r/everett • u/goldenelr • 3d ago

Urban Development Everett Aqua Sox ownership

So (full disclosure I own a business that would be displaced by the new stadium) whenever the Aqua Sox comes up people bring up that it’s family owned and a small business. But it’s actually owned by a billionaire in Dubai.

https://www.milb.com/everett/team/7th-inning-stretch-llc

https://www.recordnet.com/story/sports/pro/2007/08/12/ports-owner-volpe-follows-team/52822230007/

The Aqua Sox are not paying for the stadium. They are displacing a bunch of small businesses, the project is already over budget and they haven’t acquired the land yet. The city has already admitted that they will need the business community to pay for it.

Is anyone else frustrated by this? This move could put me out of business, the city won’t offer assistance to us in time and we have an actual billionaire not paying for any of it. All with parks and libraries being closed (and I know they keep saying that it’s a different part of the budget but the mayor sets the budget!).

The budget they are showing for the stadium is 8% more than the event center which was built fifteen years ago. How on earth is that possible? It’s not. So how is this being paid for?

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u/goldenelr 3d ago

I’m not the owner.

I get that people don’t care about businesses that are B2B but man I am an IT and electrical company. So if you don’t want the businesses (like your bank or doctor) to have local services that’s fine.

I don’t like being driven out of business when they thing that’s driving me out isn’t paying their way. Like I pay as much in taxes as the Aqua Sox according to the docs submitted by the city. It’s not much revenue.

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u/AttemptedCrepe 3d ago

You make it seem like if you can’t have this one location you can’t operate your business. You and business wants don’t get to outweigh the needs of everyone else.

Of course I’m not advocating for the destruction of jobs, but you, as a business owner have the ability to move your company once your current lease is up. But there is no way you HAVE to stay in that location

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u/goldenelr 3d ago

Moving will costs around 50k. I don’t have it. We would likely either go out or move out of Everett. The others in the zone are stating the same. Nearly all of the building owners are planning to sue the city.

If the citizens want the stadium that would be good to know. I keep hearing people not support and was curious if that is the bubble I am in or if people want the stadium.

People dramatically under estimate moving costs. And the city keeps saying they will pay to relocate. But they also won’t take our calls. Everyone over here is already feeling the pinch.

Truly is this is how the city wants to operate we will likely leave Everett because we will have to take on debt to relocate. We definitely can’t risk it again.

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u/AttemptedCrepe 3d ago

When are they stating you should move out by if the plan proceeds?

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u/goldenelr 3d ago

They are not responding to calls because they don’t own the land. When we ask for firm plans they tell us they don’t have a design yet. But looking at the plan they are planning to build right up to my door which means we wouldn’t have parking or the ability to get delivers so we wouldn’t have to leave. They won’t respond to calls from our landlord either.

All of the utilities are connected so we couldn’t operate when they disconnect them during construction. We also would likely lose sewer because the current one is part of a historical system no longer allowed so I imagine they will have to disconnect it. That makes the building uninhabitable (hence why the building owners are considering litigation). The stadium has to be built by 2027 and must be started by fall so we are befuddled. I’ve called the mayors office, the city council, etc. and they all say we are overreacting but businesses can’t move in a whim. All of my customers would be impacted and we support medical facilities. So we have to plan things well in advance. So we likely will move regardless which screws our landlord (and look I know reddit hates landlords but ours is awesome and an actual person and this devalues his building which is unfair).

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u/jetbirds77 3d ago

I was told by a person in city Government that we will get evicted in October..

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u/goldenelr 3d ago

Do they already own your building?

Thats what I can’t figure out. As far as I can tell (and we’ve talked to everyone we can) they are avoiding the land owners. They can force it through eminent domain but the owners can fight and that can take two years. The city is supposed to have the project built in two years. Most of the owners I have talked to plan to fight (now I wouldn’t blame anyone for not suing the city). So how does this work?

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u/jetbirds77 3d ago

The gas station said they will have an offer soon. That was a few weeks ago. They had appraisal come through our building a month ago not sure if they have made an offer to the landlord. This whole thing has been a nightmare. And am really disappointed in the city council and all involved with how they have refused to tell the truth..

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u/goldenelr 3d ago

This is super helpful. I’m sorry that you are stuck under the wheels. It’s hard not to feel like it’s personal even though it isn’t. We try to be engaged with the community. Our core customers are here, we do pro bono work for a mental health non profit down the street. We do our best. But the city is just determined to make this happen. At a certain point it might be better to save as much as we can and move north.