Seattle Sounders Reveal Sprawling New Home At Longacres In Renton

Renton WA

16 February, 2022

2:59 PM

Description

SEATTLE — The Seattle Sounders unveiled plans Wednesday to build its new home on the site of Boeing's former Longacres headquarters in Renton. The club pitched the project as both a "world-class sporting facility" and the base of its front-office operations, boasting 50,000 square feet of office space and four full-sized training pitches. Unico Properties is the lead partner on the project, which is scheduled to open in 2024, coinciding with the Sounders' 50th anniversary. Unico finalized the purchase in December for a reported price tag of $100 million. "Today is one of the most important moments in our club's history, as we begin this new partnership with Unico Properties and take our first steps into the future of Seattle Sounders FC," said Adrian Hanauer, the club's majority owner. "Our organization has invested a great deal of time and thoughtfulness into the process of both selecting the ideal site for a new home and reimagining what the home represents, for our team and the greater community." The Sounders have trained at Tukwila's Starfire Sports since joining Major League Soccer in 2009, and the Longacres facility will serve as the club's permanent home for the decades to come. "Sounders FC has always been a community club, and, over the years, that has been exemplified by [the] team's place at Starfire, a true hub and gathering place for soccer in our region," Hanauer said. "We're grateful to Starfire — and the welcoming spirit of Tukwila — for serving as the home of the Rave Green and seeing us through some incredible successes." The club worked with the Kansas City-based Generator Studio to design the new complex, which is the same firm that envisioned the Seattle Kraken's Community Iceplex in Northgate and helped create Lumen Field. Longacres was chosen in part due to its location "at the nexus of several Puget Sound major arteries and trans options," the team said, with equal distance to Seattle and Bellevue and adjacent to the Sounder rail. The club said the new facility will also be completed in time to assist in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, should Seattle ultimately be selected to host some of the matches. Read more about the Sounders' new home on the club's official website.