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Safeco Field

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Safeco Field
June 17, 1999

Stats class: The Stadium

Safeco Field Stadium chart

Stadium field

Site size: 19.59 acres
Square footage of ballpark: 1,172,127
Seating capacity: 47,000
Suites: Private 60, group 8
Surface: grass
Elevation: 5 feet below street level
Dimensions:
  • Left foul line, 331 feet
  • Left power alley, 390 feet
  • Center field, 405 feet
  • Right power alley 386 feet
  • Right foul line, 326 feet
Field wall height: 8 feet
Parking garage: 2,000 spaces

The seats are angled and arranged in a gentle curve to maximize sight lines. Fans should be able to see clearly over the heads of people two rows in front of them. Rows are shorter and deeper for more knee space and a quicker trip to the aisle.

Because it's designed specifically for baseball rather than dual use, Safeco Field will bring fans closer to the players and have better sight lines.

The façade is designed with a scale and character similar to old Pioneer Square warehouses. Blond brick was used at the lower level, mimicking existing buildings nearby. The red brick on the upper level was manufactured to look rough and resemble handmade bricks used at the turn of the century. Sixty-foot bay windows along First Avenue mirror the 60-foot property line of Pioneer Square so the stadium façade maintains the rhythm of blocks to the north.

Stadium rotunda
The rotunda entry at home plate is modeled after the one at Brooklyn's Ebbets Field.
PDF photo

The stadium was pushed toward the east, maximizing retail frontage on the west side in order to participate in the retail corridor developing along First Avenue.

Steel was used in the stadium to help visually link the stadium's traditional design with that of the roof structure, as well as to evoke the nearby railroad tracks and Port of Seattle cranes. The mechanism that moves the roof is the same as the type that moves the waterfront cranes, and the height and scale of the roof members are the same as the cranes. Much of the steel is colored green as it is in traditional baseball fields such as Boston's Fenway Park.

The rotunda entry at home plate is reminiscent of those found at older ballparks such as Ebbett's Field.

Public art, street trees and greenery are being installed along the main pedestrian approaches to the ballpark. Along Occidental Avenue South a plaza will feature special paving, plantings and art work to enliven the area and attract street vendors.

* Check out the stadium seating chart and ticket prices at the Mariner's site.

Funding and budget

Total ballpark cost (including parking garage): $517 million
Roof cost: $60 million-$65 million
Parking garage cost: $33.5 million
Scoreboards cost: $9 million
Field cost: $2 million
Public portion: Capped at $372 million
Seattle Mariners' portion: $145 million (all costs over $372 million)
Public revenue sources:

  • .071 percent state sales tax in King County (not an additional tax, but reallocation of existing revenue source to the Public Facilities District)
  • .5 percent restaurant tax in King County
  • 2 percent car rental tax
  • State scratch lottery game ($3 million for 1996, the first year, with a 4 percent a year escalator)
  • License plate package ($28 of $45 fee goes to Public Facilities District)

Naming rights: $40 million (from Safeco Corp.)

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