What does COVID-19 mean for Tacoma’s proposed $60 million soccer stadium?
An effort to build a $60 million soccer stadium in Tacoma has stalled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
While backers of the Heidelberg Sports Complex are dedicated to seeing the projects through, some elected officials facing mass budget cuts are less certain about its future.
In March, when impacts of coronavirus were beginning to show themselves, a nonbinding letter of intent to embark on a public process for the stadium was signed by Metro Parks Tacoma, the City of Tacoma and private partners The Soccer Club of Tacoma (TSCOT), made up of the Tacoma Rainiers and the Seattle Sounders.
The letter identified more than $22 million in public funds for the project — $7.5 million from Metro Parks Tacoma and $15 million in both in-kind and cash donations from the city.
Now the city and Metro Parks are facing millions in economic fallout from COVID-19, putting the project in limbo.
The city of Tacoma is facing a budget shortfall upwards of $40 million and is already canceling projects.
“As we cut services across the board and access reserves to maintain basics, I don’t foresee the soccer stadium on the list of priorities,” City Council member Lillian Hunter said in a text to The News Tribune. “That could certainly change when the current crises subsides and things return to ‘normal.’”
The city was considering using some of its reserve fund to help pay for the project. Now, it’s using $12 million from that fund to help offset the deficit.
Council member John Hines said it would be tough for his constituents to swallow if the city has to make layoffs and also decided to pay for a soccer stadium.
“I don’t know if we’re going to have the capacity to support a project like that going forward,” Hines said. “We have a lot of really big needs from the city side.”
Metro Parks has announced furloughs and layoffs to more than 600 employees since March and is projecting a $13 budget deficit.
Metro Parks spokesperson Nancy Johnson said the project hasn’t been canceled but has been paused as “we focus on maintaining essential functions during the prolonged system-wide closure.”
“It’s really hard to imagine making a decision either way in this environment,” said Metro Parks commissioner Erik Hanberg said.
Parks commissioner Andrea Smith guesses the public input process won’t resume until fall at the earliest.
“Until we have revenues to where we can bring back staff from furloughs, we don’t have any capacity to engage the public as a tax-funded entity,” Smith said.
Tim Thompson, a consultant for the project, acknowledged all partners need to make sure their affairs are in order.
“The city of Tacoma is rightfully concentrating on its response to COVID-19,” Thompson said. “We’ll revisit all the assumptions when the dust clears.”
Thompson remains optimistic and said the project could help provide jobs and economic stimulation as the city pulls itself out of the pandemic.
“We’re still very committed to seeing this project through to its conclusion,” he said. “... It’ll have to be done in a different time frame.”
This story was originally published April 24, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
