Lumen Field

Lore & Background

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, 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. Originally called Seahawks Stadium, it was renamed Qwest Field in 2004 when telecommunications carrier Qwest acquired the naming rights. The stadium became known as CenturyLink Field following Qwest's June 2011 acquisition by CenturyLink and was nicknamed 'The Clink' as a result; it received its current name in November 2020 with CenturyLink's rebrand to Lumen Technologies.

Reader's Guide

Seahawks fans at Lumen Field have twice claimed the Guinness World Record for loudest crowd roar at an outdoor stadium, in 2013 and 2014. The crowd's notorious noise has also contributed to the team's home field advantage with an increase in false start and delay of game 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 and 2024 Apple Cups and all Washington Huskies home games during the renovation of Husky Stadium in 2012.

The XFL's Seattle Dragons began playing at Lumen Field in 2020 and returned 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 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 in 2009 and 2019; the latter set a new attendance record for the stadium with 69,274 spectators. 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 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.

The stadium hosted several CONCACAF Gold Cup matches, and the Copa América Centenario in 2016. Temporarily renamed by FIFA to Seattle Stadium, the stadium hosted six matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.