Memorial Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
,
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, used mostly for American football, ultimate and soccer, located in the northeast corner of the
Seattle Center
Seattle Center is an arts, educational, tourism and entertainment center in Seattle, Washington, United States. Spanning an area of 74 acres (30 ha), it was originally built for the 1962 World's Fair. Its landmark feature is the tall Space Needl ...
grounds. It has a
seating capacity
Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...
of 12,000; this was temporarily expanded to 17,000 during 1974–75, while the
Seattle Sounders
Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...
, of the
North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to:
*North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league
*North American Soccer League (2011–2017)
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...
, played at Memorial Stadium, before moving to the newly constructed
Kingdome
The Kingdome (officially the King County Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Industrial District, Seattle, Industrial District (later SoDo, Seattle, SoDo) neighborhood of Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. O ...
. Similarly, an
A-League
A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...
reincarnation of the Sounders franchise played at Memorial Stadium, before moving to
Lumen Field
Lumen Field is a multi-purpose stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. Located in the city's SoDo neighborhood, it is the home field for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL), the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL, the ...
. It currently hosts
Seattle School District
Seattle Public Schools is the largest public school district in the state of Washington. The school district serves almost all of Seattle. Additionally it includes sections of Boulevard Park and Tukwila. As of 2018, 113 schools are operated by ...
high school football games and adult recreational leagues, and is the home field for the
Seattle Cascades
The Seattle Cascades were a charter franchise of World TeamTennis, World Team Tennis (WTT). The team first played as the Hawaii Leis in the league's inaugural 1974 World Team Tennis season, 1974 season, before becoming the Sea-Port Cascades for t ...
of the
American Ultimate Disc League
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
.
History
The stadium was designed by Seattle architect George W. Stoddard, also known for his work on the
Green Lake Aqua Theater
The Green Lake Aqua Theater was an outdoor theater located at Green Lake in Seattle, Washington.Louis FisetAqua Theatre -- Seattle HistoryLink, April 25, 1999. Accessed online 2009-12-12.
The Aqua Theater was built in 1950 for the first Seafai ...
and the south stands of
Husky Stadium
Husky Stadium (officially Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is an outdoor football stadium in the northwest United States, located on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. It h ...
. The stadium opened on September 26, 1947, during a "jamboree" featuring eight of the city's high school football teams. Memorial Stadium was dedicated later that year in memory of the Seattle youth who gave their lives in World War II. A memorial wall at the east end is inscribed with the names of over 700 fallen individuals. The following year, the stadium hosted first widespread local television broadcast in the Puget Sound region, the Turkey Day high school football game between
West Seattle
West Seattle is a conglomeration of neighborhoods in Seattle, Washington, United States. It comprises two of the thirteen districts, Delridge and Southwest, and encompasses all of Seattle west of the Duwamish River. It was incorporated as an i ...
and
Wenatchee
Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and largest city of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and was estimated to have increased to 34,360 as of 2019. Located in the north-central part ...
.
The stadium was the venue for much of the opening ceremonies for the
Century 21 Exposition
The Century 21 Exposition (also known as the Seattle World's Fair) was a world's fair held April 21, 1962, to October 21, 1962, in Seattle, Washington, United States.[World's Fair
A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...]
held in Seattle in 1962. In 1967, it became the first high school stadium in the country to install
artificial turf
Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commer ...
.
In 1992, the scoreboard was replaced and the field was rededicated as "Leon H. Brigham Field", in tribute to the long-time high school football coach who pushed to build Memorial Stadium while serving as the Seattle School District's first Director of Athletics. The scoreboard was again replaced in 2018.
In 2017, the Seattle School District and the city of Seattle announced plans to build a new high school and stadium at Seattle Center in response to major population growth in downtown Seattle. While no timetable has been set for construction, and no site has yet been chosen, the current Memorial Stadium site was seen as a likely location for the new project because the city and school district had agreed in 2009 that the current stadium should be torn down. In October 2018, a design studio leaked renderings of a
soccer-specific stadium
Soccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States and Canada to refer to a sports stadium either purpose-built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multi-pu ...
on the site of Memorial Stadium that was commissioned for a feasibility study.
Tenants
The facility is not operated by the Seattle Center itself, but is owned by the Seattle School District and still serves as the "home field" for some high school football games played within the district. Memorial Stadium also hosted the first AAA (now 4A) state championship game for
high school football
High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...
in 1973, the first year of the state playoff system. The top-ranked Wenatchee Panthers were upset by the
Kentridge Chargers, 26–24. Entering the title game, Wenatchee had given up just seven points all season and had been the top team in the state polls for four years.
As well as hosting two iterations of the Sounders franchise, Memorial Stadium has served as home to several other pro and semi-pro sports teams. The
Seattle Majestics
The Seattle Majestics are a women's American football team based in Seattle, Washington. The Seattle Majestics play in the WNFC. Home games are played at French Field on the campus of Kent Meridian High School in Kent, Washington.
The tea ...
, a
women's American football
Women's gridiron football, more commonly known as women's tackle football, women's American football, women's Canadian football, or simply women's football, is a form of gridiron football (American or Canadian) played by women. Most leagues play ...
team, played home games at Memorial Stadium from 2007 to 2009 before moving to
French Field in nearby Kent. Seattle Reign FC, now known as
OL Reign
OL Reign is an American professional Women's association football, women's soccer team based in Seattle, Washington. Founded by Bill and Teresa Predmore in 2012 as Seattle Reign FC, it was one of eight inaugural members of the National Women's S ...
, of the
National Women's Soccer League
The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federatio ...
moved to the stadium in 2014 and played with a capacity limited to 6,000 for several seasons. They announced their move to
Tacoma in January 2019.
As of 2015, the AUDL's Seattle Cascades use the stadium for the majority of their home games. In addition, the stadium hosts adult recreational league soccer and flag football.
Memorial Stadium serves as the finish for the Amica Insurance
Seattle Marathon.
The stadium is also used periodically for concerts, particularly in connection with festivals held at the Center, like
Bumbershoot
Bumbershoot is an annual international music and arts festival held in Seattle, Washington. One of North America's largest such festivals, it takes place every Labor Day weekend (leading up to and including the first Monday of September) at the ...
.
Seattle Center, schools reach pact to tear down Memorial Stadium
' – The Seattle – November 25, 2009
References
External links
Seattle Center: Memorial Stadium
{{National Women's Soccer League stadiums
Seattle Sounders (1974–1983)
High school football venues in the United States
Sports venues in Seattle
Seattle Center
Soccer venues in Washington (state)
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) stadiums
National Women's Soccer League stadiums
OL Reign
Seattle Public Schools
Ultimate (sport) venues