QWEST FIELD

'Qwest Field' is a football stadium in Seattle, Washington. It serves as the home field for the NFL's Seattle Seahawks and men's and women's Seattle Sounders soccer teams. The stadium opened in July 2002 and was built on the site of the Kingdome, the previous stadium for the Seahawks, Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners, and several other Seattle sports teams. On March 26, 2000, to make way for the construction of the stadium, the Kingdome fell in the world's largest implosion of a single concrete structure.

Contents

History

Features

College Football

Gallery

External links

References

History

The stadium was originally named 'Seahawks Stadium' and affectionately called "The Hawk", or the "Hawks Nest". The name Qwest Field was announced on June 2, 2004, after Qwest bought the naming rights for $75 million (for 15 years). Although some people began using the new name immediately, the official approval wasn't given until twenty-two days later (June 24) by the Washington State Public Stadium Authority. Seahawks owner Paul Allen funded about 30% of the stadium's cost out of his pocket, the remainder being paid by a funding package of user fees, sports lottery revenue, and taxes on related industries.
Allen was intimately involved in the stadium design. He rejected plans for a retractable roof, and directed the architects to minimize the stadium footprint as much as possible to bring fans closer to the action. A special feature was added in 2003 after Allen hired star sports marketing executive Tod Leiweke as the Seahawks' new CEO. Leiweke, who had turned the Minnesota Wild into one of the hottest tickets in the NHL, notably had a large flagpole installed in the south end zone. Leiweke began a pregame tradition in which a local celebrity, often a former Seahawk, raised a large blue flag numbered "12" on this flagpole to the roars of the crowd. The "12" represents the fans as the "12th man"; in fact, the Seahawks had retired #12 in honor of their fans in the 1980s. The flag-raising is now a regular feature of network television coverage of Seahawks games. However, this new ritual soon had gotten the attention of Texas A&M University, who claimed that they had the rights to the name the 12th Man and threatened to sue. In January 2006, however, a settlement between the university and the Seahawks allowed the use of the 12th Man, provided that Texas A&M is acknowledged in part.

Qwest Field has earned a reputation as arguably the loudest stadium in the NFL. Allen had the architects design the structure of the stadium, especially the roof, to direct as much crowd noise as possible on the field. In addition, the north end zone seating, called the "Hawks Nest", was specifically designed for rowdy fans; the seating consists of metal bleachers which reflect sound, and fans often stomp to create even more. Since the 2005 season, more penalties for false starts have been called against visiting teams in Qwest Field than in any other NFL stadium. At one point during the 2006 season, the New York Giants complained that Qwest Field was artificially piping in noise in order to distract visiting quarterbacks from running a count.
The biggest crowd ever to attend a Seattle Seahawks football game was 68,175 on Sunday, November 12, 2006 against the St. Louis Rams. This game, which Seattle won 24-22, was a very important divisional game. The win put the Seahawks two games ahead in the NFC West.^[1] Fans experienced their first snow game in the history of Qwest Field on November 27, 2006 against the Green Bay Packers with the Seahawks winning 34-24 with Shaun Alexander rushing for 202 yards. Fans experienced their first playoff game in the history of Qwest Field on January 8, 2005, when the St. Louis Rams won against the Seahawks team for the third time that season, 27-20.

Features

It is notable that at Qwest Field, there is the Seahawks tribute to high school football of the State of Washington. A section of the Stadium entitled "The State of Football", features a large depiction of the State of Washington and holds replica football helmets from every high school football team in the State. Another tribute to the high school sport is hosting the annual Emerald City Kickoff Classic, a season opening series of games between some of the best teams in the state. The games also feature a meeting between one of the best teams in Washington and one of the best from another state. The most memorable of these games was in 2004 when the 3 time consecutive Washington State 3A champions the Bellevue Wolverines ended the 155 game winning streak of the De La Salle Spartans of Concord, California.

College Football

The stadium has hosted a WSU Cougars "home game" each year since its opening in 2002. The Cougars have won all but one of these games, losing to Colorado in 2004. [1] The UW Huskies played an "away" game in the stadium in 2005, falling to Air Force in Tyrone Willingham's first game as the head coach. [2]

Gallery

External links

★ Qwest Field home page

★ Qwest Field page at Seattle Seahawks site

References

1. Seahawks.com Article