 CenturyLink
Field
Seattle,
WA
After more than two decades of playing
at one of the most austere, boring stadiums in the country, the
Kingdome, the Seahawks moved into one of the best stadiums in the
NFL in 2002. Founded in 1974, the Seahawks played over 20 years at
the Kingdome, sharing it with the Seattle Mariners (MLB). In the
mid 1990s, the Mariners followed the trend of other baseball teams
and wanted a new retro ballpark built. A new ballpark for the
Mariners would allow the Seahawks to have the Kingdome to
themselves. In October 1994, a $120 million renovation plan was
announced to upgrade the Kingdome to a football-only facility if
the Mariners moved into a new ballpark. However, this plan did not come to
fruition and owner of the Seahawks, Ken Behring, wanted to
move the club to Los Angeles for the 1996 season after the Rams departed
for St. Louis. The NFL opposed the Seahawks relocation and in 1997,
Microsoft cofounder, Paul Allen, bought the team. Allen wanted to
demolish the Kingdome and build a new stadium for the Seahawks on
its site. In June 1997, voters approved
referendums for two new stadiums to be built. A new baseball
-only stadium, Safeco Field, was constructed adjacent to the
Kingdome and a new stadium for the Seahawks was constructed on the
site of the Kingdome after its implosion. The Mariners moved into
Safeco Field in 1999 and the Kingdome was demolished in March 2000. While the Seahawks stadium was constructed, they
played at Husky Stadium, home
of the Washington Huskies (NCAA). Originally named Seahawks
Stadium when it opened in 2002,
Qwest Communications International Inc. purchased the naming
rights to the stadium in 2004,
giving the stadium its
name, Qwest Field. In June 2011, the stadium was renamed Century
Link Field after the company bought CenturyLink in April 2011.
|
|
