About Lumen Field
Lumen Field is a multi-purpose stadium in Seattle, Washington, located in the SoDo neighborhood. It is the home field for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL) and Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally named Seahawks Stadium, it opened in 2002.
Current capacity is 69,000. It is famous for being one of the loudest stadiums in the world. The partial roofs cover 70 percent of the seats but leave the field open; the parabolic design reflects sound back onto the field, allowing the "12th Man" (the fans) to disrupt opposing offenses. Seismic activity was famously recorded during the "Beast Quake" run in 2011.
The stadium offers spectacular views of the downtown skyline to the north. It is built on a small footprint with steep seating decks, keeping fans close to the action. It serves as a fortress for the Seahawks, who historically have one of the best home records in the NFL thanks to the noise advantage.
The venue is owned by the Washington State Public Stadium Authority, a state agency created by voter referendum in June 1997 that finances stadium operations from a combination of state lottery revenue, hotel taxes and a Kingdome refinancing bond; the Seahawks organisation, controlled since 1997 by the estate of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen who died in October 2018, leases the facility through 2032. The First & Goal Inc corporate entity manages day-to-day operations under a contract with the Public Stadium Authority. The Lumen Technologies naming-rights deal signed in November 2020 for approximately 250 million dollars across 15 years replaced the venue's previous name of CenturyLink Field. Paul Allen's original 1997 vote to fund the stadium's construction was won by just 32,000 votes statewide, and his personal contribution to the 'yes' campaign totalled 5.6 million dollars.