YOU’RE INVITED: MEMORIAL STADIUM OPEN HOUSE & PREVIEW EVENT | 4-7pm, THURSDAY, JUNE 26TH
It’s lights out . . . for now at Memorial Stadium. However, as we prepare to embark on a new chapter in Memorial Stadium’s rich history, the public is invited for a one-day-only opportunity to visit the stadium and bid a fond farewell, share favorite memories, and learn about the exciting plans for the new Memorial Stadium at Seattle Center which will continue to inspire students, the community, and the region for generations to come.
Memorial Stadium Open House & Preview Event
Seattle Public Schools’ Memorial Stadium at Seattle Center
East Gate Entrance, 401 5th Ave North
Thursday, June 26, 2025
4 – 7 p.m.
FREE ADMISSION
Join us for this momentous occasion featuring live music, photo opportunities, food trucks, and more – including an opportunity to view the latest renderings for the new Memorial Stadium and speak with project leaders about the vision, design, planning and timeline of this legacy investment for year-round athletics, education, and entertainment seamlessly integrated with the iconic Seattle Center campus like never before.
Share your Memorial Stadium Memories
For nearly 80 years we’ve gathered at Seattle Public School’s Memorial Stadium on the Seattle Center campus to cheer on student athletes playing beneath Friday night lights, to celebrate graduating high school seniors ready to take on the world, to rock the stands with legions of fellow concertgoers, and to experience spectacular festivals from the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair to Bumbershoot and beyond.
Do you have a great Memorial Stadium story to share about your high school graduation, attending or playing in a big game under the stadium lights, attending a memorable concert?
We want to hear your stories for curating an archive on this website. Read below some of those we’ve already received and share your favorite memories and photos – who knows, you may see your story and photos posted on our social media channels, on the pages of The Seattle Times, or maybe even on the Memorial Stadium screen during the Community Open House event on June 26th.
Photo Gallery
Memorial Stadium Memory Wall
In the years before the Seahawks, Thanksgiving Day saw Memorial Stadium filled to capacity to watch the Seattle Metro High School football championship game. In 1969, on a beautiful sunny, but cold, Thanksgiving day I was on the field when my Queen Anne team made it to the big game and lost to Ingraham High School. Some 56 years later, on a bright, but chilly day in June, I watched my grandson play in the Seattle Middle School championship soccer match in a quite empty Memorial Stadium. He scored his team's only goal in a close loss. Someday, he too, will have fond memories of Memorial Stadium.
- Darryl Robbins
My daughter marched in the stadium with Roosevelt High School Marching Band.
- Koichi Kobayashi
I helped my wife coach the recently established Eagle Staff Middle School Girls Soccer Team starting in 2017 and we returned to the league semifinals at Memorial Stadium for the 2nd consecutive year in 2018. The first year was miserable. One of our girls suffered a neck injury and had to lay on the cold, hard turf in a driving rainstorm waiting for an ambulance and to make things worse, we got soundly beaten. In year two, we had a hardworking team of wonderful, skilled girls that we thought had a chance to win it all.
The middle school playoffs are really, tough days. You play the semifinal in the morning and if you win, you come back in the evening to play in the final. The 160 minutes of soccer for a bunch of 12- and 13-year-olds is a lot in a day both physically and mentally. Over the course of the two games, we had multiple girls knocked out of the games with various injuries and mental breakdowns, including a blow to our daughter that spun her around and knocked her out of the game. If 160 minutes and all the stress wasn't enough, the final went to overtime and then penalty kicks to decide the winner. You never know how adolescents are going to respond to this kind of stress and exhaustion – and it was so gratifying to see the girls rise to the challenge and win the championship. I'll always remember getting to celebrate with all of the girls, but especially my wife and daughter.
- Keven Wynkoop
Since arriving in 1990, making our home, raising children to adults, Memorial Stadium has been a ‘Go to’ facility for a myriad of community events. Sports, music and beyond. It has long needed update for safety, pleasure and extending use to all sorts of audiences … youth, adults, educational and entertainment. Looking forward to the new forum for all that is possible - including enrichment of Seattle public and area schools!!!
- Thomas Smeeth
In addition to all the bands I saw in Memorial Stadium during 20+ Bumbershoot events (Blondie, Sex Pistols, The Replacements, The Ramones, and more), there were other memorable concerts there during the 1990s, including a couple of crazy Grateful Dead weekends. I found a few of my ticket stubs from those shows (Soundgarden for 20 bucks!). For some reason the Dead shows are listed as being at "Seattle Stadium," and even though those shows were a bit fuzzy for, uh, whatever reason, I definitely remember Jerry and the band playing at Memorial Stadium.
- Doug Nellis
The storming of the field after the 1995 Sounders Championship was epic!
- Peter Hattrup
Two of my many fond memories of Memorial Stadium.
1) The Canadian Tattoo performances during the 1962 World’s Fair. I remember lots of loud bangs from the military performance, often too loud for a three-year-old’s ears (ha ha).
2) Attending the annual Metro league “Turkey Day” football games during Thanksgiving. Always rooted for Garfield as I liked their purple uniforms.
- F. Peterson
Lots of memories of Memorial Stadium: the opening of the Seattle World's Fair in 1962 was spectacular and had a ring of water and heard President John Kennedy give the opening speech via video in the stadium; our annual family gathering on Thanksgiving Day for the "Turkey Day" high school football game; and in 1969, my Queen Anne Grizzlies baseball team used the stadium for practices, on this new turf called "Astroturf," in preparation for our Championship game at Sicks Stadium, which we won, by the way, 2-0 over Ingraham High School.
- Craig Smith
My first visit (to Memorial Stadium) was in 1975 as a teenager to see a Sounders game.
As an adult, (I enjoyed) so many Bumbershoot concerts and other concerts there as well.
- Scott Fairbanks
The day when the Seattle Sounders hosted Pele and the New York Cosmos on a Sunday afternoon was truly historic.
- Greg Nelson
Launching girls flag football has been one of the most inspiring experiences of my life. To be part of bringing this sport to our high school—and helping promote it toward becoming a sanctioned sport—not just as a participant or team captain, but as a pioneer, has been both empowering and humbling.
Playing at the historic Memorial Stadium was an unforgettable honor. Stepping onto that field, I could feel the weight of its history and the stories of those who came before me. The sacrifices made by high school students decades ago – many of whom left the comfort of classrooms and athletic fields to serve our country – are not lost on me. Their courage and resilience made it possible for future generations to enjoy the freedoms we have today. I am deeply grateful to be part of the legacy they left behind and to play in a stadium that stands as a memorial to ensure they are never forgotten.
To have the opportunity to participate in a sport I love, in such a meaningful and historic place, is something I will always cherish. And to help bring a game with such significance to girls in our community is more than just a milestone—it’s a powerful reminder that change is possible, and that we are part of something far greater than ourselves.
The fact that so many of those honored at Memorial Stadium were our age when they made the ultimate sacrifice continues to inspire me. I hope that by stepping onto that field, we not only honor them, but also encourage others to keep pushing boundaries and creating space for those who come next.
- Thea Harnish
From high school football games to watching George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic, Sublime, and Cake at Bumbershoot, I am so happy the stadium will be enjoyed for many years to come.
- Damon Kenner
I have memories of being a “water girl” for my high school football team (Blanchet High School) and riding the bus with the team to memorial stadium for the championship.
- Debbie Mischel