Everett approves location for new AquaSox stadium

The Everett Aquasox players stand during the national anthems before the game at Everett Memorial Stadium against the Vancouver Canadians. (Christopher Morris / Corbis / Getty Images)

The Everett City Council approved a downtown location to build a new stadium to host the Everett Aquasox at a meeting on Wednesday night.

The Aquasox – the High-A minor league affiliate of the Seattle Mariners – have played in Everett since 1984 and been a Mariners affiliate since 1995. They've played at Funko Field for the entirety of their history in Everett, first as the Everett Giants before becoming a Seattle affiliate and being re-branded to the AquaSox in 1995.

The new location is near Angel of the Winds Arena, located between Hewitt and Pacific Avenues, and Broadway.

Prior to 2021, the AquaSox had been the short-season A-ball affiliate of the Mariners. However, a restructuring of the minor leagues in baseball led to Everett becoming the team's High-A affiliate. With that promotion came new rules about the requirements for facilities to be in compliance with MLB standards, which Funko Field does not meet.

The options for the team were to have Funko Field renovated to meet those requirements, a new stadium built with the necessary accommodations, or to do nothing and risk having the franchise moved out of Everett. The team would be facing ongoing fines for being non-compliant without a new stadium or upgrades to Funko Field.

The Everett City Council unanimously approved the downtown location via a 7-0 vote on Wednesday night following the recommendations of a project advisory committee. The committee's report stated that a new downtown stadium could cost between $102-133 million, while a Funko Field renovation would be between $71-83 million.

The downtown site is expected to receive more funding than a Funko Field renovation as the city eyes possibly bringing a United Soccer League franchise to the stadium as well. Additionally, Funko Field is owned by the Everett School District, which limits potential revenue generation opportunities when compared to a new downtown stadium.

The city still has the ability to pivot away from the downtown site if circumstances change as no financial commitments were made during the Wednesday meeting.