CenturyLink Field - Transportation

Transportation

CenturyLink Field is bordered by the Pioneer Square, International District, and Industrial District neighborhoods of Seattle. The stadium's referendum approval required a transportation management program to coordinate transportation options. First & Goal's facility lease agreement also included a provision to ease gridlock. A "Dual Event Agreement" with Safeco Field was established so that two events with a combined attendance of over 58,000 would not occur within four hours of each other. The agreement was also implemented to coordinate mass transit to the stadiums on game days. Local and regional buses service the area with stops within three blocks of the stadium, and the county's Metro bus service offers express routes from several area park and ride lots for games. Trains service the stadium through Seattle's King Street Station and overflow tracks accommodate extra trains during events. Regional commuter trains operate on Sundays if the Seahawks have a home game. Trains also run for mid-day Sounders FC games on Saturdays. In 2008, the commuter trains carried 64,000 event goers to the two nearby stadiums. Amtrak, primarily through the Pacific Northwest corridor's Cascades route, also serves the station. On July 18, 2009, light rail service between SeaTac and downtown began in time for an exhibition match between the Sounders and Chelsea.

CenturyLink Field is bordered by the junction of Interstates 5 and 90 to the east and Washington State Route 99 to its west. The State Route 519 corridor connects I-90 to the neighborhood. Local governments compromised with both the Seahawks and Mariners on the location of new ramps over the train tracks that run along the east sides of CenturyLink and Safeco Fields. An overpass for S Royal Brougham Way, the road that borders the south edge of the CenturyLink Field complex, to improve access and safety was completed in May 2010. The stadium has 2,000 parking spaces in its parking garage and 8,400 in the surrounding lots to accommodate automobile traffic. Beginning in December 2011, construction of the Stadium Place mixed-use development project replaced much of the north lot. The developer must replace the 500 lost parking spots and turn over parking revenue to the Public Stadium Authority per an agreement with King County.