At noon on July 20, 2002, Seahawks Stadium opens as the new home as for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League and the Seattle Sounders soccer team. Hundreds of fans wait for as long as two hours to get a first tour of the 67,000-seat facility.
The stadium replaced the Kingdome, which was demolished in 2000. The new arena was made possible by the passage of a $300 million public funding package by Washington state voters on July 17, 1997. The vote was narrow -- a 50.8 percent majority -- based on a promise by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen (1953-2018) to buy the football team, keep it in Seattle, and pledge $100 million of his own money toward construction of the new stadium.
On June 2nd, 2004, the Seahawks announced a new stadium sponsorship agreement with Qwest Communications International Inc., and the stadium was renamed Qwest Field. In 2011 it was renamed CenturyLink Field.
Sources:
The Seattle Times, June 17, 18, and 19, 1997; Ibid., July 21, 2002; "Stadium," Seattle Seahawks website accessed on March 23, 2005 (http://www.seahawks.com/stadium.aspx?SecID=31).
Note: This file was updated on March 24, 2005.
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