Editing Lumen Field (section)

== Funding ==
The Seahawks played their home games at the [[Kingdome]] from their [[1976 Seattle Seahawks season|1976 inaugural season]] until [[1999 Seattle Seahawks season|1999]], sharing the stadium with [[Major League Baseball]]'s [[Seattle Mariners]] and the [[National Basketball Association]]'s [[Seattle SuperSonics]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://o.seattlepi.com/kingdome/hawks.shtml |title=A month of Sundays with the Hawks |author=Clare Farnsworth |newspaper=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |date=March 27, 2000 |access-date=March 20, 2012}}{{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> In 1995 a proposal was made to issue [[King County, Washington|county]] [[Bond (finance)|bonds]] to fund a remodeling project of the facility. The proposal failed, and as a result, Seahawks' owner [[Ken Behring]] threatened to sell or move the team (likely to Los Angeles). In 1997 local billionaire Paul Allen pledged to acquire the team if a new stadium could be built and said that the team could not be profitable until they left the Kingdome. He asked the [[Washington State Legislature|state legislature]] to hold a special statewide [[referendum]] on a proposal to finance a new stadium. Allen also agreed to cover any cost overruns.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19970607/2543328/stadium-not-a-good-deal----hawks-to-lose-money-until-new-facility-is-open |title=Stadium 'Not A Good Deal' – Hawks To Lose Money Until New Facility Is Open |author=David Schaefer |newspaper=Seattle Times |date=June 7, 1997 |access-date=December 23, 2009}}</ref><ref name="Funding">{{cite web |url=http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=3582 |title=Washington state voters approve funding for new Seahawks Stadium on June 17, 1997 |publisher=HistoryLink.org |access-date=September 27, 2009}}</ref> With Allen agreeing to pay the $4&nbsp;million cost, the legislature agreed. The vote was scheduled to be held in June 1997 but in May a Seattle resident filed a lawsuit that claimed the legislature did not have authority to call for such a vote, since it would be paid for by a private party who could gain from the result. The case was delayed until after the vote.<ref name="Kitsap Sun 1997">{{cite web |url=http://m.kitsapsun.com/news/1997/Oct/01/lawsuit-dismissed-seahawks-stadium-vote-court/ |title=Lawsuit Dismissed: Seahawks stadium vote withstands court challenge |work=[[Kitsap Sun]] |access-date=September 27, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091117092406/http://m.kitsapsun.com/news/1997/Oct/01/lawsuit-dismissed-seahawks-stadium-vote-court/ |archive-date=November 17, 2009}}</ref> The proposal was pitched to voters as providing both a new home for the Seahawks and a venue for top-level soccer. It passed on June 17, 1997,<ref name="ESPN 2007-11-13">{{cite news |url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=481997&cc=5901 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071116174031/http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=481997&cc=5901 |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 16, 2007 |title=Seattle expansion franchise to begin play in '09 |agency=Associated Press |publisher=ESPN |access-date=September 27, 2009}}</ref> with 820,364 (51.1%) in favor and 783,584 against.<ref name="Kitsap Sun 1997" /><ref name="Rocky Mountain News June 27, 1997">{{cite news |title=Seattle Gets OK to Build New Stadium |date=June 27, 1997 |agency=News Wire Services |work=The Rocky Mountain News}}</ref> The vote was close in Seattle, but it received 60% approval in Seattle's northern and eastern suburbs. The public funding was unpopular farther away in the [[Eastern Washington|eastern portion]] of the state.<ref name="Seattle Times June 19, 1997">{{cite news |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19970619/2545443/stadium-won-big-in-suburbs----but-far-away-and-in-seattle-seahawk-issue-less-popular |title=Stadium Won Big In Suburbs – But Far Away, And In Seattle, Seahawk Issue Less Popular |last1=Schaefer |first1=David |last2=Serrano |first2=Barbara |last3=Varner |first3=Lynne |date=June 19, 1997 |work=The Seattle Times |access-date=November 5, 2009}}</ref> In October, a [[Thurston County, Washington|Thurston County]] [[Superior Court]] judge ruled that the legislature acted properly and in the public's interest, and he dismissed the pending lawsuit. The [[Washington Supreme Court]] upheld the decision that December.<ref name="Kitsap Sun 1997" /><ref name="DJC Finance">{{cite web |url=http://www.djc.com/news/const/10048690.html |title=Financing for football stadium upheld by court |work=Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce |access-date=November 5, 2009}}</ref>

Voter approval of the referendum created a public–private partnership.<ref name="ESPN 2007-11-13" /> The Washington State Public Stadium Authority was created to oversee public ownership of the stadium, exhibition center, and parking garage complex. Allen purchased the Seahawks and formed First & Goal Inc. to build and operate the facility. The budget for the project was $430&nbsp;million. Of this cost, $44&nbsp;million was allotted to build the Event Center, $26&nbsp;million for the parking garage, and $360&nbsp;million for the stadium. First & Goal was to cover cost overruns and pay up to $130&nbsp;million of the project while the contribution from the public was capped at $300&nbsp;million.<ref name="King County 2008-07-15" /> The public funding package included new sports-related state [[Washington's Lottery|lottery]] games, taxes on the facility's admissions and parking, sales tax credits and deferrals, and an eight-year extension of the 2% tax on hotel rooms in [[King County, Washington|King County]].<ref name="NY Times Funding">{{cite news |first=Carey |last=Goldberg |title=A Decision on the Seattle Seahawks' Home |date=May 27, 1997 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/25/us/a-decision-on-the-seattle-seahawks-home.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2 |work=The New York Times |page=2 |access-date=April 4, 2009}}</ref> The taxes on admissions and parking were set below the authorized 10% to preserve the [[Tax exemption|tax-exempt]] status of the project's bonds, which were first issued on May 1, 1999; the percentage was increased to the full amount when the bonds were completely paid on January 1, 2021, with the taxes subsequently serving as dedicated funding sources for maintenance and modernization of the facilities.<ref name="King County 2008-07-15">{{cite web |url=http://www.leg.wa.gov/JointCommittees/LFOKC/Documents/2008-10-01Quest.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091019023329/http://www.leg.wa.gov/JointCommittees/LFOKC/Documents/2008-10-01Quest.pdf |archive-date=October 19, 2009 |title=Qwest Field and Event Center |publisher=[[Washington State Legislature]] |access-date=October 19, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Seahawks sale analysis - Times">{{cite news |last1=Condotta |first1=Bob |title=Why a sale of the Seahawks is unlikely before May 2024 |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/seahawks/why-a-sale-of-the-seahawks-is-unlikely-before-may-2024/ |access-date=January 12, 2024 |work=The Seattle Times |date=June 22, 2022}}</ref> Furthermore, a clause in the referendum required Allen or his estate to give the Public Stadium Authority 10% of the proceeds from the sale of a majority or all of their interest in the Seahawks if they had done so before or on the 25th anniversary of the first bond sale. The proceeds would have been reserved for the state's public schools had a sale of the team occurred before the bonds were fully paid off; any sale in between the bond retirement and the clause expiration would have seen the proceeds go towards improvements to the stadium instead.<ref name="Seahawks sale analysis - Times" />

In September 1998, First & Goal signed a 30-year stadium lease that includes [[Option (finance)|options]] to extend for another 20.<ref name="Seattle Times 1998-09-25" /> Per the agreement, the Public Stadium Authority receives $850,000 a year from First and Goal (adjusted for inflation), and First & Goal keeps all revenue from the stadium and parking garage. The company receives 80% of the revenue from the exhibition center while the other 20&nbsp;percent is allotted to a state education fund. First & Goal is responsible for all operating and maintenance costs, expected to be $6&nbsp;million a year, and must keep the facility in "first-class" condition. Other details of the lease include the availability of affordable seats, a coordinated effort with neighboring [[T-Mobile Park]] (the Mariners' current ballpark) to prevent [[gridlock]], a provision for naming rights, the investment in public art at the stadium, and the giveaway of a [[luxury suite]] to a fan each Seahawks' game.<ref name="Seattle Times 1998-09-25">{{cite news |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19980925/2774038/seahawks-sign-lease-for-30-years-at-new-stadium |title=Seahawks Sign Lease For 30 Years At New Stadium |last=Dudley |first=Brier |date=September 25, 1998 |work=The Seattle Times |access-date=September 9, 2009}}</ref>