When Lumen Field was being developed nearly 30 years ago, Paul Allen, the owner of the Seattle Seahawks and a Seattle Sounders investor, mandated that the venue be designed so that the city could host international soccer matches and, someday, the FIFA World Cup. In 2026, eight years after Allen’s death, Seattle will indeed host six World Cup matches and Providence Swedish Performance Center & Clubhouse, the Sounders’ $70 million training facility that opened last year, will be used as a World Cup base camp.
The Sounders hold the stadium’s attendance record for the biggest sports crowd when they won their second MLS Cup title, beating Toronto FC 3-1 in 2019, in front of a crowd of 69,274. The Seattle Reign, who also call Lumen Field home, set an NWSL single-game attendance record of 34,130 in 2023.
Seattle-based Amazon sponsors the NWSL, UEFA Women’s Football, Women’s Champions League and Liga MX.
