Qwest Field Seattle

Qwest Field, Seattle's relatively new and state-of-the-art sports and events stadium, is home to the NFL Seahawks football team.

It was also designed as a soccer stadium and is home to the Seattle Sounders soccer team as well. It's quite a nice sports venue and sits just south of downtown right near the waterfront.

Qwest Field Seattle

Qwest Field Seattle was designed with its location in mind. The north end of the stadium is open to provide views of downtown and the Qwest Field plaza. There is a 13-story tower at this end with a huge scoreboard at the top and bleacher seating at the bottom, known as the "Hawks Nest". From seats on the east side, you can see Elliot Bay, downtown, and the ferry boats sailing in and out if you're bored with the game! The south end was left partially open to allow views of Mt. Rainier. There is also a large scoreboard at this end.

Qwest Field Seating

Sitting on the East Side at Qwest Field

The view of the field is good from just about every part of the stadium. Unlike the Mariner's baseball stadium next door, Safeco Field, there is no retractable roof at Qwest Field. But the majority of seats are protected from the elements most of the time depending on wind conditions. Seattle is not usually very windy, however. The east side is considered the "sunny side". This can be a good thing for us sun-starved Seattleites! But if it's summertime and the sun is shining, and you are sitting on the east side for three hours in the afternoon, it can get rather toasty until the sun sets over Elliot Bay! Bring your hat and shades!

Food and Drink

There are lots of concession stands where you can buy food and drink. No Coca Cola or Pepsi served here - Seattle-based Jones Soda is available instead. They also serve Pacific salmon sandwiches, Dungeness crab cakes, and microbrews lest you forget what city you're in! Of course there are the usual hot dogs and garlic fries as well. Very garlicky - bring chewing gum for afterwards! You are not allowed to bring in coolers or drinks from outside the stadium, but you can bring snacks, unopened factory-sealed water bottles, or empty water bottles from home which you can fill at a drinking fountain.

Parking

There is a large parking garage at Qwest Field as well as lots of parking lots and garages nearby. The closer you get to the stadium, the more expensive the parking. The Qwest Field parking garage can be quite expensive - $30 last time I went to a game. Most of the other lots were $20 - $25. There is cheap parking near Qwest Field if you are a little more adventurous. On 4th St. heading south from the stadium (away from downtown), there are many small businesses that sell spots in their parking lots during games. Lots of locals park here and this is where we usually park. For this WSU game, we parked about 2 blocks away from the stadium at one of these businesses and paid $7.

Qwest Field Events

Qwest Field offers walking tours starting at Seahawks Pro Shop. On this tour you can visit many areas that are not normally open to the public such as the press box, a luxury suite, the playing field and the visiting team locker room.

The Qwest Field Event Center and WaMu Theater are also part of the complex. These venues host events such as concerts, trade shows, gymnastics competitions, television productions, and all kinds of things.