Safeco Tour

My first week is already over, and I am trying to do some exploring before the weather returns to the normal (rain, go figure). I woke up trying to plan my day, and hurried to the bus stop to get to Safeco Field, where the Seattle Mariners play. Luckily the bus and my connection to the light rail went well, and I made it to the 10:30 tour just in time (after jogging from the light rail to the stadium). 

View of Safeco (baseball) and Century Link (football) stadiums near downtown

View of the stadium from the light rail stop

Century Link Field (Seattle Seahawks stadium) is right across the road from Safeco

 

I arrived just in time to make the 10:30 tour, which was quite reasonable at only $9. The tour was supposed to last about an hour, but our guide was rather long-winded and our's lasted almost 2 hours. The stadium opened in 1999, with a natural grass field. In order for the grass to grow in such a northern climate, they installed heating pipes underneath the field to use during the winter. The outfield has done quite well with this, but last October, they decided to replace the infield grass due to it thinning out. They found that the heating pipes were not enough for the grass to take over the winter, so they bought portable growing lamps from Sweden to put over the new grass when the team is not playing. 

Portable growing lamps for the new infield grass

The team also bought a few portable lamps for small patches of grass other places. The guide commented that Ichiro is very hard on the grass in right field and they frequently have to replace the grass (similar to Cuddyer for the Twins).

Growing lamp for Ichiro's grass

The stadium also has a concourse on the top level with a nice view of the bay and the city. The picture below you can see downtown and the Space Needle. The guide said they painted the top orange this year due to the anniversary of its construction for the World's Fair in 1962 (the top was originally painted orange at the time of completion).

View of downtown and even the Space Needle

A top view of the growing lamps from the upper deck

View from the upper deck

We then got to go see the front office and the suite level seating. The suite we went into was the owner's box, of course. The guide shared a very interesting story of Seattle baseball history. Baseball came to Seattle in 1969 as the Seattle Pilots; however, after one year, the owner of the team ran out of money and needed to sell. He searched for an owner that would keep the franchise in Seattle, and finally found a buyer that agreed to that. But after just a few months, the new owner changed his mind and moved the team to Milwaukee to become the Brewers. That owner was Bud Selig, the current commissioner of the MLB, not a fan favorite in Seattle. After years of litigation in court, MLB decided to expand and in 1977 the Seattle Mariners were created. The team did not have local ownership for years and the team struggled. Not until 1992, when a new ownership group bought the team, did the Mariners have a local ownership group. It is interesting to note that the majority owner of the Mariners is the owner of Nintendo. Even though he has never seen the team play, he supported the team as a gift to the people of Seattle, where Nintendo America started up in the United States in the 70s.

Not a bad view from the owner's box

Leather couches and a full-service kitchen

 

 The Mariners beat the Yankees in the 1995 ALDS, one of their first big playoff victories. The city was very excited for this, and the guide said it was just one month later that the city council voted to build Safeco Field, as the Kingdome was not cutting it anymore. Another guy on the tour said it seems like the Mariners hold on to playoff games of the past just like the Twins do with the 87 and 91 World Series, which I got a chuckle out of.

This may be the only field with Japanese on the signs along with English

Since the team keeps valuables in their locker, we were only able to go to the visitor's clubhouse. The home clubhouse is apparently quite nice compared to the visitors. The guide said that San Francisco's visitors clubhouse is just plywood painted white (not sure how much of a joke that was).

Safeco apparently was the first stadium to have an indoor batting cage by the clubhouse. The home team has 2, but he visitors only have 1.

Indoor batting cage

We also saw the Diamond Club lounge, which is for the season ticket holders right behind home plate. When you buy a ticket there you get a parking pass, all inclusive food and drinks, and the best seats in the house. Ticket packages range from $15,000-$25,000 per seat per year.

Unfortunately the low light made it look completely dark in the room

When I saw the training room, I immediately thought of the scene in Major League when the whirlpool breaks down, so I had to take this picture for Dad.

"Rachel Phelps will never let that happen"

We finally got to head on the field, but they were very protective of the grass, so we couldn't go on that.

Lastly, the tour ended in the pro shop (what tour wouldn't) and I saw this hat and had to take a picture for Dad.

"Who would buy a hat like that?"