Sounders FC headquarters & practice facility moving to Renton

As reported in the PSBJ, Seattle Sounders FC has announced that in 2024 it will open a training facility at Longacres, the former Boeing Commercial Airlines Headquarters, in Renton.  The Sounders' new facility will be developed in partnership with Unico Properties, which bought the 158-acre site from Boeing for $100M in late 2021.  The campus has two class A office buildings totaling 962,800 square feet as well as a daycare facility and approximately 2,150 parking stalls.

The site is adjacent to Tukwila Station, which offers north-south Sounder commuter rail and Amtrak passenger train service. The trip by rail to King Street Station - next to the club's home pitch at Lumen Field - takes about 12 minutes. Plans include renovation of 41,300 interior square feet, for the club’s soccer operations and front office personnel.  In addition, plans include construction of four training fields, two of natural grass and two of artificial turf.  An outdoor patio will connect an indoor lounge with the training fields.  There will be an open-air viewing deck for spectators.  

Unico's master plan is built around the property's two lakes and a mile-long walking path.  It's a 10-year business plan with an overall build-out cost that would be likely in excess of $1 billion.  The new facility will be known as the Sounders FC Center at Longacres.  Construction of the soccer pitches is expected to begin early in 2023 with the facility opening in 2024.  Unico also announced it will develop up to 3,000 apartments on the site.

Sounders FC is Seattle's most successful professional sports team, winning the 2019 and 2016 MLS Cups, plus the 2014 MLS Supporters' Shield and four U.S. Open Cup championships (2009, 2010, 2011, 2014).  The opening in 2024 coincides with the club's 50th anniversary.

Generator Studio of Kansas City will design Sounders FC Center at Longacres.  Generator's co-founders worked on the design of Lumen Field, the Virginia Mason Athletic Center, and most recently, the Seattle Kraken’s Community Iceplex in Northgate.

The Sounders' new facility will return Longacres to its former use as a sports destination.  Longacres operated as a horse racing track from 1933 through 1992, and at the time of its closing, was the longest continually operated track on the West Coast.  Boeing then purchased the property, which served as the company's headquarters for its Commercial Airplanes division from 1995 through 2021.