Safeco Field

Safeco Field (originally rendered SAFECO Field and sometimes referred to as Safeco) is a retractable roof baseball stadium located in Seattle, Washington. The stadium, owned and operated by the Washington-King County Stadium Authority, is the home stadium of the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB) and has a seating capacity of 47,860 for baseball. It is located in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood near the western terminus of Interstate 90.

During the 1990s, the suitability of the Mariners' previous stadium—the Kingdome—as an MLB facility came under doubt, and the team's ownership group threatened to relocate the team. In September 1995, King County voters defeated a ballot measure to secure public funding for a new baseball stadium. Shortly thereafter, the Mariners' first appearance in the MLB postseason and their victory in the 1995 American League Division Series (ALDS) renewed a public desire to keep the team in town. As a result, the Washington State Legislature approved an alternate means of funding for the stadium with public money. The site for the stadium—just south of the Kingdome—was selected in September 1996, and construction began in March 1997. Construction lasted until July 1999, and the stadium hosted its first game on July 15, 1999.

Aside from the Mariners, Safeco Field is also used for amateur baseball events including the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association high school state championships and one Washington Huskies baseball game per season. Major non-baseball events that have been held at Safeco Field include the 2001 college football Seattle Bowl and WWE WrestleMania XIX, which set Safeco Field's attendance record of 54,097 in 2003. It is also used for major corporate, political, and other events, as well as smaller events such as weddings.

Naming rights to the stadium are owned by Seattle-based Safeco Insurance. Safeco reportedly paid US$40 million to have its name on the stadium for 20 years.