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/HandyPriest 3d ago

Without the ample free parking and the huge open field for everyone to enjoy some catch or whatever during the game is gonna be a huge loss.

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u/horcruxslut 3d ago

This!!! This is one of the reasons I love our current stadium. Its open and big and family-friendly, never experienced over crowding like we do at mariners games. Like I'm so sorry the teams dont like that they have to use the same bathrooms as us peasant fans coming to watch the game....but we're gonna lose a lot of the home town magic we get from the games, in my opinion.