Now that D.C. United is getting a new stadium thanks to the generosity of the D.C. council, the list of teams without soccer-only stadiums is down to the New England Revolution, the new NYC F.C, the Vancouver Whitecaps, and the Seattle Sounders. NYC F.C.’s owners are actively looking for a new home, and the Revolution’s are at least thinking about it, but the Sounders owners have been happy to have their MLS squad sharing digs with the Seahawks — and why wouldn’t they, since they’re drawing more than 40,000 fans per game, far and away tops in the league. Why, there’s no possible reason why the Sounders would need a new stadium —
The Seattle Sounders are not happy with the state of the CenturyLink Field turf and are growing frustrated with what seems to be an increasing sense that they are secondary tenants at the facility they share with the Seattle Seahawks.
How frustrated? ESPN’s Taylor Twellman seems to think it’s to the point that a new home is something the Sounders are at least considering.
“Secretly I think Adrian Hanauer needs [Real Salt Lake GM] Garth Lagerwey because I think Adrian Hanauer is going to look for a stadium,” Twellman told ESPN700 when talking to the Salt Lake City radio station about the news he broke on Monday. “I know that’s a long shot and people may find that surprising but I think Adrian Hanauer wants Seattle to have their own stadium and I wouldn’t be shocked if that’s where his focus and energy then turns.”
I’d point out that it would be a lot cheaper to replace the turf every year than to build a whole new stadium, and that a soccer-only facility that seats 40,000 is going to be crazy expensive, and that the Sounders’ coach has worried that Seattle gets too much rain for grass to be a good option there, and that complaining about being second-class citizens to the Seahawks is nuts when they’re partly owned by the same people — but you know, let’s just stick with the fact that this is just some soccer reporter speculating wildly. For now, anyway.