OVG wins bid to rebuild Seattle’s Memorial Stadium

Oak View Group (OVG) has been selected to rebuild Seattle’s Memorial Stadium, located minutes from its Climate Pledge Arena.

The 12,000-capacity stadium opened in 1947 and hosted high school football before the World’s Fair in 1962. Since then it has hosted multiple civic events, graduations, and concerts but has fallen behind on maintenance in recent years.

Tim Leiweke’s OVG submitted a proposal under the name “One Roof Partnership” – a nod to the One Roof Foundation, the philanthropic arm of local ice hockey team Seattle Kraken (led by Tim’s brother Tod Leiweke) and Climate Pledge Arena.

One Roof Partnership will enter into discussions with Seattle Public Schools (SPS), which owns the stadium, and the City of Seattle to develop the new $150 million, 10,000-capacity stadium by the end of 2027.

One Roof Partnership’s involvement will build upon significant public investment

The new stadium would provide a “significantly enhanced facility” which SPS said would be beyond what it could develop on its own.

One Roof Partnership’s involvement will build upon significant public investment which includes $66.5m approved by Seattle voters in last year’s SPS capital levy, as well as $4m in state funding, $21m from the city, and a further $19m which the Seattle City Council will identify no later than 2026.

The One Roof Partnership was selected ahead of a proposal from JLL and Poag Development Group, which had teamed up with an affiliate of AEG Worldwide.

OVG has an existing presence in Seattle having developed Kraken’s Climate Pledge Arena, which opened in 2021. The venue, which replaced the old KeyArena, is also owned by the City of Seattle.

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