The Sounders yesterday announced a "10-year extension" to their lease at CenturyLink Field to "keep the team at its current home" through the '28 MLS season, according to Matt Pentz of the SEATTLE TIMES. The agreement between the Sounders and stadium operator First & Goal Inc. includes a "mandate to replace the turf after no more than four years, more often if both the Sounders and Seahawks both sign off." The most recent replacement "came following the 2011 season." Sounders Minority Owner & GM Adrian Hanauer said, “It’s more of a compromise with the Seahawks, who want the field in a certain way. We prefer it different and possibly replaced more often." Pentz notes actual grass "remains a possibility, but only if the Seahawks also agree to the switch." Hanauer said that the agreement also includes a commitment from the Seahawks "to continue to explore and develop new technologies." He added, "If there are better ways to maintain the field, we’ll work together and make sure they’re in place'" (SEATTLE TIMES, 3/17). In Tacoma, Don Ruiz notes the cost of a new surface is "believed to be in the $300,000-$500,000 range, and was not cited as a factor by either team" (Tacoma NEWS TRIBUNE, 1/7).
