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Lumen Field is a
multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy tha ...
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 ...
, United States. Located in the city's
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 ...
neighborhood, it is the home field for the Seattle Seahawks of the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL), the
Seattle Sea Dragons The Seattle Sea Dragons (formerly known as the Seattle Dragons) are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. The team is a franchise of the new XFL and plays its home games at Lumen Field in Seattle. Originally founde ...
of the
XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...
, the Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer (MLS), and
OL Reign OL Reign is an American professional 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 Soccer League (NWSL). In 2020, ...
of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Originally called Seahawks Stadium, it was renamed Qwest Field in June 2004 when telecommunications carrier
Qwest Qwest Communications International, Inc. was a United States telecommunications carrier. Qwest provided local service in 14 western and midwestern U.S. states: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dako ...
acquired the naming rights. The stadium became known as CenturyLink Field following Qwest's June 2011 acquisition by
CenturyLink Lumen Technologies, Inc. (formerly CenturyLink) is an American telecommunications company headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana, that offers communications, network services, security, cloud solutions, voice, and managed services. The company is ...
and was nicknamed "The Clink" as a result; it received its current name in November 2020 with CenturyLink's rebrand to
Lumen Technologies Lumen Technologies, Inc. (formerly CenturyLink) is an American telecommunications company headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana, that offers communications, network services, security, cloud solutions, voice, and managed services. The company is a ...
. It is a modern facility with views of the Downtown Seattle skyline and a seating capacity of 68,740 spectators for NFL games and 37,722 for most MLS matches. The complex also includes the Event Center which is home to the Washington Music Theater (WaMu Theater), a parking garage, and a public plaza. The venue hosts concerts, trade shows, and consumer shows along with sporting events. Located within a mile (1.6 km) of Downtown Seattle, the stadium is accessible by multiple freeways and forms of mass transit. The stadium was built between 2000 and 2002 on the site of the Kingdome after voters approved funding for the construction in a statewide election held in June 1997. This vote created the Washington State Public Stadium Authority to oversee public ownership of the venue. The owner of the Seahawks,
Paul Allen Paul Gardner Allen (January 21, 1953 – October 15, 2018) was an American business magnate, computer programmer, researcher, investor, and philanthropist. He co-founded Microsoft Corporation with childhood friend Bill Gates in 1975, which ...
, formed First & Goal Inc. to develop and operate the new facilities. Allen was closely involved in the design process and emphasized the importance of an open-air venue with an intimate atmosphere. Seahawks fans at Lumen Field have twice claimed the Guinness World Record for loudest crowd roar at an outdoor stadium, first at 136.6 decibels in 2013, followed by a measurement of 137.6 decibels in 2014. The crowd's notorious noise has also contributed to the team's
home field advantage In team sports, the term home advantage – also called home ground, home field, home-field advantage, home court, home-court advantage, defender's advantage or home-ice advantage – describes the benefit that the home team is said to ga ...
with an increase in
false start In sports, a false start is a disallowed start, usually due to a movement by a participant before (or in some cases after) being signaled or otherwise permitted by the rules to start. Depending on the sport and the event, a false start can result ...
(movement by an offensive player prior to the play) and
delay of game Delay of game is an action in a sports game in which a player or team deliberately stalls the game, usually with the intention of using the delay to its advantage. In some sports, the delay of game is considered an infraction if it is longer than ...
(failure of the offense to snap the ball prior to the play clock expiring) penalties against visiting teams. The stadium was the first in the NFL to install a FieldTurf artificial surface. Numerous college and high school football games have also been played at the stadium, including the 2011
Apple Cup The Apple Cup is an American college football rivalry game between the University of Washington Huskies and Washington State University Cougars, the two largest universities in the state of Washington. Both are members of the North Division of th ...
and all
Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-1 ...
home games during the renovation of Husky Stadium in 2012. The
XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...
's
Seattle Dragons The Seattle Sea Dragons (formerly known as the Seattle Dragons) are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. The team is a franchise of the new XFL (2020), XFL and plays its home games at Lumen Field in Seattle. Origin ...
began playing at Lumen Field in 2020 and are scheduled to return in 2023 as the Sea Dragons. Lumen Field is also designed for soccer. The first sporting event held included a United Soccer Leagues (USL)
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 ...
match. The USL team began using the stadium regularly for home games in 2003. The MLS expansion team, Seattle Sounders FC, began its inaugural season in 2009 at the stadium. Lumen Field was the site of the
MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conferen ...
in 2009 and
2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
. The venue also hosted the 2010 and 2011 tournament finals for the U.S. Open Cup as well as the second leg of the
2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...
tournament final for the CONCACAF Champions League; the Sounders won all three finals, with new tournament attendance records set for each final (or leg) hosted at Lumen Field. In August 2013, the Sounders broke a new home field attendance record when 67,385 fans turned out to watch them play the Portland Timbers. The stadium hosted several
CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup ( es, Copa de Oro de la CONCACAF, french: Coupe D'or CONCACAF) is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North Ameri ...
matches across multiple editions, and the
Copa América Centenario The Copa América Centenario ( pt, Copa América Centenário, french: Coupe Amerique Centennaire, en, Centennial Cup America; literally ''Centennial America Cup'') was an international men's association football tournament that was hosted by the ...
in 2016. It will also host matches during the
2026 FIFA World Cup The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international men's soccer championship contested by the national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament will be jointly hosted by 16 cities in three ...
, which was awarded to the United States, Canada, and Mexico.


Funding

The Seahawks played their home games at the Kingdome from their 1976 inaugural season until
1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
, sharing the stadium with
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
's
Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...
and the
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
's
Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...
. In 1995 a proposal was made to issue
county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
bonds to fund a remodeling project of the facility. The proposal failed, and as a result, Seahawks' owner
Ken Behring Kenneth Eugene Behring (June 13, 1928 – June 25, 2019) was an American real estate developer, and former owner of the National Football League's Seattle Seahawks. Early years Born in Freeport, Illinois, Behring was the son of Mae (Priewe) and El ...
threatened to sell or move the team (likely to Los Angeles). In 1997 local billionaire Paul Allen pledged to acquire the team if a new stadium could be built and said that the team could not be profitable until they left the Kingdome. He asked the state legislature to hold a special statewide
referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
on a proposal to finance a new stadium. Allen also agreed to cover any cost overruns. With Allen agreeing to pay the $4 million cost, the legislature agreed. The vote was scheduled to be held in June 1997 but in May a Seattle resident filed a lawsuit that claimed the legislature did not have authority to call for such a vote, since it would be paid for by a private party who could gain from the result. The case was delayed until after the vote. The proposal was pitched to voters as providing both a new home for the Seahawks and a venue for top-level soccer. It passed on June 17, 1997, with 820,364 (51.1%) in favor and 783,584 against. The vote was close in Seattle, but it received 60% approval in Seattle's northern and eastern suburbs. The public funding was unpopular farther away in the eastern portion of the state. In October, a Thurston County Superior Court judge ruled that the legislature acted properly and in the public's interest, and he dismissed the pending lawsuit. The
Washington Supreme Court The Washington Supreme Court is the highest court in the judiciary of the U.S. state of Washington. The court is composed of a chief justice and eight associate justices. Members of the court are elected to six-year terms. Justices must retir ...
upheld the decision that December. Voter approval of the referendum created a public–private partnership. The Washington State Public Stadium Authority was created to oversee public ownership of the stadium, exhibition center, and parking garage complex. Allen purchased the Seahawks and formed First & Goal Inc. to build and operate the facility. The budget for the project was $430 million. Of this cost, $44 million was allotted to build the Event Center, $26 million for the parking garage, and $360 million for the stadium. First & Goal was to cover cost overruns and pay up to $130 million of the project while the contribution from the public was capped at $300 million. The public funding package included new sports-related state lottery games, taxes on the facility's admissions and parking, sales tax credits and deferrals, and an eight-year extension of the 2% tax on hotel rooms in King County. The taxes on admissions and parking were set below the authorized 10% to preserve the
tax-exempt Tax exemption is the reduction or removal of a liability to make a compulsory payment that would otherwise be imposed by a ruling power upon persons, property, income, or transactions. Tax-exempt status may provide complete relief from taxes, redu ...
status of the project's bonds, but the percentage was increased to the full amount when the bonds were completely paid in 2021. Since then, they have served as dedicated funding sources for maintenance and modernization of the facilities. In September 1998, First & Goal signed a 30-year stadium lease that includes options to extend for another 20. Per the agreement, the Public Stadium Authority receives $850,000 a year from First and Goal (adjusted for inflation), and First & Goal keeps all revenue from the stadium and parking garage. The company receives 80% of the revenue from the exhibition center while the other 20 percent is allotted to a state education fund. First & Goal is responsible for all operating and maintenance costs, expected to be $6 million a year, and must keep the facility in "first-class" condition. Other details of the lease include the availability of affordable seats, a coordinated effort with neighboring
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 ...
(the Mariners' current ballpark) to prevent
gridlock Gridlock is a form of traffic congestion where "continuous queues of vehicles block an entire network of intersecting streets, bringing traffic in all directions to a complete standstill". The term originates from a situation possible in a gr ...
, a provision for naming rights, the investment in public art at the stadium, and the giveaway of a
luxury suite The luxury box (or skybox) and club seating constitute the most exclusive class of seating in arenas and stadiums, and generate much higher revenues than regular seating. Club ticketholders often receive exclusive access to an indoor part of th ...
to a fan each Seahawks' game.


Construction and layout

The architectural firm
Ellerbe Becket Ellerbe Becket was an independent Minneapolis, Minnesota-based architectural, engineering, interior design and construction firm until 2009, when it was acquired by AECOM. AECOM is ranked as one of the world's largest architectural firms, with o ...
, in association with Loschky Marquardt & Nesholm Architects of Seattle, designed the project. Allen was closely involved during the design process. While growing up he attended games at the University of Washington's outdoor Husky Stadium. His goal was to create a similar experience and atmosphere at the new venue. The exhibition center portion of the project was designed over a period of 14 months by Loschky Marquardt & Nesholm Architects while First & Goal managed the construction. Town meetings were held to discuss the impact on the public, and the company created a $6 million mitigation fund for nearby neighborhoods. In accordance with a program established by the building team, contracts totaling $81 million were awarded to minority- and women-owned businesses. Union
apprentices Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...
made up 19% of the workforce through another program with local trade unions. Construction of the new exhibition center and parking garage was set to commence on September 19, 1998, but prolonged lease discussions between First & Goal and the Public Stadium Authority delayed the official
groundbreaking Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are ...
to September 28. The exhibition center opened on October 30, 1999, and subsequently hosted its first event on November 4. On March 26, 2000, to make way for the stadium, the Kingdome was demolished in the world's largest implosion of a single concrete structure. Almost all of the Kingdome rubble was recycled with roughly half used for the new stadium. The designers were challenged by the soft soil at the site since it was a
tidal marsh A tidal marsh (also known as a type of "tidal wetland") is a marsh found along rivers, coasts and estuaries which floods and drains by the tidal movement of the adjacent estuary, sea or ocean. Tidal marshes are commonly zoned into lower marshes ( ...
until public works projects in the early 20th century adjusted the waterline of nearby
Elliott Bay Elliott Bay is a part of the Central Basin region of Puget Sound. It is in the U.S. state of Washington, extending southeastward between West Point in the north and Alki Point in the south. Seattle was founded on this body of water in the 1850s ...
. The top layer is a soft fill taken from the grading projects that had leveled portions of Seattle's hills. To account for the soft soil, the complex sits on over 2,200 pilings driven below the ground to form what is essentially a pier for the foundation. Eight individually connected sections were built to account for the soil concerns, temperature effects, and the potential for earthquakes. The adjoining exhibition center and parking garage are separate structures and are not part of the eight-section stadium. The site of Lumen Field is the smallest of those developed for new NFL stadiums, at . The upper levels were
cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cant ...
ed over the lower sections to fit within the limited space. Along with the angle of seats and the placement of the lower sections closer to the field, this provided a better view of the field than typically seen throughout the country and allowed for a 67,000-seat capacity. Space is available to increase the total capacity to 72,000 for special events. Included in the capacity are 111 suites and over 7,000 club seats. The stadium has 1,400 seats for those with disabilities and their companions located in various sections. In 2009, Qwest Field ranked 21st out of the 31 stadiums in the NFL for total
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 ...
. The configuration of Lumen Field is a U-shape with an open north end to provide views of downtown Seattle and the large north plaza. The large
retractable roof A retractable roof is a roof system designed to roll back the roof of a structure so that the interior of the facility is open to the outdoors. Retractable roofs are sometimes referred to as operable roofs or retractable skylights. The term op ...
of
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 ...
along with Mount Rainier to the southeast can be seen from the partially open south end. The stadium's
concourse A concourse is a place where pathways or roads meet, such as in a hotel, a convention center, a railway station, an airport terminal, a hall, or other space. The term is not limited to places where there are literally pathways or roadways or tr ...
s were built to be wide, and they provide additional views of the surrounding area. A 13-story tower was erected at the north end of the stadium that visually complements the Seattle skyline. The tower features a vertically oriented
scoreboard A scoreboard is a large board for publicly displaying the score in a game. Most levels of sport from high school and above use at least one scoreboard for keeping score, measuring time, and displaying statistics. Scoreboards in the past used ...
which is the first of its kind in the NFL. At the base is bleacher seating for 3,000 called the "Hawks' Nest". Another addition not previously seen in the NFL are field-level luxury suites located directly behind the north end zone. Allen rejected plans for a retractable roof during the early stages of the stadium's design. The lack of a retractable roof made it open to the elements, provided better views, and reduced the total cost of the project. The roof, at 200,000 sq ft (19,000 m2), covers 70% of the seats but leaves the field open. The roof spans between concrete pylon supports at the north and south ends of the stadium. Its two expansive sections are held from below by
truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembl ...
es. From above, two arches with additional supports rise over the field. Post-tensioned cables were used to achieve its final shape and positioning. To minimize damage in the event of an earthquake, the roof has a friction pendulum damper system. This disconnects the roof from the support pylons so that it can move independently of the structure. The technology had never been applied to a large-scale roof before Lumen Field. A 6.8-magnitude
earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...
struck the Seattle area during construction. The structure responded as expected by the designers, and there was minimal damage. The project was completed on budget and a month ahead of schedule. The roof was originally painted white to aesthetically distinguish it from both T-Mobile Park and the nearby industrial area. The east side of the stadium has a large glass curtain wall that faces the nearby International District. The exterior of the stadium also consists of salmon-colored concrete, and the west side of the structure is partially clad with red brick. The coloring and facade were designed so the stadium would blend with the older buildings in neighboring Pioneer Square. To reduce costs, the exterior was not completed with brick or ornate steel work. Following the 2020 renaming of the stadium, the roof was repainted blue with white letters that are lit with of
light-emitting diode A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (co ...
s. In 2015, the stadium was expanded with the addition of the Toyota Fan Deck including a new 12 Flag raising platform. This expansion was privately funded by the Seahawks and the 1,000 additional seats were made available to purchase by current season ticket holders the Blue Pride waiting list for season tickets. The additional seating pushed the capacity of the stadium to 68,740. The stadium also has additional seats that can be deployed for special events, bringing the maximum capacity to 72,000.


Surface

The 1997 state referendum stated that the stadium would feature a natural grass surface, but FieldTurf was not an option when the stadium was originally presented to voters according to the Public Stadium Authority. Seahawks management reconsidered the playing surface after the Seahawks played on FieldTurf at Husky Stadium during the
2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
and 2001 seasons. Artificial turf was installed because it was easier to maintain than natural grass. The potential damage to a natural grass field caused by Seattle's frequent rain also made the surface an appealing option. In order to keep a grass surface robust under heavy football use during late fall and early winter rains, a $1.8 million irrigation and heating system would have been required. The coach of the Seahawks at the time,
Mike Holmgren Michael George Holmgren (born June 15, 1948) is a former American football coach and executive. He began his NFL career as a quarterbacks' coach and later as an offensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers, where they won Super Bowls XXI ...
, said that FieldTurf installation was the right decision and stated that "the players love it, and I think this surface will offer a better product on the field for the fans." Local soccer fans were concerned that the lack of a natural grass field would hinder Seattle's chances of receiving an MLS expansion franchise. They asserted that voters had approved the facility with the understanding that the new stadium was intended for soccer as well as football. In a compromise, First & Goal agreed to pay for grass to be installed for special events when needed. In 2002, Seahawks Stadium became the first stadium in the NFL to install a FieldTurf artificial field. The surface is made of plastic fibers rooted in a mixture of ground rubber and sand. The field was replaced in early 2008 after tests showed that compression of sand and rubber increased the risk of player injuries. For the second installation, FieldTurf won the bid over Polytan. For the replacement surface, a one-inch (two and one-half centimeters) poured rubber foundation was added to prevent the compression from reoccurring. Under the naming rights agreement, Qwest paid $500,000 for the installation and First & Goal paid the remaining amount, which was undisclosed. By 2010 the FieldTurf's quality had decreased with the blades becoming matted down. It also failed FIFA's quality testing to be ranked 2 Star. A new FieldTurf surface was laid down in 2012 and it met the requirements of a 2 Star field after testing. A new turf field, using the FieldTurf Revolution 360, was installed in February 2016 ahead of the 2016 Sounders season. There have been various opinions regarding both the artificial surface and temporary grass surfaces used for soccer matches. After the Brazilian national team defeated Canada's side 3–2 in 2008, Brazil's coach commented that one reason for his team's unexpectedly poor performance was the loosely installed grass field. The Grenada national team struggled to cope with the artificial surface during their loss at the
2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the tenth edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition, and the twentieth soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). It was played from July 3 to 26, 2009 in the United State ...
. In July 2009, the
U.S. Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...
chose
D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...
's RFK Stadium over Qwest Field for the U.S. Open Cup. The general manager of D.C. United speculated that RFK's grass field was one of the reasons his team had a stronger bid. The general manager of the Sounders,
Adrian Hanauer Adrian Hanauer (born February 7, 1966) is an American businessman and majority owner of Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer. He is also one of the minority owners of the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League, and a former minority o ...
, told ''The Seattle Times'' in 2010 that replacement of the surface was a continuing conversation between the Sounders and Allen's
Vulcan Inc. Vulcan LLC is a privately held company founded by the Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and his sister Jody Allen in 1986 to establish and oversee the family's diverse business activities and philanthropic endeavors. It includes Vulcan Real Estate ...
When the Los Angeles Galaxy traveled to Seattle in May 2012, the FieldTurf was noted as one of the reasons David Beckham and Robbie Keane were left out of the line-up. In 2014, the field was criticized during an ESPN broadcast after an
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
corporate event involving a game of
Quidditch Quidditch is a fictional sport invented by author J.K. Rowling for her fantasy book series ''Harry Potter''. It first appeared in the novel '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' (1997). It is a dangerous but popular sport played by wi ...
damaged the pitch before a Sounders match.
Zach Scott Zacharias Scott (born July 2, 1980) is a former American soccer player who last played as a defender for Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer. A one-club player, Scott now serves as a periodic contributor to local Sounders television br ...
expressed concerns over the same installation of the field and its effects on his body. The 10-year lease extension between Sounders FC and First & Goal announced in 2015 mandates new turf every four years or sooner; the first such new installation was in 2016. Between August and November, both the Seahawks and Sounders FC host games at Lumen Field. Each team has emphasized the importance of playing their games without the other team's painted lines on the field. Around 2003, at the Seahawks' request, local company EcoChemical developed for the field a new kind of paint that is "designed to fail". The new paint is relatively easy to remove with a power washer and a special chemical solution, a process that the company describes as environmentally friendly. With the new paint, converting the field between American football and soccer takes 14 hours in dry weather, though painting logos and other colors takes additional time. Despite various preparations, some Sounders matches—particularly in the playoffs—have had Seahawks logos and American football lines painted on the turf.


Football


Seahawks

Prior to the stadium opening in 2002, Allen and
Bob Whitsitt Bob Whitsitt is a former sports executive in both the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Football League (NFL). He has served as the general manager (or in an equivalent role) for three teams: the Seattle SuperSonics and Port ...
said that they hoped the new stadium would help turn the Seahawks into a Super Bowl contender and that Seattle would be considered to host the championship game. The seating is expandable to 72,000 for the purpose of holding the game, but the NFL typically does not consider cities with outdoor stadiums where the average temperature in February is below . The number of season tickets available at Qwest was capped at 61,000 following the Super Bowl appearance. The ensuing waiting list was the first for the Seahawks since the early 1990s. The team's first season at their new home was in 2002 (also their first season in the NFC since their inaugural season in
1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...
, between
1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...
and 2001, they were members of the AFC). Their first game at the new facility was a 28–10 preseason loss to the Indianapolis Colts on August 11, 2002. They went on to end their first season at the new field with a 7–9 record. In the 2003 season, the team went undefeated at home and reached the playoffs. It was the first time the franchise had won 10 games in a single season in 17 years. The Seahawks again reached the postseason during the 2004 season and played their first playoff game at Qwest Field on January 8, 2005. In that game, they lost to the
St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...
who had already defeated them twice that season. The following
season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...
, the Seahawks went undefeated at home for the second time in three years and won their first-ever NFC Championship, but lost in
Super Bowl XL Super Bowl XL was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion f ...
. Between 2002 and 2005, the Seahawks won 24 of their 32 regular season games at the stadium. In 2006, the Seahawks had a 9–7 record and hosted the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...
in the wild card round of the playoffs. The Seahawks trailed 20–13 with less than 7 minutes remaining but came back to win 21–20. In 2007, the team won seven of their eight home games and clinched their fourth consecutive
division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...
title. Qwest Field was again the site for their wild card game, and they defeated the
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
35–14. In
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, the Seahawks went 4–12 and had only two home wins. Holmgren left the organization after the season. When he was interviewed about memorable moments and the fans, he said that Qwest Field was "a remarkable place to compete in and to play professional football". He called a game at the stadium "an experience". In 2010, the Seahawks were the first NFL team with a losing record ever to win a division title in a season not shortened by a strike. Seattle earned its fifth consecutive home playoff victory with a 41–36 win over the
New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
. "God bless the voters," defensive tackle
Craig Terrill Craig Adam Terrill (born June 27, 1980) is a former National Football League (NFL) defensive tackle who played for the Seattle Seahawks. In 88 career games, Terrill had 103 combined tackles, with eight sacks, three fumble recoveries, and one to ...
said after the game in reference to the stadium's importance to the franchise. Under
Pete Carroll Peter Clay Carroll (born September 15, 1951) is an American football coach who is the head coach and executive vice president for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously the head football coach at USC from ...
, the Seahawks were undefeated at home during the 2012 season. Season tickets for 2013 sold-out with a franchise-record 98% renewal rate. Lumen Field often sells out for Seahawks games. Although the team struggled in 2008 and 2009, the team maintained its base of season ticket holders. Before the 2008 season, the 14,000 single game tickets not already allotted sold out less than 15 minutes after they became available. By the end of the 2009 season, the Seahawks had sold out 60 consecutive games. After going 9–23 over two seasons in 2008 and 2009, the number of available season tickets was increased to 62,000. The largest crowd to attend a Seahawks game at Lumen Field was 69,190, against the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
on November 20, 2016.


Home field advantage

Lumen Field has earned a reputation as one of the loudest stadiums in the NFL. It was, at one point in time, in the Guinness World Record books for being the loudest stadium in the world. The seating decks and partial roof, both trap and amplify exceptional amounts of noise and reflect it back onto the field. This noise possibly contributes to increased
false start In sports, a false start is a disallowed start, usually due to a movement by a participant before (or in some cases after) being signaled or otherwise permitted by the rules to start. Depending on the sport and the event, a false start can result ...
penalties since opposing offenses can miss audibles and the
snap count A snap (colloquially called a "hike", "snapback", or "pass from center") is the backward passing of the ball in gridiron football at the start of play from scrimmage. Action The ball begins on the ground with its long axis parallel to the sidel ...
, as well as
delay of game Delay of game is an action in a sports game in which a player or team deliberately stalls the game, usually with the intention of using the delay to its advantage. In some sports, the delay of game is considered an infraction if it is longer than ...
penalties due to the reduced efficiency of communicating plays to the offense. From 2002 through 2012, there have been 143 false-start penalties on visiting teams in Seattle, second only to the Minnesota Vikings. During that same time period, the Seahawks have accumulated a home win record of 59–29, with a simultaneous road record of 33–55. When
Tod Leiweke Tod Leiweke (born January 12, 1960, in St. Louis, Missouri) is an American sports executive who is currently part-owner, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Seattle Kraken. Career In the early 1980s, Leiweke was vice president of th ...
was hired as the Seahawks' new CEO in 2003, he had a large flagpole installed in the south end to fly the 12th Man Flag as a tribute to the team's 12th man. The organization had retired the number in 1984 to honor the 12th man. A local celebrity, sometimes a former Seahawk, raises the flag during the network television pre-game events. In 2005, the stadium gained national attention when the visiting New York Giants committed 11 false start penalties. Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren attributed the penalties to the enthusiasm and noise from the crowd. He dedicated the ball used to make the game-winning field goal to the fans, and it is now displayed at the stadium. The Giants' general manager, Ernie Accorsi, asked an NFL senior vice president whether the Seahawks had broadcast
artificial crowd noise Artificial crowd noise is pre-recorded audio that simulates the live sounds of spectators, particularly during sporting events. Sports teams have used artificial crowd noise to simulate stadium sounds during practices to acclimate themselves to ...
over the
public address system A public address system (or PA system) is an electronic system comprising microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and related equipment. It increases the apparent volume (loudness) of a human voice, musical instrument, or other acoustic sound sou ...
during this game. The NFL sent a memorandum early in the 2006 season about such complaints and sent officials to monitor two games. Holmgren denied the allegations, and the crowd responded by being even louder than usual when the Giants returned to Qwest Field. Since 2005 the Seahawks have tracked the number of false starts committed by visiting teams and display the statistic on a scoreboard to motivate the crowd. As of 2013, the stadium has had a league-high number of false starts since. In preparation for the 2005 NFC Championship Game at Qwest Field, the
Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...
practiced with the recorded sounds of jet engines in the background to prepare for the volume of the crowd.
Kickers Kickers is a youth brand created in 1970 in France that produces a wide range of footwear and clothing. Kickers was bought in 2007 by the Royer group. Kickers are primarily popular amongst British school children, with Kickers 'Lo' style shoe ...
experience further disadvantages when attempting field goals at Lumen Field. Both the stadium's proximity to Puget Sound and the open north end create winds that are challenging to gauge. Former Seahawks kicker Josh Brown adjusted to the winds, and he believed the moisture in the air caused trouble for others. On September 15, 2013, Seattle Seahawks fans successfully broke the
Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
for the loudest stadium in the world. The 131.9-decibel record occurred during the sack of
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
quarterback
Colin Kaepernick Colin Rand Kaepernick ( ; born November 3, 1987) is an American civil rights activist and football quarterback who is a free agent. He played six seasons for the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League (NFL). In 2016, he knelt du ...
in the first quarter. Fans then broke their new record during the third quarter of the same game when a level of 136.6 decibels was achieved during a goal line stand by the Seahawks defense. The record was broken by the crowd at Arrowhead Stadium on October 13, 2013, with a sound pressure level of 137.57 decibels. The record was later regained by the Seahawks fans on December 2, 2013 with 137.6 decibels against the
New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
, but lost once again to Arrowhead Stadium in a Monday Night Football game between the
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...
and New England Patriots on September 29, 2014, setting the record that still stands at 142.2 decibels.


XFL

The
Seattle Dragons The Seattle Sea Dragons (formerly known as the Seattle Dragons) are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. The team is a franchise of the new XFL (2020), XFL and plays its home games at Lumen Field in Seattle. Origin ...
(now the Sea Dragons) of the
XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...
played their only two home games at CenturyLink Field during the short-lived league's 2020 season. The team was among seven in the XFL to share its stadium with NFL teams and drew a league-record 29,172 fans at the home opener on February 15, 2020. The second game had 22,060 in attendance and the team was among the highest-drawing in the XFL before the league suspended operations in the wake of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. The renamed Sea Dragons will resume play in 2023 at Lumen Field.


College

Lumen Field has hosted several college football games. The hometown
Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-1 ...
played their 2005 season opener against the
Air Force Falcons The Air Force Falcons are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the United States Air Force Academy, located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The athletics department has 17 men's and 10 women's NCAA-sanctioned teams. The current athl ...
at the stadium in
Tyrone Willingham Lionel Tyrone Willingham (born December 30, 1953) is a former American football player and coach. He was the head coach at Stanford University (1995–2001), the University of Notre Dame (2002–2004), and the University of Washington (2005–2 ...
's first game as
head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
. In November 2011, the University of Washington began its $250 million renovation of Husky Stadium, so the Huskies and the
Washington State Cougars The Washington State Cougars (known informally as the Cougs) are the athletic teams that represent Washington State University. Located in Pullman, Washington, WSU is a member of the Pac-12 Conference in NCAA Division I. The athletic program com ...
played the
Apple Cup The Apple Cup is an American college football rivalry game between the University of Washington Huskies and Washington State University Cougars, the two largest universities in the state of Washington. Both are members of the North Division of th ...
at CenturyLink Field; the Huskies played their entire
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
home schedule there. From 2002 through
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
, the stadium hosted a
Washington State Cougars The Washington State Cougars (known informally as the Cougs) are the athletic teams that represent Washington State University. Located in Pullman, Washington, WSU is a member of the Pac-12 Conference in NCAA Division I. The athletic program com ...
' non-conference
home game In sports, home is the place and venue identified with a team sport. Most professional teams are named for, and marketed to, particular metropolitan areas; amateur teams may be drawn from a particular region, or from institutions such as sch ...
each season (except for 2010). This included the 86th "
Battle of the Palouse The Battle of the Palouse refers to an athletic rivalry in the northwest United States, between the Vandals of the University of Idaho and Cougars of Washington State University. The two land-grant universities are less than apart on the ...
" against the
Idaho Vandals The Idaho Vandals are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing the University of Idaho, located in Moscow. The Vandals compete at the NCAA Division I level as a member of the Big Sky Conference. The football team was an independent for th ...
in 2003. The attendance for the dozen Cougar games ranged from 30,927 to 63,588. CenturyLink Field is approximately from WSU, but closer to many alumni in the Seattle metro area. The university's athletic director said that an attendance of 50,000 was needed to make it worth moving the game from Martin Stadium in Pullman. The Cougars went 6–6 in their annual Seattle home game, which generated additional revenue that was invested in facilities for the football program while also increasing exposure to the western side of the state. In April 2009, it was proposed that the annual Apple Cup between the Seattle-based Huskies and the Pullman-based Cougars be hosted at CenturyLink Field for six years beginning in 2010. The two programs could not reach an agreement on how to divide tickets. Pullman's business community had expressed concerns that playing the game away from the
Palouse The Palouse ( ) is a distinct geographic region of the northwestern United States, encompassing parts of north central Idaho, southeastern Washington, and, by some definitions, parts of northeast Oregon. It is a major agricultural area, prima ...
would be detrimental to the local economy. Qwest Field hosted the second and final
Seattle Bowl The Seattle Bowl was a college football bowl game played in 2001 and 2002 between teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Pacific-10 Conference in Seattle. This bowl game was a continuation of the Oahu Bowl which had moved to Seattle ...
in late 2002, in which Wake Forest beat
Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
38–17. The inaugural
Seattle Bowl The Seattle Bowl was a college football bowl game played in 2001 and 2002 between teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Pacific-10 Conference in Seattle. This bowl game was a continuation of the Oahu Bowl which had moved to Seattle ...
was played a year earlier at Safeco Field, but the game was discontinued when organizers could not secure financing before 2003. Later attempts to revive the
Seattle Bowl The Seattle Bowl was a college football bowl game played in 2001 and 2002 between teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Pacific-10 Conference in Seattle. This bowl game was a continuation of the Oahu Bowl which had moved to Seattle ...
were unsuccessful. The Seattle Sports Commission is pushing for a proposal of a new bowl game. In 2008 a business plan was begun for a game in 2010 that would be a fundraiser for
Seattle Children's Hospital Seattle Children's, formerly Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center, formerly Children's Orthopedic Hospital, is a children's hospital in the Laurelhurst neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. The hospital specializes in the care of infa ...
. Lower division
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
teams have played at the stadium throughout the years. From 2003 to 2008, the Division II football teams from
Western Washington University Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, succeeding a pri ...
and
Central Washington University Central Washington University (CWU) is a public university in Ellensburg, Washington. Founded in 1891, the university consists of four divisions: the President's Division, Business and Financial Affairs, Operations, and Academic and Student Lif ...
met each year in a rivalry game called "The Battle in Seattle." Central won all but the 2004 game, and each meeting attracted more than 11,000. Western (of Bellingham) discontinued its football program after the
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
season, but Central (of
Ellensburg Ellensburg is a city in and the county seat of Kittitas County, Washington, United States. It is located just east of the Cascade Range near the junction of Interstate 90 and Interstate 82. The population was 18,666 at the 2020 census. and was ...
) agreed to continue the series with
Western Oregon University Western Oregon University (WOU) is a public university in Monmouth, Oregon. It was originally established in 1856 by Disciples of Christ pioneers as Monmouth University. Subsequent names included Oregon State Normal School, Oregon College of E ...
(of Monmouth) for games in 2009 and 2010. "Battle in Seattle VII" saw Central make a comeback to win 23–21 in front of 5,374. On October 31, 2009, the
Division I FCS The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic ...
Eastern Washington University Eagles played a home game in Seattle for the first time. Along with the goal of drawing alumni from the metropolitan area, the athletic directors from both Eastern Washington (of Cheney) and Washington State had expressed the importance of connecting with alumni at receptions and other events on the western side of the state. Billed as the "Showdown on the Sound", the game was a 47–10 victory over the
Portland State Vikings Portland State Vikings is the nickname of the NCAA-affiliated, intercollegiate athletic teams representing Portland State University of Portland, Oregon. The Vikings compete at the NCAA Division I level in basketball, soccer, volleyball, golf, t ...
. According to Eastern's athletic director, Qwest Field's rental was $50,000 for the day.


High school

Lumen Field has been used for high school football. The
Washington Interscholastic Activities Association The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) is the governing body of athletics and activities for secondary education schools in the state of Washington. As of February 2011, the private, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization consists ...
puts on the annual Emerald City Kickoff Classic at the stadium. The event is a season-opening series of games between some of the best teams in the state. The stadium features a meeting between one of the best teams in Washington and one of the best from another state in the "Best of the West" game. On September 4, 2004, Washington's Bellevue High School and California's De La Salle High School played in front of over 25,000, a state high school event attendance record. Bellevue ended De La Salle's national-record 151-game winning streak in a 39–20 win. On September 16, 2009, Bellevue defeated another highly regarded California school at Qwest Field in a 30–16 victory over Long Beach Polytechnic. ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...
'' had recently rated both teams highly with Long Beach third and Bellevue at 16th in the nation. After the organizer of the event announced a match-up between Washington's Skyline High School and Oregon's Jesuit High School in 2009, he said that he proposed the possibility of televising games to
Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the F ...
, but Fox did not televise the game. Skyline went on to shut out Jesuit 17–0 during that year's Emerald City Classic. Within Lumen Field, a large art piece called ''The State of Football'' pays tribute to high school football in the state of Washington. The piece features a depiction of Washington and holds replica football helmets from every high school football team in the state. The installation is part of the Stadium Art Program commissioned through First & Goal's lease of the facility, costing nearly $1.75 million.


Soccer

Lumen Field is also designed for soccer. The stadium meets FIFA sight line requirements and provides separate locker rooms for soccer teams. Camera locations were chosen for optimal television coverage of the sport. Numerous
exhibition games 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 ...
have taken place at Lumen Field, including high-profile clubs such as Manchester United,
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, Celtic, Real Madrid,
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 ...
, Club América and Chivas de Guadalajara. These games have proved to be highly popular, and the first sell-out of 66,772 fans at the stadium was a soccer match between Manchester United and Celtic. National teams such as
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
,
Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
,
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, and China have played exhibition games at the stadium. The artificial turf has been temporarily overlaid with grass for international matches. Seattle was the site of the
2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the eighth edition of the Gold Cup, the football championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). It was contested in the United States in July 2005. The United States emerged victorious ...
Group B opening round between the national teams of the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, Costa Rica,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, and
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
. Two matches of the
2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the tenth edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition, and the twentieth soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). It was played from July 3 to 26, 2009 in the United State ...
opening round were also played at the stadium on July 4, 2009. In the second match, the United States comfortably defeated Grenada, who were playing in their first major international competition, 4–0. The Gold Cup returned in 2013 with Panama beating Martinique and Mexico defeating Canada in opening group play matches. CenturyLink Field also hosted three matches during the 2016
Copa América Centenario The Copa América Centenario ( pt, Copa América Centenário, french: Coupe Amerique Centennaire, en, Centennial Cup America; literally ''Centennial America Cup'') was an international men's association football tournament that was hosted by the ...
, a special inter-continental tournament, including two group stage fixtures and a quarterfinal match between the United States and
Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
attended by 47,322 spectators. On November 22, 2009, Seattle was the site of the 14th annual MLS Cup between
Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 2 ...
and the
Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pla ...
, where Salt Lake won the Cup on penalty kicks (5–4) in front of 46,011. The stadium was the eighth venue to host the event and had the fourth-largest attendance for an MLS Cup. The MLS Cup returned to Seattle in
2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
, with the Sounders hosting
Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...
as the higher seed. The Sounders won in front of 69,274 spectators, setting a new record for a sporting event at Lumen Field and recording the second-highest cup attendance in league history.


2026 FIFA World Cup

Lumen Field was among the 58 facilities in the United States being considered for
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
matches had the country's bid for the tournament in 2018 or 2022 been successful. When discussing Seattle as a candidate,
Sunil Gulati Sunil Gulati ( ; born July 30, 1959) is an American sports administrator who presided over the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) from 2006 to 2018. On April 19, 2013, he was elected to a four-year term on the FIFA Council. In March 2014, h ...
of the U.S. Soccer Federation called it "a world-class facility". Seattle finally hosted a World Cup qualifier on June 11, 2013; the qualifier, which was the city's second overall and the first since 1976, saw the United States top Panama 2–0 in front of a raucous crowd of 40,847. The United States will co-host the
2026 FIFA World Cup The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international men's soccer championship contested by the national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament will be jointly hosted by 16 cities in three ...
with Canada and Mexico; Lumen Field was one of the 23 finalist venues named by the organizing committee in 2018 after the bid was awarded by FIFA. Lumen Field was subsequently announced as one of the 11 American venues, as well as one of five current MLS venues selected to host matches in June 2022; together with
BC Place BC Place is a multi-purpose stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Located at the north side of False Creek, it is owned and operated by the BC Pavilion Corporation (PavCo), a crown corporation of the province. The venue is currently ...
in
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
, both will be the only host venues based in the
Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...
out of 16 total. Under preliminary plans by the city government, it would cost up to $10.5 million to host the World Cup matches, including installation of a temporary grass surface, policing the venue and practice fields, and managing a fan festival at 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 Needle ...
or on the city's waterfront.


Sounders (USL)

The first sporting event at the stadium was a double-header on July 28, 2002, that included both the Sounders Select Women and the men's Seattle Sounders of the
USL The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...
team. The women defeated the Vancouver Breakers 4–3, while the men beat the
Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on Mar ...
4–1 in front of 25,515 people. The USL team began using the facility regularly as their home field in 2003. Although team management was concerned with the high rent and the underused
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 ...
, they were drawn by the sponsorship opportunities and location. The Sounders increased their average attendance from 2,583 at Seattle's Memorial Stadium in 2002 to 3,452 at the new stadium in 2003. In 2005, the Sounders beat the Richmond Kickers 2–1 in a penalty shootout for the USL championship in front of 8,011. Scott Jenkins scored the final goal and announced his retirement after the game. In 2008, the
MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
expansion franchise
Sounders FC 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 beg ...
decided to develop the
Starfire Sports Complex Starfire Sports is a multi-purpose stadium and sporting facility in Tukwila, Washington, United States. It is located on the banks of the Green River, just south of Seattle. The stadium is operated by the nonprofit corporation Starfire Sports an ...
in nearby Tukwila, and the USL team played most of the
season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...
at that facility. At the time, team management thought that practicing and playing at Starfire could provide a better transition for those hoping to play for the new MLS team. The last match for the USL Sounders at Qwest Field was the 2008 season opener against the rival Portland Timbers. The game ended in a scoreless draw in front of 10,184.


Sounders FC

The potential to draw an MLS expansion team helped drive public support for building the stadium in 1997. In 1996, Seattle was considered for one of the 10 original MLS teams; however, the region lacked an adequate outdoor stadium. In 2007, it was announced that Seattle would be the home of an expansion team. The first Sounders FC regular season match was at the stadium on March 19, 2009.
Fredy Montero Fredy Henkyer Montero Muñoz (born 26 July 1987), known as Fredy Montero (, is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Major League Soccer club Seattle Sounders FC. He is Seattle's all-time top scorer in official clu ...
scored the first goal in a 3–0 Seattle victory. Before the opening of their first
season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...
, the Sounders already had the highest number of season ticket holders in the MLS after they sold all 22,000 of the offered season ticket packages. The team created a web site that was used to identify seating arrangements for season ticket holders based on personal interests including preferred method for watching a game and foreign team preference. For the first half of the inaugural season, the upper and lower sections were tarped off, limiting the
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 ...
to 27,700. The club hoped to create an intimate environment as well as a supply-and-demand factor that would reward season ticket holders and encourage early purchase of seats. The stadium has continuously sold out league matches in the limited seating configuration. However, majority owner
Joe Roth Joseph Emanuel Roth is an American film executive, producer and director. He co-founded Morgan Creek Productions in 1988 and was chairman of 20th Century Fox (1989–1993), Caravan Pictures (1993–1994), and Walt Disney Studios (1994–20 ...
has said that he "won't be happy" until the entire venue is open. The stadium was designed to easily open seating sections in stages if needed. After repeated sellout crowds, additional sections were opened, increasing total capacity to 32,400. In the Sounders' first year they set an MLS record with an average home attendance of 30,943 people. Official capacity was increased to 35,700 after the 2009 season. In 2011, The Sounders continued to hold the highest average attendance in the league with 38,496. Official capacity was increased again to 38,500 with the opening of the Hawk's Nest for the 2012 season. The team averaged 44,247 spectators in the
2015 MLS season The 2015 Major League Soccer season featured 20 total clubs (17 based in the United States, 3 based in Canada). The regular season was held from March 6 through to October 25, whereas the MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 28 and ended with MLS ...
, its all-time record. , the regular season MLS capacity at Lumen Field is listed as 37,722 seats, with four matches scheduled to use larger sections of the stadium. The Sounders set the state's single game soccer attendance record when they hosted Manchester United in front of 67,052 in July 2011. On October 15, 2011, additional seats were available for a record crowd of 64,140 during the final regular season home match, a Sounders 2–1 win followed by ceremonies honoring retiring goalkeeper
Kasey Keller Kasey C. Keller (born November 29, 1969) is an American former professional soccer player who played in Europe and the United States, as well as being the starting goalkeeper for the U.S. national team. He is a four-time FIFA World Cup partici ...
. And on October 7, 2012, another attendance record was broken when 66,452 fans were present for a 3–0 win over the Portland Timbers, following a ceremony awarding retired Forward
Roger Levesque Roger Levesque (born January 22, 1981) is a former American soccer player. On January 28, 2010 he was ranked 19th in the USL First Division Top 25 of the Decade, which announced a list of the best and most influential players of the previous dec ...
a Golden Scarf. Most recently, the Sounders set a stadium attendance record of 69,274 when Seattle hosted the 2019 MLS Cup Final against Toronto FC, winning 3-1 for their 2nd MLS Cup trophy. CenturyLink Field has hosted two U.S. Open Cup tournament finals. On October 5, 2010, the tournament's 81-year-old attendance record was broken when Sounders FC defeated the
Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...
2–1 in front of 31,311. That record was broken one year later when CenturyLink Field again hosted the final on October 4, 2011 as 36,615 spectators watched Seattle defeat the Chicago Fire 2–0. The stadium has also hosted a CONCACAF Champions League tournament final; on May 4, 2022, the Sounders defeated
Pumas UNAM Club Universidad Nacional, A.C., commonly referred to as UNAM, is a professional football club based in Ciudad Universitaria of Mexico City, Mexico. The club competes in the Liga MX, the top division in the Mexican football league system. Fo ...
3–0 in the second leg of
the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
before a tournament-record crowd of 68,741 to win 5–2 on aggregate, becoming the first MLS team to win the tournament under its current format. Like the Seahawks, the Sounders have received attention for sellout crowds and boisterous
fans Fan commonly refers to: * Fan (machine), a machine for producing airflow, often used for cooling ** Hand fan, an implement held and waved by hand to move air for cooling * Fan (person), short for fanatic; an enthusiast or supporter, especially wit ...
. ''The Seattle Times'' reported that a "new standard for attendance and game-day atmosphere has been set" due to the loud sellout crowds. The passionate
Emerald City Supporters Emerald City Supporters (ECS) is an independent supporters' group for Major League Soccer's Seattle Sounders FC. The ECS is known for large choreographed tifo displays. History and name Emerald City Supporters was founded in 2005 by the suppo ...
have dubbed the general admission sections behind the south goal the "Brougham End" for the street that runs along the south edge of the complex.


OL Reign

OL Reign OL Reign is an American professional 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 Soccer League (NWSL). In 2020, ...
played against
Portland Thorns FC The Portland Thorns FC is an American professional women's soccer team based in Portland, Oregon. Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), which receives support from the Uni ...
at the stadium on August 29, 2021, as part of a doubleheader with the Sounders and Timbers. The Reign defeated the Thorns 2–1 in front of 27,248, breaking the NWSL's attendance record. The Reign later announced on December 15 that they would move into the stadium for the 2022 season, leaving their previous home,
Cheney Stadium Cheney Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Tacoma, Washington, United States. Originally built for baseball, the stadium is currently home to the Tacoma Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League, as well as professional soccer club Tacoma Def ...
in Tacoma, as plans to build 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- ...
in the city stalled amid the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. The stadium's capacity is reduced to 10,000 seats for most OL Reign home matches.


Other events

The stadium became a yearly site for Supercross races in 2005. Seattle had been left out of the circuit since the Kingdome hosted the race in 1999. It takes more than 650 truckloads of dirt to build the course for the event that around 50,000 spectators attend. The stadium has also been used for public speaking engagements. For example, the
14th Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama (spiritual name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, known as Tenzin Gyatso (Tibetan: བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: ''bsTan-'dzin rgya-mtsho''); né Lhamo Thondup), known as ...
of Tibet, Tenzin Gyatso, delivered a 28-minute speech to 50,817 people on April 12, 2008.


Event Center

The Lumen Field Event Center connects to the stadium's west field plaza and consists of two exhibition halls, a conference room, and a concourse. The center hosts pre-game events for the Seahawks and Mariners. According to the Public Stadium Authority's website, the event center contributes more than half a billion dollars to the region's economy. Originally debuting as the Washington State Stadium Exhibition Center, the center became known as the Seahawks Exhibition Center upon the stadium's opening in 2002; it was then renamed the Qwest Field Event Center in 2004 via Qwest's acquisition of naming rights to the complex. The center was renamed again as the CenturyLink Field Event Center in June 2011 following the acquisition of Qwest by CenturyLink, then received its current name following the latter company's rebranding in 2020. The Event Center had previously been called "the worst venue in town" for concerts, but in 2006,
AEG Live Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft AG (AEG; ) was a German producer of electrical equipment founded in Berlin as the ''Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft für angewandte Elektricität'' in 1883 by Emil Rathenau. During the Second World War, AEG ...
and First & Goal formed a partnership to create a new theater within the Event Center space.
Washington Mutual Washington Mutual (often abbreviated to WaMu) was the United States' largest savings and loan association until its collapse in 2008. A savings bank holding company is defined in United States Code: Title 12: Banks and Banking; Section 1842: Def ...
(WaMu) obtained the naming rights to the new theater in a 10-year deal, calling it the WaMu Theater. The theater space can be assembled on an as-needed basis within the building and equipment, including the wide stage, can be dismantled and stored in the stadium. The theater's acoustics were improved by installing panels on the ceiling and a large curtain. Depending on the seating configuration, the capacity can be 3,300, 4,000, or 7,000.
Seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...
performed the inaugural concert on November 6, 2006. Though the naming rights deal was terminated following the bankruptcy of Washington Mutual in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the theater retained the WaMu name while AEG sought a new sponsor for it; the theater still retains the name , with the meaning of the WaMu abbreviation altered to represent "Washington Music" instead. During the early weeks of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, the Event Center was contracted for use as a
field hospital A field hospital is a temporary hospital or mobile medical unit that takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent facilities. This term was initially used in military medicine (such as the Mobile A ...
. The temporary hospital was erected in April 2020 with 250 beds under the management of the
Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Ex ...
and Army Corps of Engineers. On April 8, the state government announced that the field hospital would be dismantled and relocated to another state by the federal government, as the pandemic's spread in Washington had slowed. In March 2021, the Event Center was converted into a mass
vaccination Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...
center with capacity for 4,000 to 5,000 doses per week administered by the city government in partnership with First & Goal and Swedish Health Services. The Event Center was also used as a vote center during the
2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
and
2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...
elections by King County.


Seismic experiments

During a Seahawks football game on January 8, 2011, the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN) recorded what was dubbed a "
Beast Quake The Beast Quake was a National Football League (NFL) touchdown scored by Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch against the New Orleans Saints during a 2010 NFC Wild Card playoff game. Occurring in the fourth quarter while Seattle was up ...
", for Marshawn "Beast Mode" Lynch, a player whose performance on one running play excited the Qwest Field stadium crowd enough for the resultant shaking to be recorded on PNSN instruments. In 2014 and 2015 additional sensors were added in and around the stadium. Motivations for the experiment included conducting a quick-reaction exercise for the seismometer network team to install sensors and interpret results, and to test the ability to handle increased web traffic from interested visitors from the general public. Shaking was detected at the stadium after a 90-yard touchdown run during a January 10, 2015 playoff game, dubbed a "Kam Quake" for the player making the run,
Kam Chancellor Kameron Darnel Chancellor (born April 3, 1988), nicknamed "Bam Bam", is an American former football strong safety who played for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Virginia Tech prior t ...
. The PNSN scientists stated that the biggest event of all was the "Dance Quake", which was caused by all the jumping and dancing that followed
Marshawn Lynch Marshawn Terrell Lynch (born April 22, 1986) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. Nicknamed "Beast Mode", he spent the majority of his career with the Seattle Seahawks. Lync ...
's touchdown and 2-point conversion during 2014–15 NFC Championship Game on January 18, 2015. PNSN has also recorded seismic activity from Sounders fans; multiple earthquakes were recorded on November 10, 2019, during the MLS Cup final between the Sounders and
Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...
. Further "RaveQuakes" were recorded on May 4, 2022, during the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League Final between the Sounders and
Pumas UNAM Club Universidad Nacional, A.C., commonly referred to as UNAM, is a professional football club based in Ciudad Universitaria of Mexico City, Mexico. The club competes in the Liga MX, the top division in the Mexican football league system. Fo ...
.


Facility contracts and naming rights

The stadium was originally named Seahawks Stadium. The name was changed to Qwest Field in June 2004 after the telecommunications carrier bought the
naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of t ...
for $75 million for a period of 15 years. According to the agreement, the proceeds must be used for maintenance and upgrades. A portion of any profit then goes into a $10 million fund Allen guaranteed for youth playfields. As a result of
CenturyLink Lumen Technologies, Inc. (formerly CenturyLink) is an American telecommunications company headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana, that offers communications, network services, security, cloud solutions, voice, and managed services. The company is ...
's acquisition of Qwest, the stadium was officially renamed CenturyLink Field on June 23, 2011. CenturyLink renewed its naming rights contract in 2017, paying $162.7 million for the stadium from 2019 to 2033. Although CenturyLink changed its corporate name to Lumen Technologies in September 2020, the stadium was to retain the CenturyLink Field name due to a clause in the contract that permits a one-time name change only if a corporate
takeover In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to ...
occurs. Despite that clause, the name was changed to Lumen Field on November 19 following approval from the Washington State Public Stadium Authority. After the stadium was renamed for CenturyLink in 2011, fans and media outlets speculated on potential nicknames for the venue. An informal reader poll conducted by ''
The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington ...
'' showed that "The Clink" was a popular suggestion; it was subsequently used among fans and locals. From 2009 to 2018, the field was entitled "The
Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the ...
Pitch at CenturyLink Field" during Sounders FC matches as part of a sponsorship deal with
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...
. However, when
Zulily Zulily, LLC is an American e-commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington and owned by Qurate Retail Group. Its target audience is young mothers interested in brand-name goods for their children. It holds no inventory, instead consolida ...
took over the Sounders FC sponsorship before the start of the 2019 season, the field was left unnamed; the deal did not include naming rights to the field. A new sponsorship with the Puyallup Tribe of Indians was announced in September 2022, renaming the field to "
Emerald Queen Casino The Puyallup, Spuyalpabš or S’Puyalupubsh (pronounced: Spoy-all-up-obsh) ('generous and welcoming behavior to all people, who enter our lands') are a federally recognized Coast Salish Native American tribe from western Washington state, Uni ...
Pitch at Lumen Field". In addition to its 48 concession stands, restaurants and lounges are located throughout the stadium. Along with typical fare, local Pacific salmon sandwiches,
Dungeness crab The Dungeness crab (''Metacarcinus magister'') is a species of crab inhabiting eelgrass beds and water bottoms along the west coast of North America. It typically grows to across the carapace and is a popular seafood. Its common name comes f ...
cakes, and microbrews are served. In 2006,
Levy Restaurants Levy is a restaurant and hospitality company based in Chicago specializing in providing food and beverage to major entertainment and sports venues. Founded in 1978, with a single family-run delicatessen in Water Tower Place, since 2006, it has ...
replaced
Aramark Aramark Corporation, known commonly as Aramark, is an American food service, facilities, and uniform services provider to clients in areas including education, healthcare, business, prisons, and leisure. It operates in North America (United S ...
in a five-year deal to provide the food and beverage service for the stadium and exhibition center.
Delaware North Delaware North is a global food service and hospitality company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. The company also operates in the lodging, sporting, airport, gambling, and entertainment industries. The company employs over 55,000 people worl ...
Sportservice took over operations in 2013; the Seahawks subsequently created their own in-house vendor, First & Goal Hospitality, to provide the service in 2017. Levy regained the food and beverage service at the stadium in 2020 via a partnership with First & Goal Hospitality; the service continued to operate under the latter's brand as part of the agreement. In May 2007, Seattle-based
Jones Soda Jones Soda Co. is a beverage company based in Seattle, Washington, United States. It bottles and distributes soft drinks, non-carbonated beverages, energy drinks, and candy. History The 1990s The company was founded by Peter Van Stolk in 1995 ...
outbid
The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrup ...
to sign a five-year contract for the pouring rights of non-alcoholic beverages at the stadium, making it the only venue in the NFL that did not have a contract with either
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlant ...
or
Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi wa ...
. Jones Soda, known for unusual and holiday-themed soda flavors such as Blue Bubblegum and Turkey & Gravy, said it was working to develop football-related soda flavors, such as "grass-stain". In June 2010, the Seahawks and Jones Soda announced their mutual decision to end the Jones sponsorship, following which Coca-Cola reclaimed the vending rights with a new five-year agreement.


Transportation

Lumen Field is bordered by the Pioneer Square, International District, and
Industrial District Industrial district concept was initially used by Alfred Marshall to describe some aspects of the industrial organisation of nations. Industrial district (ID) is a place where workers and firms, specialised in a main industry and auxiliary indus ...
neighborhoods of Seattle. The stadium's referendum approval required a transportation management program to coordinate transportation options. First & Goal's facility lease agreement also included a provision to ease gridlock. A "Dual Event Agreement" with T-Mobile Park was established so that two events with a combined attendance of over 58,000 would not occur within four hours of each other. The agreement was also implemented to coordinate mass transit to the stadiums on game days. Local and regional buses service the area with stops within three blocks of the stadium, and the county's Metro Transit bus service formerly offered express routes from several area park and ride lots for games. Trains service the stadium through Seattle's
King Street Station King Street Station is a train station in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is served by Amtrak's '' Cascades'', ''Coast Starlight'', and ''Empire Builder'', as well as Sounder commuter trains run by Sound Transit. The station also anchor ...
and overflow tracks accommodate extra trains during events. Regional commuter trains operate on Sundays if the Seahawks have a home game. Trains also run for mid-day Sounders FC games on Saturdays. In 2008, the commuter trains carried 64,000 event goers to the two nearby stadiums. Amtrak, primarily through the
Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...
corridor's Cascades route, also serves the station. On July 18, 2009,
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: ...
service between SeaTac and downtown began in time for an exhibition match between the Sounders and Chelsea. The light rail system's 1 Line connects to the baseball and football stadiums via the Stadium station. The
International District/Chinatown station International District/Chinatown station is a light rail station that is part of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel in Seattle, Washington, United States. The station is located at the tunnel's south end, at 5th Avenue South and South Jackso ...
also offers convenient access to the north entrance. Lumen Field is located near the junction of
Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Californi ...
and Interstate 90 to the east. It is bordered by State Route 99 and the south portal of the
State Route 99 tunnel The State Route 99 tunnel, also known as the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement tunnel, is a bored highway tunnel in the city of Seattle, Washington, United States. The , double-decker tunnel carries a section of State Route 99 (SR 99) under ...
to its west, while the State Route 519 corridor connects I-90 to the neighborhood. Local governments compromised with both the Seahawks and Mariners on the location of new ramps over the train tracks that run along the east sides of Lumen Field and T-Mobile Park. An overpass for South Royal Brougham Way, the road that borders the south edge of the Lumen Field complex, to improve access and safety was completed in May 2010. The stadium has 2,000 parking spaces in its parking garage and 8,400 in the surrounding lots to accommodate automobile traffic. Beginning in December 2011, construction of the Stadium Place mixed-use development project replaced much of the north lot. The developer must replace the 500 lost parking spots and turn over parking revenue to the Public Stadium Authority per an agreement with King County.


References

;Notes ;Citations


External links

*
Washington State Public Stadium Authority

Lumen Field page at the Seattle Seahawks site

Lumen Field page at the Seattle Sounders FC site



Lumen Field Seating Chart

Lumen Field on StadiumDB
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