Editing Lumen Field (section)

== Other events ==
The stadium became a yearly site for [[AMA Supercross Championship|Supercross]] races in 2005. Seattle had been left out of the circuit since the Kingdome hosted the race in 1999.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.seattlepi.com/othersports/220393_dirt16.html |title=Qwest field gets down and dirty for supercross |last=McNerthney |first=Casey |date=April 16, 2010 |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |access-date=April 24, 2010}}</ref> It takes more than 650 truckloads of dirt to build the course for the event that around 50,000 spectators attend.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.seattlepi.com/othersports/220203_supercross15.html |title=Supercross roars back onto Seattle stage |last=McNerthney |first=Casey |date=April 15, 2010 |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |access-date=April 24, 2010}}</ref> In May 2004, Qwest Field hosted the first [[Major League Lacrosse]] game played outside the East Coast; it hosted a second game the following year.<ref>{{cite news |last=Romero |first=José Miguel |date=May 29, 2005 |title=Seattle welcomes big-league lacrosse |page=C4 |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/seattle-welcomes-big-league-lacrosse/ |work=The Seattle Times |accessdate=February 1, 2024}}</ref> The stadium has also been used for public speaking engagements. For example, the [[14th Dalai Lama]] of Tibet, Tenzin Gyatso, delivered a 28-minute speech to 50,817&nbsp;people on April 12, 2008.<ref name="Seattle Post-Intelligencer 2008-04-12">{{cite news |first1=John |last1=Iwasaki |first2=Brad |last2=Wong |title=Qwest Field crowd hears Dalai Lama's call for greater compassion |date=April 12, 2008 |url=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/358882_dalaivisit.html?source=mypi |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |access-date=April 30, 2009}}</ref>

The largest concert attendance in the stadium's history was set on July 22, 2023, by [[Taylor Swift]]'s [[The Eras Tour]]; 72,171 spectators watched at Lumen Field on the first of two days.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rietmulder |first=Michael |date=July 24, 2023 |title=Taylor Swift Night 2 surprise songs in Seattle dig deep |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/music/taylor-swift-night-2-surprise-songs-in-seattle-dig-deep/ |work=The Seattle Times |accessdate=July 24, 2023}}</ref> The record was surpassed a month later by [[Ed Sheeran]]'s [[+–=÷× Tour|The Mathematics Tour]], which drew 77,286 to Lumen Field on August 26.<ref>{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Owen R. |date=August 27, 2023 |title=Ed Sheeran smashes Taylor Swift's Lumen Field attendance record |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/music/ed-sheeran-smashes-taylor-swifts-lumen-field-attendance-record/ |work=The Seattle Times |accessdate=August 31, 2023}}</ref>

Lumen Field hosted several events related to the [[2023 MLB All-Star Game]], which was played at the adjacent T-Mobile Park. The first two rounds of the [[2023 Major League Baseball draft|Major League Baseball draft]] took place at Lumen Field on July 9.<ref>{{cite news |date=May 8, 2023 |title=MLB amateur draft to be held at Lumen Field during All-Star week |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/37565893/mlb-amateur-draft-held-lumen-field-all-star-week |publisher=ESPN |agency=Associated Press |accessdate=July 4, 2023}}</ref> The playing surface was divided into several pitching areas while the north lot and event center include performance stages, [[batting cage]]s, and museum exhibits.<ref>{{cite news |last=Nall |first=Marissa |date=July 7, 2023 |title=Lumen Field gets a baseball makeover for MLB All-Star festivities |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2023/07/07/lumen-field-play-ball-park-construction.html |work=Puget Sound Business Journal |accessdate=July 7, 2023}}</ref>

=== Event Center ===
{{Redirect|WaMu Theater|the theater in [[New York City]] at Madison Square Garden formerly sponsored by Washington Mutual|Hulu Theater}}
[[File:Moderna COVID-19 vaccination session at Lumen Field Event Center - April 30, 2021.jpg|thumb|Main exhibition hall at the Event Center during a [[Moderna COVID-19 vaccine|Moderna COVID-19 vaccination]] session in April 2021]]

The Lumen Field Event Center connects to the stadium's west field plaza and consists of two exhibition halls, a conference room, and a concourse.<ref name="Puget Sound Business Journal 2002-07-19" /> The center hosts pre-game events for the Seahawks and [[Seattle Mariners|Mariners]]. According to the Public Stadium Authority's website, the event center contributes more than half a billion dollars to the region's economy.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stadium.org/exCenterInformation.asp |title=Event Center Information |publisher=Public Stadium Authority |access-date=September 10, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090822124240/http://www.stadium.org/exCenterInformation.asp |archive-date=August 22, 2009}}</ref> Originally debuting as the Washington State Stadium Exhibition Center, the center became known as the Seahawks Exhibition Center upon the stadium's opening in 2002.<ref name="Times - Exhibition center opening" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Around the Northwest |url=https://www.ctinsider.com/news/article/Around-the-Northwest-1089879.php |access-date=May 2, 2022 |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |date=June 22, 2002 |via=CT Insider}}</ref> The center was renamed the Qwest Field Event Center in 2004 after Qwest acquired naming rights to the complex;<ref>{{cite news |last1=Farnsworth |first1=Clare |title=Seahawks Stadium sponsor's new logo to debut |url=https://www.seattlepi.com/sports/football/article/Seahawks-Stadium-sponsor-s-new-logo-to-debut-1150419.php |access-date=May 2, 2022 |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |date=July 28, 2004}}</ref> it retained the "Event Center" name in subsequent renamings of the complex.<ref>{{cite news |last=Condotta |first=Bob |title=Qwest Field renamed CenturyLink Field |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/seahawks/qwest-field-renamed-centurylink-field/ |newspaper=The Seattle Times |date=June 20, 2011 |access-date=May 16, 2023}}</ref><ref name="Times-Lumen20"/>

The Event Center had previously been called "the worst venue in town" for concerts, but in 2006, [[AEG Live]] and First & Goal formed a partnership to create a new theater within the Event Center space. [[Washington Mutual]] (WaMu) obtained the naming rights to the new theater in a 10-year deal, calling it the '''WaMu Theater'''.<ref name="seatimes-wamu">{{cite news |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20060912/webqwest12/new-theater-to-open-at-qwest-field-event-center |title=New theater to open at Qwest Field Event Center |last=Young |first=Bob |date=September 9, 2006 |work=The Seattle Times |access-date=August 26, 2008}}</ref> The theater space can be assembled on an as-needed basis within the building and equipment, including the {{convert|104|ft|m|adj=on}} wide stage, can be dismantled and stored in the stadium. The theater's acoustics were improved by installing panels on the ceiling and a large curtain. Depending on the seating configuration, the capacity can be 3,300, 4,000, or 7,000. [[Seal (musician)|Seal]] performed the inaugural concert on November 6, 2006.<ref name="Seattle Post-Intelligencer 2006-11-03">{{cite news |first=Gene |last=Stout |title=Seal's the deal at the giant, portable WaMu Theater at Qwest center |date=November 3, 2006 |url=http://www.seattlepi.com/pop/290914_nightlife03.html |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |access-date=May 25, 2009}}</ref> Though the naming rights deal was terminated following the bankruptcy of [[Washington Mutual]] during the [[2008 financial crisis]], the theater retained the WaMu name, with AEG intending to seek a new sponsor for it; the meaning of the WaMu abbreviation was subsequently altered to represent "Washington Music" instead.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bower |first1=Meg |title=The Last WaMu Branches Standing Don't Offer Free Checking |url=https://www.seattleweekly.com/news/the-last-wamu-branches-standing-don%C2%92t-offer-free-checking/ |access-date=April 16, 2022 |work=Seattle Weekly |date=September 22, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite podcast |url=https://mynorthwest.com/3859691/before-it-collapsed-wamu-ad-campaign-was-the-friend-of-the-family/ |title=Before it collapsed, WaMu ad campaign was the 'Friend of the Family' |website=The Resident Historian |publisher=[[KIRO-FM|KIRO Radio]] |last=Banel |first=Feliks |date=March 17, 2023 |access-date=April 1, 2023}}</ref>

During the early weeks of the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Washington (state)|COVID-19 pandemic]], the Event Center was contracted for use as a [[field hospital]]. The temporary hospital was erected in April 2020 with 250 beds under the management of the [[Federal Emergency Management Agency]] and [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|Army Corps of Engineers]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Gutman |first=David |date=March 27, 2020 |title=CenturyLink Field Event Center, home to boat shows and concerts, will become a field hospital during coronavirus pandemic |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/centurylink-field-event-center-home-to-boat-shows-and-concerts-will-become-a-field-hospital-during-coronavirus-pandemic/ |work=The Seattle Times |access-date=March 27, 2020}}</ref> On April 8, the state government announced that the field hospital would be dismantled and relocated to another state by the federal government, as the pandemic's spread in Washington had slowed.<ref>{{cite news |last=O'Sullivan |first=Joseph |date=April 8, 2020 |title=Inslee sending back CenturyLink field hospital to federal government to help states hit harder by coronavirus |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/inslee-sending-back-centurylink-field-hospital-to-federal-government-to-help-states-hit-harder-by-coronavirus/ |work=The Seattle Times |access-date=April 8, 2020}}</ref> In March 2021, the Event Center was converted into a mass [[COVID-19 vaccination|vaccination]] center with capacity for 4,000 to 5,000 doses per week administered by the city government in partnership with First & Goal and [[Swedish Health Services]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Gutman |first=David |date=March 10, 2021 |title=Lumen Field Event Center opens Saturday as huge COVID-19 vaccination clinic; here's how it will work |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/seattle-wants-to-vaccinate-22000-people-a-day-at-lumen-field-event-center-from-covid-19-that-effort-starts-saturday/ |work=The Seattle Times |access-date=March 10, 2021}}</ref> The Event Center was also used as a vote center during the [[2020 Washington elections|2020]] and [[2022 Washington elections|2022]] elections by King County.<ref>{{cite news |last=Arthur |first=Ben |date=October 28, 2020 |title=Seahawks, King County Elections to open CenturyLink Field vote center on Saturday |url=https://www.seattlepi.com/sports/seahawks/article/Seahawks-CenturyLink-Field-to-be-used-vote-center-15682903.php |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |accessdate=November 8, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Zhou |first=Amanda |date=November 8, 2022 |title=2 hour line to vote in-person at Lumen Field, election officials say |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/2-hour-line-to-vote-in-person-at-lumen-field-election-officials-say/ |work=The Seattle Times |accessdate=November 8, 2022}}</ref>