Lumen Field opened on July 28, 2002, in Seattle’s SoDo neighborhood on the site of the demolished Kingdome. Built at a cost of $430 million — split between $130 million in private funding and $300 million in public investment — the open-air stadium was designed by Ellerbe Becket in association with LMN Architects and quickly became one of the premier sports venues in North America.
The stadium is home to the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL, Seattle Sounders FC of MLS, and Seattle Reign FC of the NWSL, making it one of the busiest multi-sport venues in the United States. Its partial roof covers roughly 70 percent of seating while leaving the field exposed to the elements, a design that amplifies crowd noise and helped cement Lumen Field’s reputation as the loudest stadium in professional football.
Stats at a Glance
- Teams: Seattle Seahawks (NFL), Seattle Sounders FC (MLS), Seattle Reign FC (NWSL)
- Location: SoDo, Seattle, Washington
- Opened: July 28, 2002
- NFL Capacity: 68,740 (expandable to 72,000)
- MLS Capacity: 37,722
- Construction Cost: $430 million
- Noise Record: 137.6 dB set December 2, 2013 (Guinness World Record)
- Architect: Ellerbe Becket / LMN Architects
The 12th Man Effect
Seahawks fans, known as the ’12th Man,’ have turned Lumen Field into one of the most intimidating home venues in sports. The stadium’s partial roof and steep seating bowl trap and reflect sound back onto the field, producing noise levels that have snapped visiting offenses out of their rhythm for over two decades. Between 2013 and 2014, the crowd broke the Guinness World Record for stadium noise twice, reaching a verified 137.6 decibels during a December 2013 game against the New Orleans Saints.
That acoustic advantage has had real on-field consequences. Seattle’s home win percentage at Lumen Field ranks among the highest in the NFL across the stadium’s history, and opposing teams have repeatedly cited crowd noise as a factor in false-start penalties and communication breakdowns.
Name Changes, Milestones, and the Road to 2026
The stadium has carried several names since opening. It launched as Seahawks Stadium, became Qwest Field in June 2004, rebranded to CenturyLink Field in 2011, and took its current name — Lumen Field — in 2020 following a corporate rebrand by telecommunications company Lumen Technologies.
Looking ahead, the venue is scheduled to host six matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, including group-stage games and two knockout-round fixtures, under the tournament name Seattle Stadium. A temporary hybrid grass surface is planned to replace the standard FieldTurf for those matches, marking one of the highest-profile international events in the stadium’s history.
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Lumen Field FAQs
Why is Lumen Field considered the loudest stadium in the NFL?
The stadium’s open-air design pairs a partial roof covering about 70 percent of the seating bowl with a steeply raked lower deck, which traps and reflects crowd noise onto the field. Seahawks fans broke the Guinness World Record for crowd noise twice in the 2013–2014 seasons, reaching 137.6 decibels.
What teams play their home games at Lumen Field?
Three professional teams call Lumen Field home: the Seattle Seahawks (NFL), Seattle Sounders FC (MLS), and Seattle Reign FC (NWSL), making it one of the few venues in the United States to host teams from all three leagues simultaneously.
Will Lumen Field host matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
Yes. Lumen Field — listed under the tournament name Seattle Stadium — is scheduled to host six World Cup matches in 2026, including four group-stage games and two knockout-round fixtures. A temporary hybrid grass surface will be installed for the tournament.
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Photo: SounderBruce / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.