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.
Rose Lavelle, Megan Rapinoe, Nicole Momiki, Quinn + Angelina went to the Tokyo Olympics. | Photo via OL Reign
“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