Stadium station is a
light rail station located 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 on ...
. It is situated between the
SODO
Sodo ( am, ሶዶ) or Wolaita Sodo ( am, ወላይታ ሶዶ) or ( Wolaytatto: ''Wolayta Sodo Ambbaa'') is a city in south-central Ethiopia. The administrative center of the Wolaita Zone. It has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation bet ...
and
International District/Chinatown stations on the
1 Line, part of
Sound Transit
Sound Transit (ST), officially the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, is a public transit agency serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It operates the Link light rail system in Seattle and Tacoma, r ...
's
Link light rail
Link light rail is a light rail rapid transit system serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is managed by Sound Transit in partnership with local transit providers, and consists of two non-connected lines: t ...
system. The station consists of an at-grade
island platform
An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...
at the intersection of the SODO Busway and South Royal Brougham Way in the
SODO neighborhood of Seattle, adjacent 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 ...
and
T-Mobile Park
T-Mobile Park is a retractable roof stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners and has a seating capacity of 47,929. It is in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood, near the western t ...
.
Stadium station was proposed in 1998 as part of the segment between the
Downtown Seattle
Downtown is the central business district of Seattle, Washington. It is fairly compact compared with other city centers on the U.S. West Coast due to its geographical situation, being hemmed in on the north and east by hills, on the west by ...
and
Beacon Hill tunnels and subsequently
deferred months later. It was reinstated in 2005 and construction of the station was completed in May 2006, several years before Link light rail service began on July 18, 2009. Trains serve the station twenty hours a day on most days; the
headway
Headway is the distance or duration between vehicles in a transit system measured in space or time. The ''minimum headway'' is the shortest such distance or time achievable by a system without a reduction in the speed of vehicles. The precise defi ...
between trains is six minutes during peak periods, with less frequent service at other times. Stadium station is also served by several
Sound Transit Express
Sound Transit Express (ST Express) is a network of regional express buses, operated by the multi-county transit agency, Sound Transit. The routes connect major regional hubs throughout 53 cities in three counties (King, Pierce, and Snohomish) in ...
and
King County Metro
King County Metro, officially the King County Metro Transit Department and often shortened to Metro, is the public transit authority of King County, Washington, which includes the city of Seattle. It is the eighth-largest transit bus agency in t ...
buses that stop on the
SODO Busway
The SODO Busway, also referred to as the E-3 Busway, is a busway in the SoDo neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. It has four stops, including two that connect to Link light rail stations, and functions as an extension of the Downtown Seattl ...
west of the platform, as well as the Seattle
Greyhound
The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurge ...
station east of the platform.
Location
Stadium station is situated at the intersection of the SODO Busway and Royal Brougham Way, under the ramps of
Interstate 90
Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...
, in the
SODO neighborhood of
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 ...
. The station is adjacent to a
King County Metro
King County Metro, officially the King County Metro Transit Department and often shortened to Metro, is the public transit authority of King County, Washington, which includes the city of Seattle. It is the eighth-largest transit bus agency in t ...
employee
parking garage
A multistorey car park (British and Singapore English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistory, parking building, parking structure, parkade (mainly Canadian), parking ramp, parking deck or indoor parking, is a build ...
, which includes a pedestrian bridge over the platform to the Metro Ryerson Base, and the Seattle
Greyhound
The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurge ...
bus station
A bus station or a bus interchange is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. While the term bus depot can also be used to refer to a bus station, it generally refers to a bus garage. A bus station is l ...
. The area surrounding Stadium station contains a mixture of
light industrial
Light industry are industries that usually are less capital-intensive than heavy industry and are more consumer-oriented than business-oriented, as they typically produce smaller consumer goods. Most light industry products are produced for e ...
zoning, primarily home to the manufacturing and warehousing industry employing over 13,000 workers, with some retail uses.
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 ...
and
T-Mobile Park
T-Mobile Park is a retractable roof stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners and has a seating capacity of 47,929. It is in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood, near the western t ...
are located one block west of the station on the north and south sides of Royal Brougham Way, respectively.
The light rail line is paralleled to the east by a
mixed-use
Mixed-use is a kind of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning type that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions are to some ...
bicycle trail
A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. T ...
called the
SODO Trail, which connects Stadium station to
SODO station at South Lander Street. The
Seattle Department of Transportation
The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is a municipal government agency in Seattle, Washington that is responsible for the maintenance of the city's transportation systems, including roads, bridges, and public transportation. The agency ...
plans to extend the trail further south to Spokane Street, connecting it to a bike trail on the
Spokane Street Viaduct
The Spokane Street Viaduct is a freeway connecting the West Seattle Bridge to Interstate 5. It runs above South Spokane Street in the SoDo neighborhood of Seattle and is generally four to six lanes wide.
The viaduct was one of Seattle's first fre ...
, serving
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 ...
.
History
Stadium station was not part of the initial Link Light Rail route approved in 1996, but was created as part of "Route C1" added to
Central Link
The 1Line, formerly Central Link, is a light rail line in Seattle, Washington, United States, and part of Sound Transit's Link light rail system. It serves 19 stations in the cities of Seattle, SeaTac, and Tukwila, traveling nearly between ...
(now the 1 Line) by the
Sound Transit
Sound Transit (ST), officially the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, is a public transit agency serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It operates the Link light rail system in Seattle and Tacoma, r ...
Board in 1998. The routing included an
at-grade At-grade may refer to:
* At-grade intersection, a crossing between roads on the same level
* Road junction
*Level crossing, where a road or path crosses a railway on the same level
* Diamond crossing, where two railway tracks cross
* At-grade railwa ...
section parallel to the SODO Busway and a
tunnel under Beacon Hill, with stations at South Royal Brougham Way, South Lander Street and under
Beacon Hill. While "Route C1" was selected as the final Central Link route in 1999, the station at South Royal Brougham Way was
deferred, except for the construction of the
platform
Platform may refer to:
Technology
* Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run
* Platform game, a genre of video games
* Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models
* Weapons platform, a system or ...
and supports required for an
infill station
An infill station (sometimes in-fill station) is
a train station built on an existing passenger rail, rapid transit, or light rail line to address demand in a location between existing stations. Such stations take advantage of existing train serv ...
. The Sound Transit Board began studying the re-addition of a station at Royal Brougham Way in late 2004 and approved construction of the newly renamed Stadium station on January 13, 2005, using $3.7 million in surplus funds after bids for the construction of Link Light Rail were lower than budgeted.
Construction of Stadium station began with the laying of the first rails for Central Link, between Holgate and Lander streets, in August 2005. The station itself was built by
Kiewit Pacific in less than a year, with opening ceremonies for Stadium and SODO stations held on May 30, 2006, celebrating the completion of the first two Central Link stations.
Light rail testing on the , at-grade SoDo segment began in March 2007, and ended in February 2008. Regular Link service from
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 ...
to
Tukwila began on July 18, 2009, including the use of its
pocket track
A pocket track, tail track, or reversing siding (UK: centre siding , turnback siding) is a rail track layout which allows trains to park off the main line. This type of track layout differs from a passing loop in that the pocket track is usually ...
to store extra trains serving a sellout
friendly match
An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...
between the
Seattle Sounders
Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club w ...
and
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
at Qwest Field.
Station layout
Stadium station consists of a single ,
at-grade At-grade may refer to:
* At-grade intersection, a crossing between roads on the same level
* Road junction
*Level crossing, where a road or path crosses a railway on the same level
* Diamond crossing, where two railway tracks cross
* At-grade railwa ...
island platform
An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...
accessible via an entrance at its north end, from South Royal Brougham Way. The platform itself has a width of to accommodate event crowds at Lumen Field (formerly CenturyLink Field) and T-Mobile Park (formerly Safeco Field). A
pocket track
A pocket track, tail track, or reversing siding (UK: centre siding , turnback siding) is a rail track layout which allows trains to park off the main line. This type of track layout differs from a passing loop in that the pocket track is usually ...
located south of the station was built to store extra trains that are deployed after major sporting events.
The station's
pictogram
A pictogram, also called a pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto, and in computer usage an icon, is a graphic symbol that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and ...
is a depiction of the
Olympic Torch
The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olympic ...
, a representation of sporting culture. It was created by Christian French as part of the ''Stellar Connections'' series and its points represent nearby destinations, including the two stadiums.
Services
![Sound Transit Stadium Station](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Sound_Transit_Stadium_Station.jpg)
Stadium station is part of Sound Transit's 1 Line, which runs from
Seattle–Tacoma International Airport
Seattle–Tacoma International Airport , branded as SEA Airport and also referred to as Sea–Tac (), is the primary commercial airport serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is in the city of SeaTac, which ...
through the
Rainier Valley,
Downtown Seattle
Downtown is the central business district of Seattle, Washington. It is fairly compact compared with other city centers on the U.S. West Coast due to its geographical situation, being hemmed in on the north and east by hills, on the west by ...
, and the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
campus to
Northgate. It is the tenth northbound station from
Angle Lake and ninth southbound station from
Northgate; it is situated between
SODO
Sodo ( am, ሶዶ) or Wolaita Sodo ( am, ወላይታ ሶዶ) or ( Wolaytatto: ''Wolayta Sodo Ambbaa'') is a city in south-central Ethiopia. The administrative center of the Wolaita Zone. It has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation bet ...
and
International District/Chinatown stations. Trains serve Stadium station twenty hours a day on weekdays and Saturdays, from 5:00 am to 1:00 am, and eighteen hours on Sundays, from 6:00 am to 12:00 am; during regular weekday service, trains operate roughly every eight to ten minutes during
rush hour
A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour (Australian English) is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice every weekday: on ...
and midday operation, respectively, with longer
headway
Headway is the distance or duration between vehicles in a transit system measured in space or time. The ''minimum headway'' is the shortest such distance or time achievable by a system without a reduction in the speed of vehicles. The precise defi ...
s of fifteen minutes in the early morning and twenty minutes at night. During weekends, trains arrive at Stadium station every ten minutes during midday hours and every fifteen minutes during mornings and evenings. The station is approximately 29 minutes from
SeaTac/Airport station and nine minutes from
Westlake station in Downtown Seattle. In 2019, an average of 1,613 passengers boarded Link trains at Stadium station on weekdays.
Stadium station is also served by several bus routes on the
SODO Busway
The SODO Busway, also referred to as the E-3 Busway, is a busway in the SoDo neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. It has four stops, including two that connect to Link light rail stations, and functions as an extension of the Downtown Seattl ...
, which runs parallel to the 1 Line, at a pair of
bus stop
A bus stop is a place where buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelters, seating, and possibly electronic passenger ...
s west of the station platform at Royal Brougham Way. Three
Sound Transit Express
Sound Transit Express (ST Express) is a network of regional express buses, operated by the multi-county transit agency, Sound Transit. The routes connect major regional hubs throughout 53 cities in three counties (King, Pierce, and Snohomish) in ...
routes stop at the station on their way to
Tacoma,
Lakewood, and
Gig Harbor
Gig Harbor is the name of both a bay on Puget Sound and a city on its shore in Pierce County, Washington,. The population was 12,029 at the 2020 census.
Gig Harbor is one of several cities and towns that claim to be "the gateway to the Olympic ...
.
King County Metro
King County Metro, officially the King County Metro Transit Department and often shortened to Metro, is the public transit authority of King County, Washington, which includes the city of Seattle. It is the eighth-largest transit bus agency in t ...
operates two all-day routes through the SODO Busway that serve
Renton,
Tukwila, and
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
. Metro also runs four
peak-direction routes through the SODO Busway towards Renton,
Fairwood,
Federal Way
Federal Way is a city in King County, Washington, United States. One of the most recently incorporated cities in the county, its population was 101,030 at the 2020 census. Federal Way is the tenth-largest city in Washington and the fifth-larges ...
, and Redondo Heights.
Several
"night owl" buses also stop the station and connect with the first southbound light rail departure of the service day. In addition to regular bus service, Metro also runs the
Route 97 Link Shuttle, a shuttle service serving Link stations along surface streets during Link service disruptions.
References
External links
Sound Transit Rider Guide
{{Sound Transit railway stations, Central=y, state=collapsed
2009 establishments in Washington (state)
Link light rail stations in Seattle
Railway stations in the United States opened in 2009
SoDo, Seattle