Seattle Families for Indoor Sports

Arena is a strong and trusted partner for Seattle Parks. Arena Sports has been a valued partner at Magnuson Park for almost 10 years. There are over 20,300 users making over 300,000 visits per year at Hangar 2. Team enrollment and child development enrollment has doubled in the last 5 years and continues to grow. The facility is in use 18 hours per day, 362 days per year. The annual hours of use are nearly double that of Seattle Community Centers citywide, and users live all over the City of Seattle.

Indoor family sports are at risk if the City Council does not approve this proposal. Hangar 27 is currently in severely dilapidated condition, and stands vacant because of safety concerns. Similarly, Building 2, where Arena Sports currently operates, is under the threat of imminent closure because of its own poor condition. If Building 2 is closed and the City does not approve the proposal for Hangar 27, Arena Sports has no other option. Privately available spaces do not have the capacity to absorb the huge and growing number of players, and the sense of community that has grown around the family-friendly leagues at Arena Sports cannot be transplanted arbitrarily.

The Arena Sports deal is a fair one for the City. Arena has offered to invest $6 million to renovate Hangar 27 at no cost to the taxpayer. To accomplish a similar renovation would require over $10 million of public funds. In addition, Arena would pay annual rent, including a percentage of its gross receipts on commercial events, and guarantee over $100,000 in free programs, at least 30 scholarships per year, and $25,000 in reduced price programs. This money gives the Seattle Parks program the ability to invest in the renovation of other buildings at Magnuson, and create other successful partnerships with community groups.

The Partnership does not “privatize” the park. Family sports programs at Arena Sports are open to the public, just like programs at Community Centers. The partnership also is not “exclusive” - Arena has committed to working with other users to host events, sales, and other uses of the space. If the Park changes its mind about the use of the space, the City can opt out of the partnership after 10 years, and every five years after that. By contrast, without this partnership, Hangar 27 will stand vacant and continue to decay.

The Arena Sports proposal helps other users at Magnuson Park. In 2007, Hangar 27 was closed after the city’s determination that the building was unsafe. Groups that formerly held events in Hangar 27 have all successfully relocated to safe, appropriate, available spaces. But for groups who seek additional flexible space at Magnuson Park, the Arena Sports proposal is the best bet for increasing publicly available flexible space – by providing yearly revenue that can and should be put into renovating Building 2, Building 30, or other space that can host a variety of events. In addition, Arena Sports has stated that it is committed to hosting events sponsored by other groups who wish to use Hangar 27 for compatible events, as available.

More field space; more sports; better atmosphere. The new facility will have two indoor soccer arenas with the best infill turf available on the market, as well as a 22,500 square foot open training field with two outdoor sized goal areas, a baseball infield and outfield (225 ft. to center field), a hard-court surface for basketball and volleyball, and a 20,000 square foot fitness center with programs for the whole family. The facility will also have food service and a pro shop, full service locker rooms and restrooms. The improvements will respect the building’s historical legacy, while ensuring a safe, code- compliant space through the addition of sprinklers and seismic upgrades as well as extra exits and restrooms.

Proposed layout