Entering a new era: Seattle Sounders FC begin time at Longacres with first training
By Charles Hamaker
Tukwila, WA – Ahead of their 2024 season, the 50th year in the history of the club, the Seattle Sounders FC have officially opened their new training facility at Longacres. Officially titled “Sounders FC Center at Longacres,” this facility will bring together the club's entire ecosystem within one general area. Four full size trainings fields, 50,000 square feet of office space, one barbershop, countless pieces of memorabilia, all under one roof. The Sounders first team, Tacoma Defiance, as well as the staff in the club’s soccer and business operations all call the new state-of-the-art facility their home as they move from Starfire, located just a short drive away. After the years of winning trophies while training in perhaps suboptimal conditions, the Sounders have the sort of facility that clubs dream of and will use it as a means of further motivation as they look to return to those trophy winning ways.
The Seattle Sounders FC come out to training, walking through a tunnel made by business and operations staff members, ahead of their first practice session at their Longacres facility. (Photos by Liz Wolter)
First training
Following an introduction onto the training fields that saw the Sounders business and operations staff create a tunnel for the players to run down, Seattle got back to training following their return from Marbella, Spain. The full squad was represented, including defenders Yeimar and Nouhou who had both been unable to finish the preseason Spain trip with the club for different reasons as Nouhou had been with Cameroon for AFCON and Yeimar had been dealing with VISA holdups. The first team gathered on the field closest to the facility itself, while the Tacoma Defiance players went and practiced on a field the furthest diagonally from it. There wasn’t a whole lot to take away from training, per say, as the team did some somewhat basic exercises that we could see following their warmup sessions and ramp up drills to get going. Keep away, rondos, and some work to progress the ball up a smaller pitch to improve upon quality of passes were what media saw taking place in training before we were lead on a tour of the facility.
The beginning of the Seattle Sounders FC first team training session at Longacres, the first team the club has ever hit the field at their new facility. (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Facility tour
While training took place further away from the field closest available to the media, we were allowed to take a tour of the first level of the facility, mainly where the players will be spending the majority of their time. We’ll go in order, as to give somewhat of an idea of what the accessibility is like when it comes to entering the building from the training field. There are two rooms that are open right to the training fields, starting with the first team player lounge. The lounge had several tables around it next to a kitchen area where the team would have dedicated cooks at the ready for the two team meals a day they’ll be given, with memorabilia lining the walls of the room. That memorabilia was primarily Sounders adjacent but did feature many other Seattle professional sports teams including Reign, Seahawks, Storm, Mariners, and Kraken. All they were missing in the main teams/ones who have been established before 2021 was anything Seawolves related. Also included in the team lounge but separated into its own separate area with a clear glass door: a barber's chair and room, where Cristian Roldan (self-appointed team barber) will give out haircuts to his teammates.
“It might create some drama. If we bring in a barber, I might feel like some of the guys are cheating on me. No, it’s going to be great. … I definitely want to bless my clients with a nice haircut and make them feel good. ”
The other room that opens directly out to the training fields is the team gym, featuring plates that have the Sounders crest, theraguns, malleable walls for the weight balls in addition to other state of the art technology for weight training and physical needs. Connected via door to the gymnasium and now going further into the building was a recovery area, featuring multiple ice baths, training tables (eight to be exact), a cryotherapy machine, and a sauna that includes its own television. Not only can the Sounders get to work on the field, get some further activity in once inside the weight room, but they can get the best recovery options afterwards so that it’s ensured that the work put in properly serves the athletes bodies as opposed to being wasted.
“Going to away games, you see these fancy new facilities and you get a little bit jealous. You come back to Starfire and you’re going to work out in a gym and it’s a tent, essentially. So, for me, [Longacres] is that last bit that we needed to not only create a great environment for our players but to recruit players. This is where we spend 90% of our time, and it plays a huge factor. I want to go into the facility and not want to leave. That’s the goal and here we have that now.”
From that recovery room we were led to the first team locker room, which was a personal favorite feature within the facility, and we were told that the first floor of this building was built around this first team locker room. Special LED lights that can change based on the jersey the club is wearing, a massive Sounders crest on the ceiling of the locker room, specially placed seat assignments so that players can bond with teammates that they don’t already have history with, as well as a carnation on each seat and a mini banner for each player. A ping pong table is apparently on it’s way as the first team loves to challenge each other in the tabletop game, while Cristian Roldan suggested that they’d also like a space to play pickleball. While it’s still nice, at least in comparison to most locker rooms, the Tacoma Defiance locker room was far less swanky and much more basic, but that was done on purpose. While the first team had the top-of-the-line locker room, and a hallway that leads to the training fields that’s lined with Sounders history and major trophies, the Defiance players get the bare bones locker room and a different, bare hallway, so that they know: they have to earn that sort of luxury treatment, it will not be given to them.
A look into the first team locker room, the details within it, the walls lined with Sounders memorabilia, and the Tacoma Defiance locker room. (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Still some areas under construction
While a lot of the new club facility was shown off to media and we witnessed the first team and Tacoma Defiance using approximately three of the five fields that will be here, there are different areas that are still under construction and that aren’t totally finished yet. The atrium, which spans four stories and remains from when the building was used by Boeing, was still in construction and not quite finished. There are a few areas on the first floor that were having Sounders branding added, and that’s all we could access today as the tour and training took place on the ground floor level, with nothing else we did taking place above that. As general manager Craig Waibel stated, it’s day one, and there are a few things to be finished up around the facility, but it’s a very exciting day one at that.
A potential factor for the 2026 Men’s World Cup
In addition to this being a central location for the first team, Defiance, academy, and staff, Sounders FC Center at Longacres very well could play a role in the upcoming men’s FIFA World Cup in the year of 2026. With the city of Seattle hosting six matches in total during the event at Lumen Field, there will need to be fields in the area where the countries playing in those matches can practice and train ahead of the games themselves. Longacres makes the most sense considering the four full size fields and the state-of-the-art technology, and while it hasn’t officially been confirmed that it will be used, it’s somewhat safe to assume that FIFA will give the thumbs up to this facility when those decisions need to be made. Considering the number of fields, the facilities housed in the building for recovery and rest, plus the location in relation to Lumen, Longacres is the premiere location for the upcoming Men’s World Cup.
The new press conference room at Sounders FC Center at Longacres, where Head coach Brian Schmetzer, goalkeeper and team captain Stefan Frei, and midfielder and vice-captain Cristian Roldan spoke to the local media following training. (Photos by Liz Wolter)
A new time for the Rave Green
The opening of this facility and with the first training session for the first team, kicked off by Danny Leyva scoring the “inaugural first goal” to start it, continues to help push forward a major year for the club and a new start as well. A new crest and a new facility foster somewhat of a new identity for this club, even if most of the staff and players remain in place. There is new life injected, whether it’s that new crest and new facility or new faces like Pedro de La Vega. Things do feel different, just being around the first team as of late, and it feels like there really is a buzz about the club that hasn’t lifted MLS Cup since 2019. Taking into account how different the amenities are at Longacres as compared to Starfire, where the workout room was a tent outside, and the recovery wasn’t close to what it is now, the thoughts about what this club can accomplish now are exciting. While yes, it’s somewhat luxurious and maybe something that could be viewed as a reward, the Sounders captain and vice-captain took a very different approach to the facility with a $68M price tag.
“This is a challenge for players now. This facility asks something of you now. To take it to next level. Whatever you need is at your fingertips. It’s just a question of how bad do you want it? Discipline is your unwavering commitment to your dreams and goals. It’s much easier now to be disciplined when you have all these toys and these things that are right here.”
“We talk about the standards you set, and the ownership has created those standards with this facility. Now it’s our responsibility to continue with those standards and put in those extra inches, that extra sweat into our workouts and recovery. That’s going to pay off in the 89th minute. As beautiful as this place is, it’s a place where we’re going to get sweaty and grind out during the midweek games and where we’re going to put in the extra 5-10% to get the win on the weekends.”
“This will inspire, it will motivate. The players and the training staff and the fitness staff will have all of the tools or toys to make sure that we can perform and play at a high level.”
Head coach Brian Schmetzer recounted some of the different places he’s trained at during his time as a Sounder, including Renton stadium, the Kingdome, and Memorial Stadium, to name a few. Goalkeeper and team captain Stefan Frei discussed the details of the facility and how every aspect of it appeared to have been taken into consideration during construction, mentioning the press conference room that we were in and how while the club could’ve cut corners, they didn’t. It was very clear, hearing from several members of Sounders brass and players, that this is an impressive feat for the club and just the start of something bigger.
What’s next?
The next piece of business that the Sounders have on the agenda, outside of further training at Longacres and the construction being done here to completely finish this facility, is their final preseason match on February 17th. The club will be hosting Sacramento Republic FC at Longacres, with limited detail outside of the opponent and a start time of 10AM PST. Sacramento Republic FC is a USL Championship team, and this match will -. Following that final preseason contest, the Sounders open the 2024 MLS regular season on the road, battling LAFC on Saturday, February 24th at BMO Stadium with a kickoff time of 1:30PM PST. The club won’t be at Lumen Field until early March, as new turf is being put in and finalized after the previous turf was removed following the end of the most recent season for the Seahawks.
