Outdoor Community Center
Idea Category: 2025 Ideas Challenge, Building & Development
2025 Ideas Challenge Entry
The City of Everett is investing in an Outdoor Event Center to address multiple challenges and capitalize on a key opportunity for future growth. The project will connect the downtown area to the transit hub, activate an underutilized part of the city, and create a central space for sports, entertainment, and family-friendly events. The facility will support minor league baseball while attracting professional men’s and women’s soccer teams, with over 100 events scheduled in its first year.
Currently, the city generates about $12.5 million annually from a shared baseball stadium. The new center is expected to triple that impact, boosting tourism, local jobs, and small business opportunities. Its proximity to a multimodal transit center will make it easier for fans to attend events without a car, aligning with goals of walkability and accessibility, which will improve further once light rail service reaches the area.
Beyond sports, the Outdoor Event Center will provide much-needed urban park space in a growing downtown and offer opportunities for concerts, markets, cultural festivals, and affordable family entertainment. A progressive design-build approach ensures the project remains within budget while meeting community needs.
Impact or how it will be measured:
Each of the following is a success indicator for the Everett Outdoor Event Center, and accomplishing at least half will indicate a clear success:
- Retention of the local minor league baseball team, with 66 home games annually
- Attraction of two minor league soccer teams, with 40 home games annually
- Hosting at least 24 additional community events each year
- Generating total economic impact exceeding $30 million annually
- Construction of at least 200 residential or lodging units nearby by private investors
- Creation of an urban park integrated into the facility that becomes a well-used part of the streetscape
- Growth in downtown hospitality and entertainment businesses within five years
- Securing naming-rights and sponsorship deals exceeding $500,000 annually
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