Do You Have Any Barcelona Pre-Match Advice for a First-Time Sounders Attendee?
By: Laurie | July 28th, 2009Sounders fans, I have a request for information I’d like your help with. I got this email today from a Sounders fan who lives on the east side of the mountains and has been rooting for the team this season from over yonder. And… Well, I’ll let him tell you the rest:
We have tickets for the August 5th match with Barcelona and we were wanting to make the most of our first Sounders experience. If you could, I was wondering if you might share some tips to help us around that day.
My wife, my daughter (age 8 ) and I are making the trip that morning. We are planning on arriving in Seattle early enough to buy Sounders gear and hit the park for the march to Qwest. Do you have any insider tips on merchandise, parking, the march, pre-game activities, autograph opportunities, or anything else that we shouldn’t miss? Any suggestions that you have will be greatly appreciated.
We can’t wait. The atmosphere at games is amazing. It will be so incredible to actually be there in person.
Thank you in advance for any help.
Tony
I’m thinking that collectively the people reading this have a whole lot of matchday (or weekday match evening) experience. What would you recommend?
I’m thinking DON’T park around Qwest if you can help it. On normal match days, parking at Safeco is $10. For bigger games, like Barcelona, or when there’s a Mariners game at the same time, they jack it up to $40!! (That’s not a typo.) Parking can be had for less if you park farther away, but I think public transport to the stadium might be a better option. Anybody have info on parking elsewhere plus light rail, Sounder trains, bus routes, etc.?
Also, be sure to arrive earlier than you think you’ll need to to park and get to the march. I have yet to make it at the very beginning of one. (This is entirely not my fault, by the way. Let’s just say my husband and I have a mixed marriage when it comes to the time we feel we need to get to the stadium.)
Also, if you have kids in this age group, what do you recommend and where will they find it? Face painting? Hair painting? Autographs?
Anything else they shouldn’t miss? What do you think?
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For merchandise, I like going to Off the Field (I think that is it). It has a coffee shop in it (someone may be able to correct me on the name). They seem to have the best selection for soccer gear (not only sounders) and are usually not crowded. Priced about the same. There is a lot about south of Pyramid that is $15 on game day, but I can’t say what it would be for Barca. For Chels I took the bus and would almost tell them to take public transportation if they can. Outside that, I don’t have any other ideas.
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United States
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Do what you can to avoid driving into downtown. Last time we parked at Westlake and took the Link. I’ve also taken the bus.
Depending on the size of your child, you might want a booster-seat.
Depending on where your seats are, earplugs might be needed.
Bring a fan of some sort. Someway of keeping your daughter cool is going to go a long ways 2/3 of the way through the match.
Just my 2 cents.
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Great to hear that the Sounders are getting support from the East side! I used to live in Spokane and driving in Seattle can be a shock compared to the East side of the state.
First, it is going to be really, really hot (and humid). I would highly recommend getting a hat with a good bill and shades to keep the sun off your face. A battery operated mini-fan, like the previous poster recommended, is probably a good idea. Try to wear something light that breathes a little to the match. Sounders jerseys are pretty good. A lot of people also were jerseys from their favorite international side (no Barcelona jersey this game though!
Driving and parking will be a pain. You can usually find $10 parking a mile or less outside of the arena towards the downtown area. I would suggest getting to the downtown area a couple hours early. You can usually find parking either north or east of pioneer square. Relax and have a cup of coffee in Pioneer square at one of the many coffee shops or bookstores (hopefully with A/C). Then meet up with the Sound Wave to march to the stadium (see below) If you want to use public transport…http://tripplanner.metrokc.gov.. is the site you need for bus planning.
If you want a fun time you can march to the field with the Sound Wave band. Probably not great for a small kid or toddler, but it would probably be a blast for a kid in the 10+ age group. They meet at Occidental Park in Pioneer Square 90 minutes prior to the match (http://www.soundersfc.com/Matchday/March-to-the-Match.aspx)
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I think an eight-year-old would love the march to the match. Just be sure she’s ready for “loud.”
And a friendly like this is perfect for a first match for a child. The fans will be excited but not incredibly vested in winning. Probably a lot less screaming at the ref than what we saw on Saturday.
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I’d almost recommend going to Pioneer Square at 5:30 and seeing the march to the match gathering, then leave to get to stadium ahead of them (right before 6, when the gates open) — That way the 8 year old can partake of the face painting, hair coloring, and sign up for autograph alley without having to wait in long lines that form down in that area (inside Qwest, NW corner, ground level). From there, it’s plenty fun to soak in the atmosphere inside and watch the clubs warm up…
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I would park somewhere on the west end of town (toward Seattle Center) and using feet and busses lazily make my way towards the park for march to the match. We always stop at Pike Place market and get a bbq pork roll, and just sort of have fun and check out anything that catches our eye.
Mileage may vary with an 8 year old.
You don’t want to be trying to drive or park anywhere in the area of the stadium or Occidental Park, though, that’s almost certain.
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“Mixed Marriage”
Hilarious
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One suggestion I would make that I haven’t seen here is to be sure and bring some water bottles. Qwest will let you bring in full water bottles as long as they are still sealed. So pick yourself up some Arrowhead before coming over. My husband and I always bring at least two bottles each, because staying hydrated helps you chant and sing better!
Also, bringing a backpack to keep the bottles in is not a bad idea. We’ve brought one to every game and had no problems getting in with it.Enjoy the Barca match, and I hope you can come over for more!
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If you don’t mind getting your merchandise offsite, try the Pro Shop at Pacific Place. It’s an official team shop, so they’ll have everything you could find at the Qwest Field location. And actually Pacific place might not be the worst place to stage from either. It’s not all that cheap, but even if you were there all day, the weekday max of $25 is better than the $40 you’ll pay right next to the stadium.
Here’s the parking story:
Weekdays Before 5:00 p.m.
0 to 1 hour $4
1 to 2 hours $6
2 to 3 hours $8
3 to 4 hours $10
Each additional hour after four hours: $3Weekdays After 5:00 p.m.
4 hours or less $4
Each additional hour after four hours: $2Weekday Maximum: $25
Pacific Place is also a couple blocks away from Westlake and therefore the light rail station. So you could go to Pacific Place, park, go to the Pro Shop, get your merchandise, get some lunch or coffee or whatever, then walk over to the light rail station and take it to the International District station which is a few blocks from Qwest.
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A huge THANKS to everyone for all of the great ideas.
This community has been great. Thank you for taking the time to help out. There is some really good information here.Laurie, brilliant idea. Thank you for sharing my request and bringing the community in.
Well, I guess I’ll see you all there (all 60,000 of you),
Thanks again,
TonyPosted from
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See you there. You can recognize me because I’ll be the guy with the green shirt.
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Also, Tony, I think most of the pregame kid stuff is on the north end of the stadium. If you do the March to the Match, you can’t miss it. But if you were to come in from the south side I’m not sure you’d see everything.
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