Memorial Day brought renewed attention to one of Seattle's oldest monuments. The future of Memorial Stadium at Seattle Center remains in limbo, despite years of promises.
Outside the stadium, Seattle's Memorial Wall is bordering on neglect, but still standing. This Memorial Day, the wall was shrouded by brush near a packed parking lot. No one walking by stopped to look at the names etched in.
The stadium and wall have been there since the late 1940s, as a memorial to more than 700 students who lost their lives fighting in World War II.
Now the stadium's wear is evident; cracks are plentiful and guard rails are sparse. The team facilities are antiquated, and the concession stands are limited.
The stadium at Seattle Center is owned by Seattle Public Schools.
In 2017, Seattle Public Schools and the City of Seattle signed an agreement to collaborate on a new high school and stadium at that location. Then-superintendent Larry Nyland called it "a critical need."
Yet there's been little movement since then. It was left out of the most recent capital improvements levy. Women's soccer team the Seattle Reign FC moved out of Memorial Stadium to Tacoma, citing conditions of the stadium.
Seattle Public Schools spokesperson Tim Robinson said by email that the need for new schools is directly tied to enrollment projections.
"At this time, we have a new school (Lincoln High) opening this fall. If future enrollment projections indicate the need for a new central/north high school, we will work to come up with a solution. The options could include considering the land under or adjacent to Memorial Stadium as a location.”
Lincoln High in Wallingford, which is being remodeled, will help ease some of the crunch right now in downtown Seattle.
As far as the Reign complaints, “SPS recognizes that Memorial Stadium is an old facility. SPS is focused on operating Memorial Stadium to serve our students’ needs, more so than as a facility for tenants.”
It all means that prime acreage will continue to evolve, with little maintenance. It is still used by multiple schools, but is far from the glory days of the 1962 World's Fair, or when the Seattle Sounders played there.