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Sounders FC announce plans to build state-of-the-art training facility and team headquarters

Seattle Sounders leaders and government officials toss shovelfuls of dirt as they ceremonially break ground in front of a new headquarters building and adjacent to where soccer fields will be built that could also be used as a practice facility for the 2026 World Cup, Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022, in Renton, Wash. The facility will include four training fields and 50,000 square feet of space for both the club's soccer and front office operations, the first time both entities have been combined in the same location since the debut of the team in 2009.  (Associated Press)
Jayda Evans Seattle Times

RENTON — Storied ground will return to its sporting past as Sounders FC announced Wednesday plans to build a state-of-the-art training facility and office space in southwest Renton where the Longacres Racetrack once stood. The site, which most recently was Boeing’s commercial airplanes headquarters, is targeted to open in January 2024.

Led by majority owner Adrian Hanauer, the Sounders are teaming with Seattle company Unico Properties to fund renovation of the property, which will be known officially as the Sounders FC Center at Longacres. The 50,000 square-foot site will be a hub for front-office staff, technical staff, clubhouse and gym for the players — including the academy and affiliate Tacoma Defiance — and four, full-sized training fields.

“Today is one of the most important moments in our club’s history, as we begin this new partnership with Unico Properties and take our first steps into the future of Seattle Sounders FC,” Hanauer said in a team-issued news release.

Since joining MLS in 2009, the Sounders have never had all components of the franchise operating on one site, training on a grass field at nearby Starfire Sports in Tukwila. The nonprofit facility has multiple indoor and outdoor fields for youth clubs, small eateries and an approximate 3,500-seat stadium. The Sounders’ front office operated out of a chic space in Pioneer Square before the COVID-19 pandemic and currently works remotely.

When the Sounders utilized Starfire as a MLS team, the grass field and interior space for a private cafeteria, locker room and offices was a leader in the league. The club hasn’t renovated their portion of the space through the years and has grown so much, a tent covers the overflow outside.

Hanauer has long sought a new training facility for the Sounders and Defiance, which will debut in MLS Next Pro in March. The most recent plans were part of the proposed Heidelberg Sports Village in Tacoma that would have featured a soccer-specific stadium and include the NWSL’s OL Reign.

The Defiance currently train at Starfire and will play some matches at Cheney Stadium, a minor-league baseball park in Tacoma. The Reign are exploring options for a training facility and will play matches at Lumen Field.

Hanauer and the Sounders ownership group are working in partnership with Unico Properties to build the Eco-friendly complex. Kansas City-based Generator Studio, which recently oversaw the creation of the Seattle Kraken’s Community Iceplex in Northgate, will handle the design and property renovation.

Unico paid an approximate $100 million to Boeing in December for the aviation company’s former commercial airplanes headquarters. Unico is a subsidiary of a Seattle-based equity and real estate investment firm. Ned Carter, the company’s chief investment officer, Renton mayor Armondo Pavone, King County executive Dow Constantine and Garth Lagerwey, the Sounders president of soccer and general manager, joined Hanauer for Wednesday’s announcement at the planned site.

“Our organization has invested a great deal of time and thoughtfulness into the process of both selecting the ideal site for a new home and re-imagining what that home represents, for our team and the greater community,” Hanauer said in a news release. “With Longacres, we’ve found a location brimming with Pacific Northwest history where the Sounders — a team that brings its own deep roots, growing since 1974 — can plant our flag and create a home for our next 50 years.”

The Sounders provided a land recognition in their news release, acknowledging the Duwamish people and related Coast Salish people as stewards since time immemorial. What will now be referred to as Sounders FC Center at Longacres was also once farmed by Japanese and Filipino immigrants.

Before Boeing’s ownership, James Nelson issued a 10-year lease of his lush, 107-acre dairy farm to the Washington Jockey Club in June 1933 for a one-mile racetrack. Longacres opened in August 1933 and gained fame as the oldest continually operating Thoroughbred track on the West Coast, according to HistoryLink.org.

In July 1977, undefeated Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew showed at Longacres for a two-day noncompetitive event. Proceeds funded human and horse research at the University of Washington and Washington State University.

The last race at Longacres was in September 1992. Boeing purchased the land for approximately $90 million and in December 1994, the city of Renton permitted the company to demolish the facility.