Clem's Baseball home

T-Mobile Park *
Home of the
Seattle Mariners
(1999-)




T-Mobile Park

DYNAMIC DIAGRAM:
Mouse rollover. roof closed, opaque roof closed, translucent roof half closed roof open transparent roofs 1999, regular view 2013, regular view football soccer Seattle Stadiums


Kingdome
Key to diagrams

* The former "Safeco Field" was officially renamed "T-Mobile Park" as of January 2019.


 
Vital statistics:
Lifetime Seating
capacity
Seating rows
(typical)
Overhang /
shade %
Est. territory
(1,000 sq. ft.)
Fence height  CF
orien- tation
Back-stop Outfield dimensions
Built Demo- lished Lower deck Middle deck Upper deck Lower deck Upper deck Fair Foul LF CF RF Left
field
Left-center Center field Right-center Right field
1999 FINE 47,476 42 12 26 25% (55%) 106.1 23.9 15 7 7 NE 56 331 (367) 401 (367) 326

(Overhang / shade % assumes the main roof is open.)

ALL STAR GAME: 2001

Like Clevelanders, residents of Seattle had every reason to look askance on funding yet another gold-plated sports facility, given the costly, mediocre venue that the Kingdome turned out to be. Safeco Field cost over a half billion dollars to build, at the time one of the most expensive stadiums ever. Nevertheless, it has earned the reputation of being one of the better of the neoclassical stadiums, and it may be the best of the ones with retractable roofs. Its roof design strongly influenced the design of Marlins Park, built 13 years later. Built just as the Mariners were achieving top-rank status for the first time, Safeco Field has been filled to capacity on many occasions, and remains very popular. Shielding the game from the frequent Northwest rains, yet affording a wonderful view of the "the bluest skies you've ever seen" on good days -- and sometimes Mount Rainier itself -- it is a perfect match of aesthetics, tradition, and modern conveniences.

Safeco Field is located just south of the Seahawks' new football stadium, Century Link Field, which occupies the same site where the Kingdome used to be. The main roofs on both stadiums' are suspended with the same kind of massive arch; there are four such arches atop Safeco Field. The telescoping roof sections are tucked above the east (right field) side of the stadium when it is open. Immediately in back of that side are the train tracks, and blaring train horns are often heard during games.

thumbnail The outfield walls do have a few interesting angles, but overall there is less asymmetry here than in other recent stadiums. The power alleys are slightly deeper than average, but otherwise not much distinguishes the playing field itself. Foul territory is slightly above average size compared to other neoclassical stadiums. The seating areas include two elevated bleacher sections (with bench seats), one perched above the bullpens behind the left field fence and one looming above center field, situated at a skewed angle. In addition to the huge retractable roof, there is a roof providing shade for most of the upper deck. It might seem superfluous, but in fact serves a useful purpose, since it is seldom very cloudy in the Northwest for most of the summer. The glass back side behind the uppermost row keeps the fan noise focused toward the field, accentuating the home field advantage.

Like other neoclassical stadiums built in the 1990s, a time of soaring economic optimism, Safeco Field has proven to be too big for the regional fan base. With three decks that wrap around two-thirds of the field (except in right field, where a glass-enclosed restaurant replaces the second deck), there are usually several empty sections in the upper deck. A capacity reduction similar to what has been done in Denver (Coors Field) and what is being done in Cleveland (Progressive Field) is probably in order.

Ironically, the Mariners let go of some of their biggest stars at about the same time they moved into their new home: Randy Johnson, Alex Rodriguez, and Ken Griffey Jr. It was amazing that the Mariners remained competitive in the early 2000s, and this was thanks to players like Bret Boone and Edgar Martinez, who have since retired. In later years, megastar Ichiro Suzuki led the team's pursuit of the American League West crown, but he was traded to the Yankees in 2012. The Mariners have yet to attain another postseason berth.

Safeco Field hosted the first Seattle Bowl (formerly the Oahu Bowl), held on December 27, 2001, when Georgia Tech beat Stanford. (The second Seattle Bowl was held a year later in brand-new Seahawks Stadium, and then it apparently folded.) Together with AT&T Park and Chase Field, that makes three neoclassical-retro stadiums that have hosted football games. Weird! Another anomaly: On June 24-26, 2011 the Mariners were scheduled to host the Marlins in an interleague series, but the games were displaced by a U2 concert at Sun Life Stadium, so they played in Safeco Field instead, with the Mariners as the "visiting" team.

As of January 2019, Safeco Field officially became known as "T-Mobile Park," under the terms of an $87.5 million 25-year naming rights deal with the T-Mobile cellular telephone company.

SOURCES: Lowry (2006), Pastier (2009), Rosen (2001), Google Earth

FAN TIPS: Brandon Henderson, Bob Williams, Bruce Orser


Click on the camera icon (camera) links below to see the photos, one by one.

Safeco Field

camera #1 Broad view from the rear of the lower deck behind the Mariners' dugout, looking toward left field.

camera #2 View from near the left field foul pole toward center field, showing the movable roof supports.

camera #3 Exterior view of the left field entrance. The architects were obviously trying to give the impression of the ballpark being situated next to old urban brick buildings.

Above photos courtesy of Mike Hoecker.


camera #4 Distant view of both Safeco Field and nearby Century Link Field, home of the NFL Seattle Seawhawks, from a high-rise building. (courtesy of Greg Merrigan)


Seattle stadiums
The Clem Criteria:
Field
asymmetry
Architectural
design
Seat
proximity
Location * Aesthetics Overall
5 7 6 6 8 6.4

* See the Stadium locations page.




Safeco Field:
Chronology of diagram updates


 



NOTE: The diagram thumbnails have been continually replaced since 2008, so the images seen in the older blog posts do not reflect how the full-size diagrams looked at that time. Roll your mouse over the adjacent thumbnail to see a pre-2008 version.

Safeco Field
 
10 Oct 2003 06 Jul 2006 18 Jul 2012 16 Jul 2013* 22 Jan 2015 22 Jul 2020

Vox populi: Fans' impressions

Have you been to this stadium? If so, feel free to share your impressions of it with other fans! (Registration is required.) Also, I welcome submissions of original stadium photos that fans have taken, and will make sure they get properly credited. Just send me an e-mail message via the Contact page.


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