Seattle’s professional women’s soccer team, the OL Reign, is coming home to…Seattle. Starting in 2022, the NWLS team’s home turf will be Lumen Field, where the Seahawks and Sounders also play.
As soccer enthusiasts (and anyone who is obsessed with Megan Rapinoe) know, the Reign — one of the best women’s professional soccer franchises in the nation — have long played and practiced outside Seattle in Tacoma + Tukwila, and a brief stint at Memorial Stadium.
The league’s home turf has long been an ongoing point of contention. Despite being two-time NWSL Shield winners, two-time NWSL Championship runners up, and sending five players to the 2020 Olympics — the Reign have long been relegated to smaller stadiums miles away from Seattle. An attempt to play in the city at Memorial Stadium in 2014 was short-lived after it was determined that the field didn’t meet US Soccer Pro League Standards.
All to say — it’s been a long road to a Seattle stadium “worthy of their talents,” as coach Laura Harvey said. Whereas previous home fields have seated between 4,500-6,000 fans, Lumen Field seats 68,740.
“We may not have always had the resources, but we always had the vision, the ambition, and the drive to be something special.” — Coach Harvey
And while it’s a homecoming worthy of celebration for an under-recognized team, Seattle fans are also the winners here. Don’t get us started on the absolute mess that is the commute to Tacoma on a weeknight, something that surely dissuaded many a fan from attending games.
Now, with the expansion of the light rail combined with the central location of Lumen Field — access to games could booster an already thriving soccer community in the Puget Sound.
Fast Facts
⚽️ Season tickets are on sale now + single match tickets are coming soon
⚽️ Lumen Field will be opening gradually based on attendance, starting on the lower east stadium bowl
⚽️ 2022 schedule has yet to be announced
