Soccer Fans Kicking In Support For Seahawks Stadium Plans To Modify Design For World Cup May Ensure Enough Votes In Election

Remember when political pundits identified “soccer moms” as the swing vote in last year’s presidential campaign?

Well, get ready, because here they come again.

Soccer fans are mobilizing support for billionaire Paul Allen’s bid to tear down the Kingdome and replace it with a 72,000-seat, open-air stadium that would serve as home to the Seattle Seahawks football team. Allen says he’ll buy the Seahawks if voters approve the $425 million project in a special statewide election June 17.

With a close vote expected from a skeptical public, Allen is hoping to pick up thousands of votes by agreeing to relatively minor changes in the design that would bring the stadium into compliance with World Cup soccer standards.

“I think the soccer community could very well be the deciding vote in this election,” says Fred Mendoza, a King County attorney and longtime soccer player, coach and activist. “It’s an outstanding opportunity, and an opportunity that comes along only once in a while.”

National soccer organizations have readily endorsed the plan. Mendoza and other supporters have been asked to participate in presentations around the state by Allen’s Football Northwest organization. And the Washington State Youth Soccer Association touted the project in its newsletter to parents and during a recent “soccer fair” in SeaTac.

Mendoza and other soccer enthusiasts have been working for years to build a soccer stadium big enough to handle local, national and international events.

He led a 1995 effort to land a Seattle franchise in the fledging Major League Soccer organization, but the bid fell through because the city doesn’t have an adequate grass field. The city’s minor-league team, the Seattle Sounders, plays on artificial turf in Memorial Stadium.

“We looked at every patch of grass, every vacancy in King County that could hold a stadium. Then this opportunity came along,” Mendoza says.

The “opportunity” was Allen. Civic leaders last year asked the Microsoft co-founder to buy the Seahawks from current owner Ken Behring, who tried last year to move the NFL team to California and is expected to try again.

Allen agreed to buy the team on the condition that taxpayers share the cost of building a modern stadium that could produce enough revenue to pay the high salaries demanded by marquee players.

“When Paul Allen was asked to rescue the Seahawks we suggested that, if it was done from the beginning, we could design a stadium that could accommodate football and soccer,” Mendoza said. “They were immediately amenable to it.”

Since then, the soccer world has rushed to support the project.

Major League Soccer, the national league that established itself in 10 cities last year and is looking to expand, says it will “strongly consider” Seattle for an expansion franchise. The league boasts that attendance averaged 17,500 a game during its inaugural season.

The United States Soccer Federation, which fields the national men’s and women’s teams, says it could add Seattle to the list of venues for its “international friendlies” - games with other countries that serve as tune-ups for World Cup competition but don’t count in any standings.

Other possibilities include the NCAA men’s and women’s final-four soccer tournaments, World Cup qualifying matches, the Olympics, and high school and league championships.

Mendoza predicts the stadium could book about two dozen soccer events each year and outdraw the Seahawks, who haven’t had a winning season since 1990 but look to improve under a wealthy owner willing to pay for better players.

Pam Copple, immediate past president of the state soccer group, says the 120,000 youth who play in leagues across the state would benefit from a new stadium.

“We’ve got a lot of kids playing soccer. Unfortunately, we’re running out of fields,” she says. “This would give the kids a chance to see the highest levels of soccer in the country.”