Starfire Sports - Starfire Sports

Starfire Sports is a sporting facility in Tukwila, Washington, on the banks of the Green River, near Seattle. It is operated by the non-profit corporation Starfire Sports. At the time of its opening, CEO Chris Slatt believed it to be "the largest synthetic-turf soccer complex in the U.S."

History

The site was formerly Fort Dent Park, 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. 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 that were located within municipal boundaries were offered to those cities. That offer sparked the formation of Starfire Sports by Slatt, Steve Beck and Mark Bickham, who negotiated a 40-year lease with the city of Tukwila to allow them to build and operate the complex. 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. 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.

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.

The city of Tukwila still maintains a wooded part of the 54-acre (220,000 m²) site as a public park. 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.

Facilities

Starfire features fields for indoor and outdoor soccer, and occasionally rugby union games, as well as a 4,500-seat soccer stadium previously used by the USL Seattle Sounders and now used by the MLS Seattle Sounders FC for US Open Cup matches, the Seattle Sounders FC 2 of the United Soccer League, the Seattle Reign FC of the NWSL, and the Seattle Sounders Women of the W-League. It was also the home of Hibernian and Caledonian F.C. and FK Pacific of the Pacific Coast Soccer League. Additionally the complex hosts the annual All Nations Cup. The stadium field in 2004 became only the eighth American artificial-surface pitch to earn "recommended" status by FIFA and was thereby sanctioned for international play.

The complex has an indoor facility which has two indoor soccer FieldTurf 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.

References

External links

• Official website