EVERETT — The City Council took another step toward a new downtown stadium for the Everett AquaSox on Wednesday after it approved an agreement with a construction company to begin initial site work.
The agreement comes at a cost of $200,000, paid via the city’s capital improvement fund. A $7.4 million grant from the state will recoup those funds, city project manager Scott Pattison said Wednesday.
The agreement the City Council approved on Wednesday allows for preliminary site investigation and design work, a city document said. It’s an interim step allowing the construction company, Bayley Construction, to work while contract negotiations with the city continue. Work will be limited to surveying, environmental investigation, creating conceptual designs and work plans.
One council member, Judy Tuohy, raised concerns over the lack of clarity surrounding the potential revenues and final costs of the project. Wednesday’s vote marks another financial investment from the city, bringing the total spent so far on the project to about $1.8 million. Tuohy was the only council member to vote against the agreement, which passed 6-1.
“Personally, I have a hard time with a ‘just keep spending’ approach without the solid answers,” Tuohy said Wednesday. “I can go along with this type of planning for a while, but at this point I need to have some firm numbers with the amount of money that we’ve allocated. That’s why I will be voting no tonight. This is not a no forever, this is just a no until we get more information.”
City staff, however, said it’s not possible to have more accurate projections without moving forward in the design process. Wednesday’s approval of the professional services agreement with the construction company helped “keep the momentum of this project moving forward,” Pattison said Wednesday.
Current projections for the cost of the stadium have not changed since December. Tuohy said she hoped for more precise cost and revenue projections by this point.
The city has sought to build or remodel a stadium for the Everett AquaSox since 2021, when Major League Baseball announced new requirements for minor league stadiums. Funko Field, where the AquaSox currently play, would need significant renovations to be brought to the league’s standards.
After years of studies, the City Council voted to select a downtown site for a new multipurpose stadium, which could host the AquaSox as well as men’s and women’s soccer teams.
A fiscal advisory committee released a report in December which found a new downtown stadium could cost between $84.4 million and $114.6 million, with another $18 million set aside for property acquisition. The committee projected the city would be able to raise about $95 million for the downtown stadium through a mix of bonds, private investment and state and county funding.
Everett itself could spend about $4.5 million on construction, the committee estimated. The money would come from capital improvement funds, which can’t be used for general government expenses like parks, libraries or staff salaries.
The professional services agreement will buy six to eight weeks for the city to continue negotiations with a progressive design-build team, a partnership between architects and contractors who work side by side to complete construction projects. The city had hoped to be in contract negotiation with that team earlier, Pattison said.
Bayley Construction is based in Mercer Island. Its previous projects include Husky Ballpark, which the company completed for the University of Washington in 2014. The architects who the city named as a part of the potential progressive design-build team, the DLR Group, also have experience with sports stadium design.
By the end of March, the City Council will likely vote on whether to approve a contract with the progressive design-build team, Pattison said. That vote could come with a price tag between $2.5 million and $3.5 million.
Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
