Home venue of the Seattle Mariners, the Major League Baseball team of the city, and located in the core downtown district of SoDo, Safeco Field is a 47,943-seat stadium and iconic feature of the Seattle skyline. The first game on the grounds played on July 15, 1999, and it became the official replacement of the original stadium, Kingdome. In addition to the home field for the Mariners, it is the venue of numerous baseball events, for high school championships and college games, including the Huskies, the University of Washington sports team.
Visitors can experience the stadium at its best during a Mariners game, which fans enter through any of the four main gates and watch from any of five levels inside, which all have a view of the pitch and an old-style scoreboard. Not only is there a fantastic atmosphere, but there are food and drinks services, including several exclusive restaurants, and visitors can buy merchandise from the stadium shop. Music concerts also take place in the stadium space, and famous artists that have played there include Paul McCartney in 2013, Nirvana, and the Beach Boys, who were the first to perform in 2008. Visitors can alternatively experience the stadium by taking a tour, showing intimate stadium features, it’s real grass, roof mechanics and huge video board, providing information along the way and revealing exclusive spaces, such as the luxury suite.
Safeco Field is easily accessible via Interstate 5, from the north of south of Washington State, as the stadium is close to the exit, through Seattle and visitors can then park in the stadium garage or any of the nearby parking lots. For those travelling by public transport, there are regular trains the King Street Station, which is close by, and Link Light Rail and express bus services run specific routes on game days.
Construction of Safeco began in 1997, in the background if the still existing Kingdome stadium and the first baseball game happened in 1999. The ballpark consists of a retro-modern style, similar to many built in the 1990s, combining tradition with technologically advanced facilities. An iconic construction feature of the stadium is its retractable roof, which acts as an umbrella partially protecting the pitch rather than fully enclosing it, serving as the only one of its kind in the world.