Stadium Series: CenturyLink Field, Seattle

**Full disclosure, I did a tour of this stadium, and this post is pretty picture heavy as a result**

Standing just one mile from the centre of Seattle, CenturyLink Field was opened in 2002 as Seahawks Stadium, before becoming known as Qwest Field in 2004, and CenturyLink Field in 2011. Home to the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL and Seattle Sounders of the MLS (The USL version of the Sounders from 2003-2007 and the current MLS side since 2009.) The capacity of the stadium is 69,000, and it can be expanded to 72,000 for special events. Capacity is usually restricted to around 40,000 for Sounders games, but the upper tiers can be opened for significant games (usually derbies with Portland.)

The stadium took eighteen months to build and replaced the Seahawks’ previous home the Kingdome, which sat on the same site. The stadium is built in a large U-shape, leaving one end partially open, giving views of downtown Seattle (in fact, I got pretty much my best view of the Space Needle! The stadium was constructed on the smallest footprint of any NFL stadium, with the upper tiers cantilevered above the lower tiers. Coupled with steep angled tiering, the stadium boasts some of the best views available in a stadium of it’s size, and allows for the famous loud atmosphere to develop.

The stadium has twice held the world record for loudest stadium, with a level of 136.6 decibels recorded during a September 2013 game against San Francisco. This record was beaten by fans in Kansas City, before it was broken again in Seattle with a decibel level of 137.2 recorded in a December 2014 game against New Orleans. Kansas City Chiefs fans have once again taken hold of the record, but CenturyLink is widely known as one of the loudest stadiums in the world, with visiting teams often finding it hard to adjust to the hostile environment. Seahawks fans are known as the “12th Man” in honour of the boost they give their team. Seismic activity has been recorded during games at the stadium on multiple occasions.

The stadium was constructed with built in earthquake insurance. The roof of the stadium was built using a friction pendulum damper system, which allows the roof to move independently of it’s supports in the event of an earthquake. It was the largest scale roof to utilise the technology at the time of construction. During construction, a 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck Seattle, and the technology worked as planned, with only minimal damage sustained, and no delays to the building schedule.

CenturyLink is a wonderful stadium, well designed and beautifully situated. It’s well worth taking a look at if you get the chance.