Reporter explains why Seahawks sale could mean a new stadium

ESPN’s Seth Wickersham reported on the state of the Seattle Seahawks’ sale on Friday, and one unexpected detail stood out in his article.

ESPN report hints at potential Seattle Seahawks sale valuation

“The Seahawks might also need a new stadium in coming years. While a new venue could open up additional revenue in the long term, the politics and cost could be a fight in the short term,” reads Wickersham’s report.

That certainly came as a surprise considering how well regarded the Seahawks’ home stadium, Lumen Field, continues to be.

On Monday, Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk talked to Wickersham, who shared more on why a new stadium is something prospective bidders for ownership of the team may be considering.

“In this specific case, one of the ancillary costs as they’re looking out there is the cost of a new stadium,” Wickersham told hosts Mike Salk and Brock Huard. “I think that shocked a lot of people when I wrote that in the story, because obviously Seattle’s got a great stadium and they have a great home field advantage. But the stadiums that were built around that time, and you can argue the pros and cons of an arms race as it goes to stadiums, but those are starting to come due.”

New stadium talk is about revenue

Lumen Field was opened in July 2002, which means it’s nearly the same age as the Kingdome, the Seahawks’ previous stadium, was when it was demolished at just one day shy of 24 years after it opened. Lumen Field is undoubtedly in great shape for a stadium of its age, but one NFL team that also opened a stadium around the turn of the century is in the process of trying to build a new one – the Denver Broncos, who opened Empower Field at Mile High in 2001.

It may not be long before other teams in similar situations follow suit as they look to keep up with the state of the art stadiums around the league.

“You see in Denver, they’re looking at a new stadium. And so it’s not inconceivable that the new owner could want a new stadium at some point,” Wickersham said.

Wickersham explained that a new stadium could provide new revenue streams for the next Seahawks ownership, in particular local streams that would not be subject to NFL revenue sharing.

“I think a lot of it is the new revenue. And I think when you’re a new owner and you’re paying all this money and you buy this team, the NFL is obviously, like, they distribute revenue – only local revenue is separate and it’s different,” Wickersham said. “And a new stadium has the potential to bring in ancillary and maybe even vast new revenue streams that the owners would mostly benefit from. And I think that’s it.”

Another potential factor: becoming an option to host a future Super Bowl, which would likely mean needing a roof in order to host a February championship game.

“I do think that a roof, you can’t rule it out,” Wickersham said. “I mean, I think that as the NFL is looking to expand host cities for Super Bowls, Seattle could certainly be in that mix. Now, this is me opining, I don’t have reporting on that, but I think that one of Denver’s goals with the new stadium would be to host big events, including the Super Bowl. And I could see the same for Seattle, only they would probably want it covered.”

Threat of the Seahawks moving?

For a city that is still stinging from the loss of the NBA’s Seattle Sonics 18 years ago, the question has to be asked: With the Seahawks up for sale and talk of a new stadium, is there any threat that the franchise could be moved out of the Emerald City?

Wickersham understands “there’s a lot of scar tissue there,” but his answer should calm any of those fears.

“I cannot fathom this. I cannot fathom owners allowing it to happen, either,” he said. “And, like, where are they gonna go? And what would that mean for everybody else? I cannot see that.”

Hear the full Brock and Salk conversation with ESPN senior writer Seth Wickersham at this link or in the audio player below. Catch Brock and Salk from 6-10 a.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports.

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