Lumen Field will be temporarily renamed for World Cup

Lumen Field is getting a temporary new identity for the World Cup.

When matches kick off in 2026, the stadium will go by Seattle Stadium, The Puget Sound Business Journal reported earlier this week.

FIFA’s sponsorship guidelines require the change, even though the venue will stay the same.

The 68,000-seat stadium will host six games during the tournament.

A full brand makeover at Lumen Field

Fans can expect a full branding makeover before soccer’s biggest event arrives in Seattle. Lumen Field will be redoing all the signs and replacing the sponsors with FIFA’s.

“What the marketers want is exclusivity with FIFA and the games that they’re hosting,” David Mortlock, a partner in Bain’s media and technology practice, told The Puget Sound Business Journal. “The sponsors themselves are interested in maintaining that exclusivity because what they don’t want to do is be paying for a sponsorship and then have a competitor show up on the broadcast.”

FIFA partners include Adidas, Coca-Cola, and Visa, according to The Puget Sound Business Journal, citing FIFA intellectual property guidelines. Other sponsors include Budweiser, McDonald’s, and Rexona.

Zach Hensley, general manager of Lumen Field, told the media outlet that the majority of the work will be done by May. FIFA will then take over, but Lumen Field employees will stick around to wrap up projects.

FIFA will then add its sponsors for the World Cup.

Contributing: Manda Factor, KIRO Newsradio; Julia Dallas, MyNorthwest