Seattle, WA
What's happened to Seattle Seahawks' home-field advantage?
The mystique surrounding Lumen Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks, seems to be fading away.
Breaking down Seahawks’ NFC West title and playoff odds
After another loss on their home field against Green Bay, the Seahawks fell to 3-5 and clinched a losing record on their own turf this season.
What was once an unthinkable trend was on full display in primetime Sunday night, as Lumen Field was packed with a boisterous group of Packers fans who at time drowned out their Seattle counterparts. Early on at the stadium – and on the NBC Sunday Night Football broadcast – a loud “Go Pack Go!” chant could be heard clearly from the crowd.
This wasn’t the first time this season that an opposing team’s fans cut into the Seahawks’ home-field advantage – the San Francisco 49ers especially had a similar backing in Seattle in October. So after Lumen Field was once again invaded by fans of another team, Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy tried to make sense of what’s happened to the Seahawks’ formerly feared home stadium.
“I have never, in the nearly 10 years I’ve covered this team, seen home-field advantage lost the way that it has been. And I, for the life of me, can’t figure out exactly what’s going on behind the scenes,” Stacy Rost said.
Michael Bumpus, a Seahawks Radio Network analyst who played wide receiver for the franchise, has certainly noticed the change on his Sundays at the stadium.
“I walk the stadium before every game, and every game I get more and more disappointed because I feel like somebody is in our house without our permission,” he said. “They got great seats and they’re making themselves at home and they’re talking trash and they’re supporting their teams.”
According to Bumpus, the fans do make a difference.
“When I used to travel on the road, I liked road games because I liked getting booed,” Bumpus said. “But there’s nothing like the roar of support that’s helping you. We need to get that back.”
What’s the problem?
When discussing why the Seahawks are seeing more opposing fans at games, Rost and Bumpus delved into a few of the reasons they’ve consistently heard from fans.
“It’s tough. I think there are a couple (reasons) going on,” Bumpus said. “I think season-ticket holders are trying to get their money back. How do you do that? You sell your tickets. I also think that this team isn’t seen as an NFC power, so fans are less likely to go to these games. It leaves tickets open for fans like the Packers’ to get there and take this thing over.”
In the case of the Packers specifically, the swell of Green Bay fans at Lumen Field could be attributed in part to the difficulties of getting tickets to Green Bay home games. According to greenbayticketservice.com, the wait list for season tickets to Packers games is over 90,000 names long. The Packers’ website touts that its season tickets have been sold out since 1960.
“But we’re seeing this happen in multiple games,” Bumpus said. “I remember the Denver game it was crazy, the Miami game, of course the 49ers game, the Rams game – they’re taking over.”
The main culprit that Bump and Stacy feel is attributing to the opposing fan takeovers is ever-rising costs of attending games.
USA Today reported that the average price of an NFL ticket rose from $235 in 2022 to $377 in 2023. That follows a decades-long trend across all sports. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average ticket price for sporting events rose over twice as fast overall consumer products from 1999 through 2020.
According to the Seahawks’ website, season tickets currently range from $1,030 to $5,240 per seat for a full season. The price of single-game tickets can vary greatly as teams have switched to variable pricing, making games against less popular teams cheaper and those against big brands and heated rivals more expensive. The cheapest tickets on Ticketmaster for this Sunday’s upcoming home Seahawks game against the Minnesota Vikings were listed at $135 as of Monday afternoon.
“It’s unfortunate because the people who aren’t making the majority of the money are probably the most loyal fans out there,” Bumpus said. “The blue collar, hard-working people who genuinely love this team are being kicked out of the stadium because they can’t afford it.”
Another factor that’s come up in relation to the Seahawks is season-ticket holders selling tickets to fans of opposing teams. With the emergence of second-market ticketing sites, it’s become easier for resold tickets to fall into the hands of opposing fans. Sellers oftentimes don’t know who they are selling the tickets to.
“I’ve heard lots of interesting things that, as someone who’s never been a season-ticket holder, I wasn’t privy to,” Rost said. “(A texter from) the 360 (area code) said, ‘I’ve been a season-ticket holder for 20 years. Most Packers fans I’ve ever seen last night.’ They said, ‘It’s unfortunate, but for fans that can’t make the game, they’re forced to use the NFL Ticket Exchange because if we sell to someone we don’t know and then they become belligerent, we can have our tickets revoked if we don’t use the NFL Ticket Exchange.’”
Unfortunately for the Seahawks, they’ve seemed to feel the impact of a less supportive crowd at home games. From when Lumen Field opened in 2002 through 2020, Seattle was 106-43 at home with 13 winning seasons and just two losing seasons. Since 2021, Seattle is just 16-17 at home and has matched its two losing seasons from the prior 19-season stretch.
“I don’t even think there’s a 12th man right now,” Bumpus said. “It’s like 11 1/2 or 11 1/4 or something. I’m not saying this to make anybody feel bad for not going, because I understand how (expensive) it is.”
Hear the full Bump and Stacy conversation in the final segment of the podcast at this link or in the player near the top of this post. Catch Bump and Stacy live on Seattle Sports from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays.
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Seattle, WA
Outreach groups respond to the reported relocation cycle of Ballard’s homeless population
SEATTLE — As people voice concerns about an encampment in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood, outreach groups are detailing their efforts and fighting back against encampment removals.
The outreach group We Heart Seattle said it checks on the people in an encampment of at least 20 people weekly to offer water, snacks, personal hygiene items, and access to treatment.
RELATED | Ballard encampment grows after city removes nearby site along Burke-Gilman Trail
The group told KOMO it believes more can be done at the city level, from policy to housing, to get the homeless connected with shelter and services.
A woman working at the Fred Meyer off NW 45th Street and 9th Avenue captured video of a fire near tents at an encampment across the street. A day later, off camera, she told KOMO News she worries about the safety of the people living in the tents and Ballard neighbors, in addition to concerns about alleged open-air drug use at the encampment.
“We became homeless because of certain situations, and we turned to drugs, and unfortunately, addiction comes next, you know?” Crystal Rawlings told KOMO News. She has set up her tent on multiple streets in Ballard, and said she’s approaching one year of being opioid-free.
She believes there’s been more city outreach since the start of the new mayoral administration to connect people living on the streets with services, but knows there’s not enough transitional housing for everyone who needs or wants it.
She and the Ballard Community Task Force on Homelessness and Hunger urge the city to stop encampment removals that push this group to another block.
RELATED | City removes Ballard encampment as neighboring businesses raise housing concerns
“We’re not abominations. We’re not obstructions, and we’re not trash, so stop sweeping us,” Rawlings stated.
The city is still aiming to reach Mayor Katie Wilson’s goal of adding 1,000 new units of shelter in 2026 and recently opened a tiny home village in nearby Interbay, but fell short of the goal of 500 new units by June.
Andrea Suarez with We Heart Seattle estimates at least 20 people living on the street keep getting moved around Ballard, from behind the Albert Lee store to Leary Avenue to NW 45th Street behind the Fred Meyer.
“This encampment has people that’ve been homeless for more than five years. We know their names and faces. They’re still here. They’re still stuck in late-phase addiction, frankly because it’s permitted,” Suarez explained.
RELATED | Viral makeshift homeless shelter with chimney dismantled by Seattle city crews
She believes a camping ban on city sidewalks would help encourage more people to accept shelter, and help stop the cycle of moving people without
“It is an underserved community. I think it is unfair,” Suarez added. “We’ve tried to balance between enablement and really giving people a hand up, but without the teeth and backup for the work of outreach workers, it starts to feel futile, and that’s why we get burned out.”
The mayor’s office was working to send data about its homeless response in Ballard as of Wednesday afternoon.
The Ballard Community Task Force on Homelessness and Hunger estimates there have been nine Ballard-area encampment removals so far this year.
SEATTLE – Wednesday will be another warm day with highs in the mid to upper 80s for parts of western Washington. Eastern and central Washington will reach near 100F with high fire danger. The coast and north interior will be cooler, only in the 60s to 70s.
Wednesday will be another warm day with highs in the mid to upper 80s for parts of western Washington.
Fire Weather Watch
A Fire Weather Watch goes into effect Wednesday evening through Thursday evening for thunderstorms and gusty winds. Lightning strikes could create new fire starts and, with very dry conditions in place, any new fire could spread quickly.
A Fire Weather Watch goes into effect Wednesday evening through Thursday evening for thunderstorms and gusty winds.
What’s next:
An upper level low will move into the Pacific Northwest, bringing scattered showers and a chance of thunderstorms. The heaviest showers will be in the morning hours and will turn more scattered into the evening hours.
An upper level low will move into the Pacific Northwest, bringing scattered showers and chance of thunderstorms.
Looking Ahead:
High pressure will build again Friday and into the weekend, increasing temperatures and sunshine. We will start to see highs reach the upper 80s to low 90s by early next week.
High pressure will build again Friday and into the weekend, increasing temperatures and sunshine.
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After so many disappointing seasons with the interior offensive line, the Seattle Seahawks made a commitment last offseason to improve the unit. They started one big step at a time by drafting North Dakota State guard Grey Zabel in the first round, 18th overall pick, of the 2025 NFL Draft. This one was one of the last steps for the Seahawks to create one of the most productive offenses in the NFL.
Zabel wasn’t perfect in his rookie season, but he was good enough to validate the decision to draft him in the first round, and he showed improvement. Zabel is already a favorite among some Seahawks fans and some media outlets as they love his determination and spirit. It was a big jump from the FCS collegiate level to the NFL and this season, he has a chance to show why he might be a top-half-of-the-league guard.
Why Zabel Could Be Ranked Higher?
The Seahawks wanted a determined workhorse when looking for a guard. That’s exactly what they got in Zabel. Last season, he appeared in 1,051 snaps, which is only 10 fewer snaps than right tackle Abraham Lucas, who had the most offensive snaps. Zabel got better as the season progressed. Pro Football Focus gave him an overall grade of 81.5 and a run-block grade of 81.2 in Week 14 through the NFC Championship Game.
There were times last season when he looked like a monster against several defenders. He was pushing some defenders completely out of the way on pulling plays and even ran to defenders after the pass-catcher caught the ball. This is the mentality the Seahawks expect him to have going into his second season in the league. He has more experience and the complete trust of the team to be a franchise player on par with Lucas and left tackle Charles Cross. If he continues to improve, he will be another steal for the Seahawks.
Why Zabel Could Be Ranked Lower?
There were times last season when he didn’t quite catch up to the learning curve of the NFL. Zabel allowed two sacks, four hits and 24 pressures in 2025. The Seahawks expect those numbers to decrease significantly as he is experienced and capable of playing at an efficient level. While Zabel is impressive, he might not be the best player the Seahawks have selected in the 2025 NFL Draft. That honor belongs to slot cornerback Nick Emmanwori, who is stepping up to be the steal of the draft.
Zabel is easily one of the best second-year players and is one of the top offensive linemen, but there are players behind him because they haven’t proven to be consistently explosive for the Seahawks. There is going to be even more pressure on him this upcoming season. The Seahawks hired a more run-friendly coach in Brian Fleury as offensive coordinator. His ranking at the end of the season might be much better if he improves, or worse if he fails to reach expectations.
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