Seahawks' home stadium receiving upgrades ahead of World Cup

The Seattle Seahawks have called Lumen Field home for more than 20 years now, using various different names along the way, and it's still in very good shape despite its age.

When the biggest sporting event in the world comes to town, however, some upgrades are absolutely in order.

Lumen Field is one of 16 stadiums across the United States, Canada and Mexico that will host matches for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, though it will be temporarily renamed to "Seattle Stadium" due to FIFA not allowing corporate-sponsored stadium names unless they are official sponsors. In anticipation of the main event next year, the state legislature and Gov. Bob Ferguson have approved $19.4 million in upgrades to the venue, according to Melissa Santos of Axios Seattle.

Chief among those upgrades is replacing the artificial turf with natural grass, as FIFA requires for World Cup matches. Doing so will require irrigation, vacuum ventilation and grow lights. Unfortunately, that natural grass will only be for World Cup with artificial grass returning for the 2026 NFL season.

Another big change, according to Pro Football Talk, is the installation of backs for each and every seat in the venue. Fortunately, this one will be a permanent change, unlike the natural grass.

Lumen Field is also the home of the Seattle Sounders of Major League Soccer and Seattle Reign FC of the National Women's Soccer League. Again, though, the World Cup is a completely different beast than American professional soccer.

The venue is currently scheduled to host six matches throughout the tournament. That includes group stage matchups on (all dates 2026) June 15, June 19, June 24, June 26 and July 1, as well as a Round of 16 game on July 6.