No doubt because of the success the Sounders had in selling some 20,000 season-ticket packages long before the expansion team played a game, Seattle’s Qwest Field was named the site for the 2009 MLS Cup.
Scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 22 at 8:30 p.m. ET and to be broadcast live on ESPN, MLS Cup will mark yet another marquee soccer event hosted at the 67-seat stadium that also serves as home for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks.
Adding to a soccer history that includes the Concacaf Gold Cup (2005 and this summer 2009) and exhibition matches featuring Manchester United, Real Madrid and Chelsea, Qwest Field becomes the eighth stadium (and for better or worse, the first artificial playing surface) in the league’s 14 years to host the league championship.