Seattle sports fan have always known what much of the world is learning this month: the sports atmosphere in the city is special.
The World Cup is highlighting Seattle’s strengths as a sports hub, which was on display during the US Men’s National Team’s win over Australia on June 19, and one of the city’s main sports venues is playing a big role in that success.
Lumen Field (renamed “Seattle Stadium” for the World Cup) was recently ranked as one of the top tournament venues by a collection of journalists from The Athletic. The sports outlet has writers at all 16 stadiums to cover the tournament, and the rankings are based on a number of criteria: “matchday experience, match atmosphere, transport and location, aesthetics, and suitability for soccer/football.”
Seattle tied with Atlanta (Mercedes-Benz/Atlanta Stadium) for the top venue at the 2026 World Cup.
“It’s soccer, so we’ll live with a tie with our friends in Atlanta — though we beat them on transit and location,” Gov. Bob Ferguson said in a social media post.
There are 16 host cities for the FIFA World Cup, including 11 in the United States, three in Mexico and two in Canada.
Seattle’s venue got perfect marks from The Athletic for location, aesthetics and suitability for the sport. Lumen Field is located just south of downtown and reachable by public transport on the Link’s 1 line. For the World Cup, city organizers have set up a number of fan zones across the city (and state) which have created a “carnival” atmosphere around the stadium, according to the outlet.
Athletic journalists also praised Lumen Field’s design as feeling unique to Seattle..
“I cannot think of a stadium in the world that feels so connected to the city it belongs to,” journalist Simon Hughes wrote about Seattle’s stadium.
Here’s how The Athletic rated Lumen in five different categories:
See the full rankings on The Athletic’s website here.
Zachary Fletcher is a trending news reporter with USA TODAY Network’s Washington state team. Keep up with him on X (@zdfletch), BlueSky (@zfletcher.bsky.social) or reach him at zfletcher@usatodayco.com.