Stadium station (Sound Transit)

Coordinates: 47°35′28.8″N 122°19′37.8″W / 47.591333°N 122.327167°W / 47.591333; -122.327167
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 Stadium
Link light rail station
The entrance to Stadium station, looking south at the ticket vending machines and ORCA card readers
General information
Location501 South Royal Brougham Way
Seattle, Washington
United States
Coordinates47°35′28.8″N 122°19′37.8″W / 47.591333°N 122.327167°W / 47.591333; -122.327167
Owned bySound Transit
Platforms1 island platform
Tracks2
Connections
Construction
Structure typeAt-grade
ParkingPaid parking nearby
AccessibleYes
History
OpenedJuly 18, 2009 (2009-07-18)
Passengers
1,462 daily weekday boardings (2023)[1]
549,206 total boardings (2023)[1]
Services
Preceding station Sound Transit Following station
Link
International District/Chinatown
toward Northgate
1 Line SODO
toward Angle Lake

Stadium station is a light rail station located in Seattle, Washington. It is situated between the SODO and International District/Chinatown stations on the 1 Line, part of Sound Transit's Link light rail system. The station consists of an at-grade island platform at the intersection of the SODO Busway and South Royal Brougham Way in the SODO neighborhood of Seattle, adjacent to Lumen Field and T-Mobile Park.

Stadium station was proposed in 1998 as part of the segment between the Downtown Seattle and Beacon Hill tunnels and subsequently deferred months later. It was reinstated in 2005 and construction of the station was completed in May 2006, several years before Link light rail service began on July 18, 2009. Trains serve the station twenty hours a day on most days; the headway between trains is six minutes during peak periods, with less frequent service at other times. Stadium station is also served by several Sound Transit Express and King County Metro buses that stop on the SODO Busway west of the platform, as well as the Seattle Greyhound station east of the platform.

Location[edit]

Stadium station is situated at the intersection of the SODO Busway and Royal Brougham Way, under the ramps of Interstate 90, in the SODO neighborhood of Seattle.[2] The station is adjacent to a King County Metro employee parking garage, which includes a pedestrian bridge over the platform to the Metro Ryerson Base, and the Seattle Greyhound bus station.[3][4] The area surrounding Stadium station contains a mixture of light industrial zoning, primarily home to the manufacturing and warehousing industry employing over 13,000 workers, with some retail uses.[5][6][7] Lumen Field and T-Mobile Park are located one block west of the station on the north and south sides of Royal Brougham Way, respectively.[8] The light rail line is paralleled to the east by a mixed-use bicycle trail called the SODO Trail, which connects Stadium station to SODO station at South Lander Street.[9] The Seattle Department of Transportation plans to extend the trail further south to Spokane Street, connecting it to a bike trail on the Spokane Street Viaduct, serving West Seattle.[10]

History[edit]

Stadium station from the SODO Trail

Stadium station was not part of the initial Link light rail route approved in 1996,[11][12] but was created as part of "Route C1" added to Central Link (now the 1 Line) by the Sound Transit Board in 1998. The routing included an at-grade section parallel to the SODO Busway and a tunnel under Beacon Hill, with stations at South Royal Brougham Way, South Lander Street and under Beacon Hill.[13] While "Route C1" was selected as the final Central Link route in 1999,[14] the station at South Royal Brougham Way was deferred, except for the construction of the platform and supports required for an infill station.[15][16] The Sound Transit Board began studying the re-addition of a station at Royal Brougham Way in late 2004 and approved construction of the newly renamed Stadium station on January 13, 2005,[17] using $3.7 million in surplus funds after bids for the construction of Link Light Rail were lower than budgeted.[18][19]

Construction of Stadium station began with the laying of the first rails for Central Link, between Holgate and Lander streets, in August 2005.[20] The station itself was built by Kiewit Pacific in less than a year, with opening ceremonies for Stadium and SODO stations held on May 30, 2006, celebrating the completion of the first two Central Link stations.[21] Light rail testing on the 1.3-mile-long (2.1 km), at-grade SoDo segment began in March 2007,[22] and ended in February 2008.[23] Regular Link service from Seattle to Tukwila began on July 18, 2009,[24] including the use of its pocket track to store extra trains serving a sellout friendly match between Seattle Sounders FC and Chelsea at Qwest Field.[8][25]

The tracks crossing Royal Brougham Way sank by 3 inches (7.6 cm) due to ground settling and caused Link trains to be limited to 5 to 10 miles per hour (8.0 to 16.1 km/h). A track replacement began in August 2023 with trains on the 1 Line suspended for one weekend and single-tracking for several days afterward.[26][27]

Station layout[edit]

Northbound 1 Line toward Northgate (International District/Chinatown)
Island platform, doors will open on the left
Southbound 1 Line toward Angle Lake (SODO)

Stadium station consists of a single 400-foot-long (120 m),[21] at-grade island platform accessible via an entrance at its north end, 130 feet (40 m) from South Royal Brougham Way.[28] The platform itself has a width of 30 feet (9.1 m) to accommodate event crowds at Lumen Field (formerly CenturyLink Field) and T-Mobile Park (formerly Safeco Field).[29] A pocket track located south of the station was built to store extra trains that are deployed after major sporting events.[21][30]

The station's pictogram is a depiction of the Olympic Torch, a representation of sporting culture. It was created by Christian French as part of the Stellar Connections series and its points represent nearby destinations, including the two stadiums.[31][32]

Services[edit]

Stadium station, as viewed from its southbound SODO Busway stop served by ST Express and King County Metro buses.

Stadium station is part of Sound Transit's 1 Line, which runs from Seattle–Tacoma International Airport through the Rainier Valley, Downtown Seattle, and the University of Washington campus to Northgate. It is the tenth northbound station from Angle Lake and ninth southbound station from Northgate; it is situated between SODO and International District/Chinatown stations. Trains serve Stadium station twenty hours a day on weekdays and Saturdays, from 5:00 am to 1:00 am, and eighteen hours on Sundays, from 6:00 am to 12:00 am; during regular weekday service, trains operate roughly every eight to ten minutes during rush hour and midday operation, respectively, with longer headways of fifteen minutes in the early morning and twenty minutes at night. During weekends, trains arrive at Stadium station every ten minutes during midday hours and every fifteen minutes during mornings and evenings. The station is approximately 29 minutes from SeaTac/Airport station and nine minutes from Westlake station in Downtown Seattle.[33] In 2019, an average of 1,613 passengers boarded Link trains at Stadium station on weekdays.[1]

Stadium station is also served by several bus routes on the SODO Busway, which runs parallel to the 1 Line, at a pair of bus stops west of the station platform at Royal Brougham Way. Three Sound Transit Express routes stop at the station on their way to Tacoma, Lakewood, and Gig Harbor. King County Metro operates two all-day routes through the SODO Busway that serve Renton, Tukwila, and Kent. Metro also runs four peak-direction routes through the SODO Busway towards Renton, Fairwood, Federal Way, and Redondo Heights.[34]

Several "night owl" buses also stop the station and connect with the first southbound light rail departure of the service day.[35] In addition to regular bus service, Metro also runs the Route 97 Link Shuttle, a shuttle service serving Link stations along surface streets during Link service disruptions.[36]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Link Ridership". Sound Transit. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  2. ^ "Stadium Station". Sound Transit. Archived from the original on September 24, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  3. ^ "Seattle, WA". Greyhound Station Locator. Greyhound Lines. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  4. ^ "Greyhound Relocates in Seattle, Washington" (Press release). Dallas, Texas: Greyhound Lines. May 16, 2014. Archived from the original on October 2, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  5. ^ City of Seattle Generalized Zoning (PDF) (Map). City of Seattle Department of Planning and Development. August 29, 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 11, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  6. ^ Growing Transit Communities Oversight Committee (October 2013). "Stadium: Light Rail/Bus" (PDF). The Growing Transit Communities Strategy. Puget Sound Regional Council. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  7. ^ City of Seattle Strategic Planning Office (January 1999). "E3 at Royal Brougham" (PDF). Seattle Area Station Planning: Light Rail Station Area Atlas. Seattle Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 3, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  8. ^ a b Lindblom, Mike (July 11, 2009). "Sports fans to find relief at Stadium light-rail stop". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on October 21, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  9. ^ Seattle Bike Map (PDF) (Map). Seattle Department of Transportation. 2014. p. 1. § D8. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 22, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  10. ^ "Map 4-8: E Sector" (PDF) (Map). Seattle Bike Master Plan (PDF). Seattle Department of Transportation. April 29, 2014. p. 45. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 24, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  11. ^ "Sound Move: Launching a Rapid Transit System for the Puget Sound Region" (PDF). Sound Transit. May 31, 1996. p. 21. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  12. ^ Schaefer, David (November 6, 1996). "Voters Back Transit Plan On Fourth Try". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  13. ^ "Sound Transit Motion No. M98-49". Sound Transit. July 23, 1998. Archived from the original on June 16, 2010. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  14. ^ Fryer, Alex (November 19, 1999). "A Milestone For Light Rail -- Regional Board Selects Station Sites, Alignment". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  15. ^ "Sound Transit Resolution No. R99-34". Sound Transit. November 18, 1999. Archived from the original on June 16, 2010. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  16. ^ "Sound Transit Board achieves historic milestone by selecting route for central Link light rail" (Press release). Seattle, Washington: Sound Transit. November 18, 1999. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  17. ^ "Sound Transit Motion No. M2005-09" (PDF). Sound Transit. January 13, 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 21, 2010. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  18. ^ "Sound Transit Motion No. M2005-08" (PDF). Sound Transit. January 13, 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 21, 2010. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  19. ^ Pryne, Eric (October 29, 2004). "Sound Transit wants to add light-rail station – Royal Brougham Way stop proposed". The Seattle Times. p. B1.
  20. ^ "Sound Transit installs first rails for Central Link light rail line" (Press release). Seattle, Washington: Sound Transit. August 18, 2005. Archived from the original on October 12, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  21. ^ a b c "Sound Transit completes first two Central Link light rail stations" (Press release). Seattle, Washington: Sound Transit. May 30, 2006. Archived from the original on October 12, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  22. ^ "Sound Transit starts intensive light rail testing" (Press release). Seattle, Washington: Sound Transit. March 14, 2007. Archived from the original on October 12, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  23. ^ STV Group (June 2008). Central Link Light Rail Project Initial and Airport Segments Monitoring Report, Part I – June 2008 (PDF) (Report). Federal Transit Administration. p. 21. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 12, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  24. ^ "Link light rail launches new era of mobility for central Puget Sound" (Press release). Seattle, Washington: Sound Transit. July 18, 2009. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  25. ^ Doughton, Sandi; Lindblom, Mike (July 19, 2009). "Seattle hops on board: Tens of thousands revel in the sun and the festivities as big-city transit rolls out at last". The Seattle Times. p. A1. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  26. ^ Lindblom, Mike (August 8, 2023). "Severe shutdown ahead for Seattle light rail due to sinking tracks". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  27. ^ Andre, Drew (August 16, 2023). "Sinking light rail track in Seattle under repair this week". KING 5 News. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  28. ^ "Stadium Station". Completed Project Archive. Sound Transit. Archived from the original on June 13, 2010. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  29. ^ "Sound Transit Staff Report – Motion No. M2005-08: Add Royal Brougham Station to Initial Segment Construction". Sound Transit. January 13, 2005. Archived from the original (DOC) on June 21, 2010. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  30. ^ Lindblom, Mike (July 30, 2009). "Light rail averaging 12,000 riders per weekday so far". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  31. ^ "Stellar Connections". Sound Transit. Archived from the original on June 12, 2010. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
  32. ^ "Stellar Connections: The story of the pictograms at Link light rail stations" (PDF). Sound Transit. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 8, 2015. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
  33. ^ "Link 1 Line (Northgate — Angle Lake) schedule" (PDF). Sound Transit. October 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 2, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  34. ^ Metro Transit System: Central Area (Map). King County Metro. March 2019. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  35. ^ "Night Owl bus service". King County Metro. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  36. ^ "No Link light rail service on Nov. 15 for system upgrades" (Press release). Seattle, Washington: Sound Transit. November 3, 2014. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.

External links[edit]