In 1996, Paul G. Allen obtained an option to purchase the Seattle Seahawks and launched a campaign to win public support for a new world-class football/ soccer stadium and exhibition center. Six years later, the dream became reality as the Seahawks opened the 2002 preseason against the Indianapolis Colts in new Seahawks Stadium, renamed Qwest Field on June 2, 2004. Sounders FC hosted their inaugural MLS regular season match at Qwest Field on March 19, 2009, defeating the New York Red Bulls 3-0. After seven seasons, the field was renamed CenturyLink Field on June 23, 2011. Following nine successful seasons as CenturyLink Field, the stadium was once again renamed to Lumen Field on November 19, 2020. The facility, built atop of the site of the Kingdome, is not only home to the Seahawks and Sounders FC, but the stadium accommodates many levels of soccer competition, including Major League Soccer, amateur, international, World Cup and collegiate soccer.
Lumen Field is designed with a 68,740 seat capacity (37,722 for MLS regular season), with 5,000 additional seats available for special events, and 1,400 seats for fans with disabilities. With a roof covering 70 percent of the seating area, fans will enjoy wide, comfortable seats with sideline seating a mere 52 feet from the playing field and end-zone seats just 40 feet from the action. The facility also features a dozen elevators and expansive concourses with an ample provision of concessions stands and restrooms.
In addition to having perfect views of the field and surrounding areas, fans experience elements of diversity and culture in part of the Stadium Art Program. In 1998, a request for qualifications yielded a total of 254 responses from around the United States and Canada. After reviewing the full range of submissions, 12 artists and projects were selected. Today, the stadium includes nearly $2 million worth of art.
Facts & Figures
- 68,740 fixed seats
- 63 restrooms (799 toilets/364 urinals) – twice as many as the Kingdome
- 1,400 seats for people with disabilities and their companions – compared to 70 at the Kingdome
- 10,000 cubic yards of concrete – equal to a 3’ sidewalk from Seattle to Boise, ID
- 3,756 miles of cable – could reach from Seattle to just beyond the Panama Canal
- Over 500 televisions
- 12 elevators — compared to three at the Kingdome
- The roof is 760 feet long – the same as three Boeing 747’s parked end-to-end
- The roof is 210,000 square feet – enough to cover 3.5 football fields
- 45 concession stands/55 beer concessions – twice as many per person as the Kingdome
- The FieldTurf production used more than 35,000 recycled ground-up tennis shoes and 30,000 recycled ground-up tires
- The roof contains 5,700 tons of steel – equal to 35 Statues of Liberty or 1,000 Orca whales
FUNDING
The $430 million facility is owned by the public and was funded by a private-public partnership. Private contributions totaled at least $130 million, while the public contributed up to $300 million through a lottery and a variety of taxes generated by events in the stadium/exhibition center.
- $130 million private investment led by Paul Allen
- $127 million from new, sports related games, similar to the Mariners’ baseballthemed scratch games
- $101 million in sales taxes collected in King County attributable to events in the stadium/exhibition center
- $56 million from facility admission and parking taxes
- $15 million from extending King County’s share of the existing hotel-motel tax
- $1 million per year of in-kind advertising for the new lottery games will be provided by Paul Allen
- All excess stadium revenues will fund youth athletic facilities throughout Washington State in addition to a $10 million contribution from Paul Allen
- Paul Allen agreed to pay for any construction cost overruns
- As an added measure, the debt on the Kingdome was retired, freeing property taxes for other purposes
