Re: The TRUTH about Qwest (photos) I think that this rumor is HUGE. Watching soccer with gridiron lines hurts my eyes. Quest should suit just fine until a SSS can be put in place.....even if it is played on turf. I just can't stand those gridiron lines though.....[/QUOTE]It's not a rumor. The powers that be, at Qwest, have publicly stated that that is true. It is also part of the charter of the PFD that was formed to run Qwest when it was first built. If you won't believe any of us, why don't you give Qwest Field a call. You can find all of their contact info at: www.qwestfield.com
Re: Qwest Field Photo Thread [Merged] A little history... Seattle soccer fans rally to vote for/build Qwest Field: http://seattlepitch.tripod.com/news/stadium4.html http://seattlepitch.tripod.com/news/stadium5.html http://seattlepitch.tripod.com/news/stadium6.html http://www.gsminc.com/seahawks.htm http://www.kohary.com/seahawks/faqs/stadiumfaq.htm http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/football/79037_allen18.shtml http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=4006 http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2002/07/22/focus1.html
Re: Qwest Field Photo Thread [Merged] New to this site Has been driving me crazy to see the comments on Qwest. It has excellent sight lines of the pitch and is in a fantastic location. How many MLS/NFL fields are literally at the transportation hub of their cities. Qwest is accessed by ferry, freeway, light rail (soon), trains and bus (with the newly re-opened bus tunnel). No suburban parking lot that takes forever to get to and out of (I have sat in the lot at HDC in Carson for over an hour). Seattle will adopt an alternative sport without a doubt. It is close to Belltown, Capitol Hill, and is in heart of SODO/Pioneer Square. It will draw the young urban male just like Toronto FC. In addition Qwest has the feel of an English Premier stadium. Field Turf?? - This is the PNW. Grass fields here are mud by mid October - if it works to have turf in Toronto what is wrong with Seattle. Summer spectaculars like USMNT or a Man U can have grass brought in like the DC United/Real Madrid game in 06. Finally, the voters of Washington state made it clear that this is the MLS site for Seattle and the state.
Re: Qwest Field Photo Thread [Merged] OLYMPIA (AP) -- It's official: Seattle Seahawks owner Paul Allen's seven-week campaign for public assistance in building a new soccer/football stadium was a record breaker. Campaign finance reports submitted show Allen spent $6.25 million on the stadium campaign, far surpassing the previous record held by U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton, who spent $5.1 million on his re-election campaign in 1994. Two anti-stadium campaigns spent less than $200,000 combined. Qwest, the Seattle Soccer Stadium, cost a pretty penny for Paul Allen, future MLS owner, and also for residents of the State of Washington. http://o.seattletimes.nwsource.com/sports/seahawks/stadium/construction/ http://o.seattletimes.nwsource.com/sports/seahawks/stadium/construction/soccerfield.html http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2002/07/22/focus1.html Then there is poor Fred Medoza... http://www.stadium.org/meetPSABoard.asp Fred Mendoza has been an advocate for soccer for many years, and his goal of building a world class soccer stadium in the Seattle area has been achieved at Qwest Field. “It was a dream come true to watch the Seattle Sounders inaugurate Seahawks Stadium with a soccer game on July 28, 2002, and later to watch international headliners Manchester United, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Celtic. Qwest Field is a fantastic venue for soccer and football,” Mendoza said. HOW did Seattle get all that money for a $300+ million dollar European-styled soccer venue? On the backs of soccer fans support and votes, of course... http://seattlepitch.tripod.com/news/stadium4.html http://seattlepitch.tripod.com/news/stadium5.html http://seattlepitch.tripod.com/news/stadium6.html Qwest Field: the most extravagant and expensive SSS* ever built in the USA. *SSS=Seattle Soccer Stadium Qwest Field has hosted NFL games since 2002 and Second Division United Soccer Leagues matches (Seattle Sounders) since 2002. Qwest has hosted the USA National teams, the Gold Cup, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Celtic, Chelsea, Club America, Sunderland, Cardiff City, Preston North End, DC United, Los Angeles Galaxy, FC Dallas, Chivas USA, Real Salt Lake, Colorado Rapids, San Jose Earthquakes... Now this is the part of these types of posts where we usually put in some "Qwest Stadium full of fans" photos... Surprise! Let's look at Qwest from the Seattle Supporters section, with only a few thousand fans at a Sounders match... Incredible sightlines for soccer! Are they on the pitch? Right on top of it all. Notice the lower stand's unique architecture. No homogeneous 'lower bowl' at Qwest. Just stands that shoot right out to the pitch! Here's Qwest as most people 'fear it.' Double markings and a crowd of around 3,000, all on the east stand. Still a great place to see a match, and after 5 seasons as a Sounders season ticket-holder, I am ready for some MLS next!
Re: Qwest Field Photo Thread [Merged] It does look pretty bad, in the sense that it seems empty from that angle. It looks like 20 people showed up. With MLS will the other side be sold as well?
Re: Qwest Field Photo Thread [Merged] We don't know yet, but most of us think so. Why? Because the Sounders opened only one side and called a 'sell-out' 8,500. So...MLS Seattle would need to open both main lower sections to get to 17k. (not including 'endline' seating).
Re: Qwest Field Photo Thread [Merged] At first, I was like 'WOW! I was wrong! This is an amazing stadium for MLS. But I never realized Qwest looked like this!' Then, I realized why. Ah! But, THERE'S the Qwest I've come to know when it relates to soccer. I don't care how beautiful the pictures of the stadium are from the outside with all it's colors and against the city. No one is arguing that Qwest isn't a beautiful gem in Seattle (an even more beautiful city). That doesn't change the fact that soccer IN Qwest is not a good fit, unless maybe you would be moving into your own SSS in a year or two. But, as other clubs have learned, it's hard to move fans around without losing them.
Re: Qwest Field Photo Thread [Merged] Lucky for you in Seattle, many MLS teams have learned the hard way that there is MORE to do than simply build one. Also, the large stadiums had sucked dry the will of many fans for several years. There were many factors that went into this, ones that Seattle could respectfully learn from them. I, personally, show some respect to the fans that had to bear with those awful decisions - besides, Pizza Hut Park is one of the less attractive designs. Good thing nobody here is drawing parallels with failed leagues of the past or international games. Good thing nobody here is trying to do what other MLS teams have done in the past. Oh, wait... they are? *insert foot in mouth*
Re: Qwest Field Photo Thread [Merged] Hilarious by the way. I don't know exactly what your point is, but the bottom picture to me looks about as bad as the 3/4 empty stadium. In fact the demolition has a lot of character and I would love to go witness it. That's an absolute LIE that fans want to return to Soldier Field. I must remind you that ONE of the lessons MLS is learning is that city stadiums must be in prime location in order to be an instant success. This location isn't the best, especially with Chicago's horrible construction industry - traffic in and out of Chicago is a headache.
Re: Qwest Field Photo Thread [Merged] Thank God this guy doesn't have some kind of personal financial interest in Qwest Field that could make his opinion bias... oh, wait. He does? *insert foot in mouth*
Re: Qwest Field Photo Thread [Merged] Quit dry-humping the SSS angle. Find another hobby. It's happening no matter how hard you hump.
Re: The TRUTH about Qwest (photos) Seattle is getting an MLS team. The team will play at Qwest. The stadium will be modified to make it look attractive and create great atmosphere and it is going to be great for the league. This subject has been beaten to death. You are not going to change our minds and we are not going to change yours. Crying and complaining is not going to change the facts. Worry about getting your own teams and helping make those teams sucessful. Until you are selling out week after week and packing your stadiums you don't need to worry about ours. If you are not from Seattle, your opinion is empty and shallow until we actually see if your theories are right or wrong and we will not know that until the team actually plays there while in MLS not USL. You are just going to have to deal with it and focus your, resentment and jealosy elsewhere. Yes you are entitled to your opinion. I am entitled to mine. My opinion is: Shut The Hell Up Already And Move On. (STHUAMO) is going to be my response to you Qwest haters going forward.
Re: The TRUTH about Qwest (photos) I really hated the idea of Seattle continuing to be called the Sounders, but the new mockups on this page changed my mind (that is, as long as the official crest is this classy). FC Seattle Sounder 74. I like it lots.
Re: The TRUTH about Qwest (photos) So, you hate the possibility of the team being named "Sounders"? Why? Because, unlike the metroredbullstars, there actually is HISTORY behind the name? Wow, why ANYONE would want to embrace 33 years of history, and tradition, is beyond me. NOT!!!! What I'd like to know is, when are the mods going to do their jobs, and deal with all these haters, like they promised they would.
Re: The TRUTH about Qwest (photos) Wow, out of DC, NY, LA and Toronto you chose to use metroredbullstars? And don't you think you may be a little over reacting?
Re: Qwest Field Photo Thread [Merged] As for the demo'd stadium... I did. That is a photo of Busch Stadium II, probably in the fall of 2005, during the construction of BS III. Has there been an announcement that Seattle is getting this MLS franchise that was "promised" to play in Qwest year ago? Spiffy looking kits, btw.
Re: Qwest Field Photo Thread [Merged] Good luck I'd love to see at least nice crowds you guys deserve it
Re: Qwest Field Photo Thread [Merged] While I fully understand that Qwest is not the ideal situation. Even with Mr. Moneybags on board, I have my doubts about certain things. Like many others I think that there is no way there will be a RCS (revenue controlled stadium) inside the city limits of Seattle for quite some time. Maybe they will decide to build one in the future, and I really hope they do. Unless there is a major shift in how Seattle has been doing things, it will not be close to downtown. All of that said, I'm a supporter. I will be there no matter where they play, and no matter what they call them.
Re: Qwest Field Photo Thread [Merged] The beauty of protests is it often brings results, or at least expresses your discontent to the authorities. The fact that so many people are pissed about Qwest being used is a good prediction to how people are going to feel once it's actually going. I'm pissed it's being used, the ownership group's just lucky I like soccer a lot more than I am pissed. If people don't bitch about how ridiculous MLS is going to look in Qwest, the ownership groups won't think anything is wrong.
Re: Qwest Field soccer photos I still can't figure out why you put these pictures up... they make Qwest look like a joke. This crowd would look and feel Awesome in an SSS, but it's pathetic in Qwest.
Re: Qwest Field Photo Thread [Merged] Sorry, dude. I appreciate that you are a dedicated soccer and Sounders fan, but you commute to games from Bellingham (a beautiful city, btw) which means you have a different perspective than most of us. A lot of us live in Seattle and like that we can walk or take the bus to the stadium. Others take the ferry straight to downtown or have fairly easy bus rides from their neighborhood park-n-rides. The stadium is in a great location for the locals. I don't want to take an inconvenient bus ride (try bussing to Starfire, for instance) or drive to some podunk suburb, which is the only place a new stadium will be built (you do realize that, don't you?). It probably doesn't make a difference to you because you will be driving 1.5 hours no matter what, but it does to me and a lot of other people who live in Seattle. - Paul
Re: Qwest Field soccer photos As a point of contrast to what I am about to say, I will grant that the atmosphere in Qwest with 3000 fans to watch a USL regular season game flat out sucks. On its own, this is entirely irrelevant when talking about MLS in Seattle, of course. Having attended the Seattle - FC Dallas USOC match at Qwest this year with a mere 10K in attendance, I was impressed by how much I didn't miss the 60K fans that weren't there. The 10K fans created a great atmosphere. I agree it didn't look pretty, but then again, one of the beauties of soccer is that you don't spend much time looking at the crowd. A 17K crowd vastly improves the experience as the noise comes from all around the pitch, not just two sides of it. At 25K the lower bowl would be basically filled, and the atmosphere will be comprable to a packed TP or BMO. At levels substantially above 25K, Qwest will flat out eclipse the experience at the cozier SSSes. The big unknown of course is what a common attendance for a Qwest match will be. For reasons beyond the scope of this therad, I expect the Sounders' attendance to fall somewhere between league average to tops in the league. There will be lots of nights with 20K+. Sure there will be the occasional 12K match against Columbus on a rainy May evening. But there will be warm August nights with the likes of DC United, RBNY, and yes the Galaxicos when Qwest will be the envy of the entire league. I'll be there for every match, but I'll particularly enjoy the last variety with the knowledge that all the Qwest haters will be EATING THEIR HEARTS OUT! Seattle Sounders Here We Go...
Re: Qwest Field Photo Thread [Merged] Right on! I would add that part of the atmosphere that Qwest will bring (purely by its location) is the pregame/postgame party. Suburban stadia have tailgates before and traffic jams after, Qwest has Pioneer Square, SODO, and the International district just to name a few. Qwest, jewel of the MLS!