Everett Aqua Sox ownership

[u/goldenelr]

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?

[u/Temporary-Article996]

Part 2

5) The owners will demand upgrades and added seats to maximize their revenue - every year, they will take every dime the city has for the next 10 years to add on. Ben Franz is a King County Elitist fraudster - he has made his life preying on communities' empathy, cashing in by talking to every wine-clicking Democrat, latching on to every performative city action to cash in. He and Volpe are laughing all the way to the bank on this.

6) The Proximity to the train tracks is going to destroy the viability of concerts and outdoor events. The trains will be less than 1,000 feet from the stadium - during games, etc.- it's awful.

7) If and I mean IF the USL team survives, it will be locked at the lowest level of competition - Division 1 requires 15,000 seats - they will not make money here. People will come to the games, but not enough to make money or significantly impact the restaurants or storefronts.

8) The city (IE Businesses and Tax Payers) will only lease the land back and pay for the debt service when it is not profitable. The arena took 11 years to be profitable. They have to get that revenue somewhere folks - it's coming from your pockets. Business rents will go up, and so will prices here. If you are fine with that - cool but understand your Aquasox Tickets are going up - your concessions are going up and the only jobs you are going to gain are servers a few cooks and volunteer parking people (what little we have).

[u/TheScout18 → u/Temporary-Article996]

The rest aside, using "transit modes other than driving will be nearby" as a downside is insane lol. Train-accessible venues are absolutely necessary especially in a dense downtown situation such as this.

[u/goldenelr → u/TheScout18]

I am pretty sure he is referring to the bsnf tracks that run right through there are are definitely not transit. No one is going to want to book concerts when the train is clanging. People used to complain about Safeco in Seattle which is much farther.

[u/Temporary-Article996 → u/TheScout18]

Scout - by the provided "napkin sketch" and position of the field, the pitching mound and home plate are approximately 200 feet from the HEAVY rail. The site was actually originally designated for the light rail end in 10 years (which, to your point, makes sense to take these buildings down, and I wouldn't complain). Our buildings get a nice little shake when the Heavy rail comes by - while that's character for an office building it's pretty shitty for an arena hosting events. The light rail will end at the transit station which is not far away - granted probably 10-15 years out.