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 After more than two decades of playing at one of the most sterile, boring stadiums in the country, the Kingdome, the Seahawks moved into one of the best stadiums in the NFL in 2002. Founded in 1974, the Seahawks played over 20 years at the Kingdome, sharing it with the Seattle Mariners (MLB). In the mid 1990s the Mariners followed the trend of other baseball teams and wanted a new retro ballpark built. A new ballpark for the Mariners would allow the Seahawks to have the Kingdome to themselves. In October 1994 a $120 million renovation plan was announced to upgrade the Kingdome to a football only facility if the Mariners moved into a new ballpark. This plan did not come to fruition and then owner of the Seahawks, Ken Behring, wanted to move the club to Los Angeles for the 1996 after the Rams departed for St. Louis. The NFL opposed the Seahawks relocation and in 1997 Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen bought the team. Allen wanted to demolish the Kingdome and build a new stadium for the Seahawks on its site. The Seahawks
christened their new state of the art facility on September 15,
2002. Qwest Field is configured in a horse shoe shape, with three
tiers of 68,000 seats. The north end of the stadium is open,
allowing superb views of the surrounding Seattle area. A 13-story
tower with a scoreboard at the top and bleacher seats for up to
3,000 fans, known as the "Hawk Nest" is also located on the north
side. Qwest Field is the first of its kind to have luxury suites
on the field directly behind the north endzone to provide an
in-your-face experience.
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The
stadium has a total of 82 luxury suites and over 7,000 club seats.
One of the most unique features of the stadium is the overhanging
roof design and rainbow tri-chord trusses that rise 260 feet above
the field. The roof covers 70 percent of the seats keeping many
fans dry during inclement weather. The exterior of the stadium
consists of red brick, and brick-accented colored concrete, tan
pre-cast concrete and white painted steel for the roofing
supports; blending in with other surround facilities. Fans
attending games at Qwest Field have some of the best views than at
any other stadium in the NFL. 
