facilities District. "There is no huge maintenance and operating subsidy. We wanted something that could stand on its own. It’s just that simple."
While landing a Western Hockey League franchise is
essential, though not yet realized, the project’s promoters view having a variety of acts also as critical, with the thinking being the team may anchor the arena, but the arena will anchor downtown Everett.
"The strategy is the same as that for big shopping centers — they all have anchors like The Bon or Nordstrom, and that’s what makes everything else possible," said Lanie McMullin, the city’s executive administrator. "Hockey as the anchor for the arena and for the downtown area is the same principle. You need an anchor — they drive the crowds."
Even other local experts in the performance business agree.
Independent booking agent David Shaw of ArtBeat, who has brought such acts as crooner Tony Bennett to Everett, said the proposed event center would not only keep Everett on the map, but reinvent it as Snohomish County’s seat. "Everett is fighting for its life, for its position in the county," Shaw said. "It used to be a vibrant city with people lined up on the street, and this will help keep Everett’s oar in the water and not become just a mall. It will become the center of the county, and people will have reason to come there."
It would appear those reasons are far-reaching, from figure skating, curling — that shuffleboardlike sport played on ice with brooms — to Disney on Ice, to a community ice rink for family skating, to arena football, college and high school basketball, to rodeo and monster trucks, trade shows and the Billy Graham crusade.
Though the dream list for musical performers is just as far-reaching, the question is, is it far-fetched? James Taylor? Sting? Garth Brooks?
"No way will they get Garth Brooks, unless they pay him $1 million a show for one day, and I don’t see the city of Everett spending a million on one show," said Snohomish Artist Guild board member Cliff Verhoeff, another experienced local booking agent.
The event center will be a good venue for country music, but not as good for rock ‘n’ roll because it won’t be quite big enough, Verhoeff said. Still, he believes in the project, predicts sporting events will flow naturally into the setting and believes good performers will be wooed to play here as long as the public facilities district hires an aggressive, creative administrator.
And Verhoeff should know. As former development director for the Performing Arts Center, Verhoeff booked a sold-out crowd for blues legend Ray Charles. The Arts Center also sold out to Bennett, though that show cost $25,000 to put on, with ticket prices ranging from $75 to $100. The hockey arena will seat 8,000 fans. For concerts, the arena could seat 10,000, with ticket prices averaging $26.
"Anything that plays The Paramount (in Seattle) will be a likely story here," Verhoeff said. "I back Lanie 100 percent on this — Everett is a totally separate market. B.B. King can play Friday in Seattle, and then they can put him in Everett on Saturday."
As an example of what The Paramount offers, comedian Jerry Seinfeld will perform later this month in the 3,000-seat arena.
McMullin helps promote the city’s economic development in part by persuading Hollywood directors to film in Everett. She believes the keys to promotion are venue and the size of the venue. And when those elements are mixed with the performer’s popularity and talent, Everett can land the big names.
McMullin said rock star Elton John recently filled 12,000 seats at the Alltell Arena in Little Rock, Ark. The flamboyant performer played Little Rock because the singer has dropped a notch in popularity, she said.
"These artists are always in a state of flux, " McMullin said. "We can get them on the rise or on the fall."
McMullin admits that she put together her list of 38 potential performers for the Everett center by copying down all the groups who have played arenas between 9,000 and 13,000 capacity. That list runs the gamut from teen idol Britney Spears to Guess Who, stars of the 1970s.
But McMullin and Hale believe they can get stars such as Neil Diamond, who often books similar-size stadiums.
"Recording artists don’t want to play audiences that are the same. They want to move around because they want to sell CDs," Hale said.
Besides concerts, trade shows and other events, Everett’s center also will provide the first 10,000-seat facility in the region for high schools to hold graduation ceremonies, with Marysville-Pilchuck High School officials already requesting to rent the center for their June 2004 ceremony. Those convocations can produce up to $16,300 a year in rental income based on a $2,500-a-night rental fee.
Besides the money, there’s a "touchy-feely" reason for having an event center: It provides the central gathering space where civic pride is generated, social capital is built and a sense of community is cultivated, McMullin said.
"A city of our size needs a big gathering place," she said. "There’s
something to be said about sitting with your community and cheering on your child at the state basketball tournament. It’s an issue of civic pride to get at least 8,000 people cheering for the same thing."
You can call Herald Writer Theresa Goffredo at 425-339-3097
or send e-mail to goffredo@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
