Starfire Sports is a multi-purpose stadium and sporting facility in Tukwila, Washington, United States. It is located on the banks of the Green River, just south of Seattle. The stadium is operated by the nonprofit corporation Starfire Sports and is home to several soccer and rugby teams. At the time of its opening, CEO Chris Slatt claimed it was "the largest synthetic-turf soccer complex in the U.S."[1]
Quick Facts Former names, Location ...
Starfire Sports Stadium
The stadium's playing field pictured in 2009
Former names
Fort Dent Park Starfire Sporting Complex Starfire Sports Complex
From 2008 to 2024, Seattle Sounders FC of MLS has had offices and training facilities at the complex, whose main stadium hosted the Sounders' second-division incarnation in 2008 and has since staged the team's Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup matches. The Sounders' affiliate team, the Tacoma Defiance, played at Starfire from 2015 to 2017 and has returned for select games starting in 2022. The Sounders vacated the Starfire complex in favor of a new facility at Longacres in nearby Renton, Washington, which opened in 2024.[2][3]
The site was formerly Fort DentPark, operated by King County. In addition to the existing grass soccer fields, the park included a cricket pitch and softball fields in the areas now occupied by artificial-surface soccer fields.[7][8] Severe budget cuts in 2002 led the county to schedule the closing of this park, among others, at the end of the year; however, parks located within municipal boundaries were offered to those cities.[9] That offer sparked the formation of Starfire Sports by Slatt, Steve Beck, and Mark Bickham, who negotiated a 40-year lease with Tukwila to allow them to build and operate the complex.[1] This would relieve the city of an estimated $500,000 in annual maintenance costs which would likely have caused it to refuse the county’s offer had Starfire not stepped in.[7] Starfire plans to cover operating and maintenance costs through user fees and advertising banners and hopes to retire the $10 million construction costs over the course of several years.[10]
New construction included four lighted outdoor soccer fields with FieldTurf, including the stadium with its 2000-seat grandstand, along with the indoor facility.
Beginning in summer 2004, English Premier League powerhouse Manchester United offered training at Starfire as part of their Soccer Schools program. This came to an end in December 2007.[11] In the late 2000s, the complex was proposed as the site of a larger 28,000-seat venue that would host a Major League Soccer expansion team.[12] Starfire was instead chosen as the training grounds for the expansion team awarded to Seattle Sounders FC.
The city of Tukwila still maintains a wooded part of the 54-acre (220,000m2) site as a public park.[13] An expansion was unanimously approved by city leaders in a public hearing at the beginning of 2008 for the offices and training facilities of Seattle Sounders FC.[8] The team's practice fields replaced four existing softball fields on the campus.[2]
Facilities
Starfire features fields for indoor and outdoor soccer, and occasionally rugby union games, as well as a 4,500-seat soccer stadium. In 2004, the stadium field became only the eighth American artificial-surface pitch to earn "recommended" status by FIFA and was thereby sanctioned for international play.[14]
The complex has an indoor facility which has two indoor soccerFieldTurf fields. It also hosts administrative offices, a Mad Pizza restaurant, and a game room for children.
The expansion undertaken by the complex in 2008 also included new fields along with a workout and fitness area for the Sounders FC, as well as offices for the coaching and technical staff. To retain its community-based programs and accessibility, these areas and the fields have some public access.[8] The team opened part of its training sessions to the public and allowed fans to greet players on walks between the training facility and practice fields.[2] During the Copa América Centenario in 2016, temporary windscreens and privacy barriers were installed for visiting national teams, including Argentina.[2]