Just like the onset of rain, the falling of leaves, and other rituals of autumn in the Northwest, Seattle Sounders fans are getting used to the seemingly annual fall tradition of wondering where their team will call home in the coming season.
In 1999 Seattle played in 6,000 seat Renton Stadium, about twenty slow minutes from town. In 2000-2002 it was back to 12,000 seat Memorial Stadium at the Seattle Center. In 2003 the Sounders played at 67,000 seat Seahawks Stadium near Seattle's picturesque waterfront. The stadiums couldn't be more different, and less perfect as fits for the Seattle club.
The Sounders want to evolve into an MLS team. They really do. Trying to get there has exposed some problems that only money can solve. Problem number one: there is really no single "ideal" stadium in the Seattle area for pro soccer. Memorial Stadium, the Sounders original NASL home, and their home for most of their 10 years in the A-League, has had a terrible, narrow pitch and less-than-hospitable amenities. This summer the Seattle School District spent over a million dollars to replace the pitch at Memorial with a new "Astro-Play" surface. Reports from local soccer teams say it's a good surface to play on, and that Memorial Stadium's famous "crown" has been replaced with a nice flat field. Reports also say that the field is emblazoned with bright red, yellow and white PERMANENT gridiron lines. In a recent survey of fans on SounderCentral.com, while the choice of a future stadium was up for debate, there was near unanimous agreement that American football lines are a real distraction and drawback for fans attending games. I rode the ferry over to games this year with two new Sounders season-ticket holders who bought their seats for the first time because they knew Seahawks Stadium would NOT have gridiron lines. Well, for most of the year, it didn't. Then for important matches in the US Open Cup and A-League Western Conference Finals the Sounders and their fans were subjected to mucho lines and giant Seattle Seahawks NFL end zone logos unfortunately placed in the penalty area and around both goals.
I think Seattle fans are willing to put up with end-of-the-season gridiron lines. Hey, don't some MLS teams have to? It's the 64,000 empty seats and 80% higher rent at Seahawks Stadium that have the Sounders looking once again at all options.
Into the fray this year comes a third option (or is it a fourth?): Fort Dent. This beautiful 56-acre park located next to Seattle's largest shopping center, SouthCenter, has been purchased by the City of Tukwila. They in turn have hired Starfire Sports to give the park a major upgrade. Fort Dent hosts hundreds of soccer matches a year for local leagues. The complex will have six soccer fields, including a feature field with a refurbished, roofed grandstand that will seat 2,500 fans. The field is likely to be synthetic, but will feature soccer-only markings. The Sounders are looking Starfire's way, wondering if there is room to expand the stadium and make a go of it there.
I have been to the Fort Dent site, and think it would work nicely for an A-League team. It's a great local park, with a river flowing nearby, and gobs of restaurants and pubs only minutes away. Tukwila offers access on and off I-5 and 405, two main freeways here. It is closer to Seattle than the Kent locations the Sounders have looked at, about 10 miles south of downtown. Other than seating, the Sounders have expressed several concerns about Fort Dent. Will fans follow them there? A SounderCentral survey says yes, but that they would lose a few regulars from farther north. Will fans accept a "minor-league" stadium after playing at the posh digs of an NFL team? Again, survey says, "yes," that while posh is nice, the fans only need a clean place with the basics. Can Fort Dent be expanded? It looked like there was room for this, but I am not a surveyor.
The big question for the Sounders seems to be this: are they an "MLS prospect?" If so, then why would they move to a smaller place outside of town? Or, are they A-League for the long term? If so, then Seahawks Stadium and Memorial Stadium are not really long-term solutions.
The Sounders recently reported in a Seattle Times article that they expect to lose about $400,000 in 2003. They lost $600,000 in 2002. So, while things are getting better, the chance to cut the huge Seahawks Stadium rent bill must be at least considered.
After my initial giddiness at the prospect of the Sounders finding a cozy home at Fort Dent, reality is beginning to sink in. The Sounders have bigger dreams than their wallets can achieve, and fewer fans than their dreams require. Seattle seems to consider itself "just visiting" the A-League on the way to MLS. Big problem: they don't have MLS money or investors, and averaged only 3,200 fans a game in 2003, eighth in the A-League.
Fort Dent is not only a good idea for the Sounders, it's also a way to stabilize the franchise and build for an A-League future. But, is that the kind of future this club wants?
