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Seahawks Stadium sits nearly completed on the site of the former Kingdome. The football gridiron will be in place in time for the Seahawks’ first exhibition game on Aug. 10, against the Indianapolis Colts. Photo by Sky-Pix
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Welcome, Seahawks Stadium
After five years in the making, Seahawks Stadium is nearly complete.
And what a stadium it is! With state-of-the-art facilities in an open, intimate setting — and views of the skyline to boot — Seahawks Stadium will be one of the premier venues in professional football. (OK, and soccer too.)
But will the Hawks, with a lifetime record of 191-221, prove worthy of the grand facility? Or for that matter, will the crowds — thwarted by two years of exile to Husky Stadium — materialize?
Let’s hope so. We taxpayers have got $300 million invested in this thing.
So let’s welcome Seahawks Stadium, Seattle’s newest sports palace. In this special section, the DJC will provide a comprehensive look at the design and construction of the stadium, including facts, stats and photos that will put you right on the 50-yard line.
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Owner
Public Stadium Authority, Seattle
Developer, operator
First & Goal, Seattle
Architects
Ellerbe Becket, Kansas City, Mo.
Streeter & Associates, Seattle
LMN Architects, Seattle (for the Stadium Exhibition Center)
General contractor
Turner Construction, Seattle
Structural engineer
Skilling Ward Magnusson Barkshire, Seattle
Geotechnical engineer
Shannon & Wilson, Seattle
Electrical systems
Cochran, Seattle
Mechanical, plumbing systems
McKinstry Co., Seattle
Landscape architect
Gustafson Partners, Seattle
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Is no news good news?
Seahawks Stadium never suffered Safeco Field’s financing controversies, but buzz about the new stadium
has been muted.
By ARI KRAMER, Special to the Journal
Designing Seattle’s newest landmark
Seahawks Stadium combines a signature white roof
with a strong sense of place
By RON GANS, Ellerbe Becket
The six million dollar mitigation
The South Downtown Foundation works to ensure the new stadium will be a boon to surrounding neighborhoods.
By J. TODD GRAHAM, South Downtown Foundation
Soft soil makes for tough design
To earthquake-proof Seahawks Stadium, engineers designed puzzle-piece buildings, a soft-soil 'pier' and an innovative floating-roof system.
By JON D. MAGNUSSON,
Skilling Ward Magnusson Barkshire
Taking fans beyond the game
Seattle’s two new stadiums are
designed for major-league comfort
By JIM KRESSBACH, Streeter & Associates Architects
Driven piles make stadium strong
Engineers used nearly 1,750 steel pipes to prop
Seahawks Stadium atop soft soil
By MARTIN PAGE, Shannon & Wilson
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Stadium
fast facts
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Silhouetted construction workers put the finishing touches on Seahawks Stadium’s north tower. Above them, a 24-foot-wide disk designed by Bob Haozous faces the cityscape it portrays.
Photo by Ben Minnick
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- Location: South King
Street and Occidental Avenue South, Seattle
- Project cost: $430
million for the stadium and adjoining exhibition center and parking
garage
- Financing: $300 million
public financing (capped) $130 million, plus cost overruns from Seahawks
owner Paul Allen
- Opening: date July
20, with a public grand opening celebration
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Design details...
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Think pink: Much of the
stadium’s exterior was painted salmon to help it better blend in with the
brick buildings in neighboring Pioneer Square.
Pass the Grey Poupon: The stadium’s three ritzy club lounges feature
first-class dining and beverage options, high-tech video displays, upscale
restrooms and concierge service. In all, the stadium has 48 concession areas
and 63 restrooms.
Binoccular-free zone: Seats were designed to offer near-perfect sight
lines, with every seat oriented toward the field.
Lambeau leaps-meet-corporate suites: Seahawks Stadium has 82 of the
largest suites in sports, including unique field-level suites in the north
end zone.
Just because: The stadium’s north tower features a vertical scoreboard,
the first of its kind in the National Football League.
All-access pass: Stadium architects spent more than 100 hours working
with a consultant and more than 70 people with disabilities to ensure the
stadium will be accessible to the physically, visually and hearing impaired.
Accommodations include 11 elevators, closed-captioning, audio play-by-play
and 1,400 seats for fans with disabilities and their companions.
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© 2002 Seattle Daily Journal and .
Comments? Questions?
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