Seattle Sounders supporters have probably dreamed of this moment since the club joined the MLS ranks as an expansion club in 2009.
Seattle will be hosting and playing for MLS Cup — a single match for the league championship on their home turf — on Sunday, November 10 (3 pm ET on ABC, Univision, TUDN, TSN, TVAS). It's the first time for the club, although the city of Seattle previously served as the neutral site for the 2009 MLS Cup final between Real Salt Lake and the LA Galaxy.
Sounders fans have already celebrated a trophy hoist at home on four different occasions:
2010 U.S. Open Cup (Oct. 5)
The Sounders celebrated their first title in front of the home crowd when they defeated the Columbus Crew 2-1 in their first final as an MLS club.
2011 U.S. Open Cup (Oct. 4)
In front of 35,615, the Sounders did it again almost a year to the day. This time they beat the Chicago Fire 2-0.
2014 Supporters' Shield (Oct. 25)
On the final day of the regular season, the Sounders beat the LA Galaxy 2-0 at CenturyLink Field to clinch their first and only Supporters' Shield title as the best team in the 2014 regular season. The crowd numbered 57,673 for the match.
2017 Western Conference Ch'ship (Nov. 30)
The Sounders easily dispatched the Houston Dynamo in Leg 2 by a 3-0 score (5-0 on aggregate) to advance to a second straight MLS Cup as Western Conference champions.
Sounders pre-MLS history
The Sounders won four league titles prior to entering MLS, capturing the 1995 and 1996 A-League titles at Memorial Stadium. In 2005 and 2007, the Sounders, then under Brian Schmetzer, believe it or not, won the USL First Division title at Qwest Field (now CenturyLink Field) both years, so the head coach has experience winning league titles at the venue with the Sounders.
Other Seattle home championships
Outside of men's soccer, a number of Seattle pro teams have won league titles – including former NBA team Seattle SuperSonics in 1979, NFL side Seattle Seahawks in 2013 and lower league women's soccer outfit Seattle Sounders Women in the WPSL in 2018 – but in those cases the title wins have come on the road or in neutral venues.
The first Seattle side to win a league title was hockey team Seattle Metropolitans, who won the 1917 Stanley Cup Finals in the Seattle Ice Arena, the first American team to win the Stanley Cup. The Mets also hosted the 1919 Stanley Cup Finals at Seattle Ice Arena, and ultimately tied for the title, after the series was canceled in progress because of a flu outbreak.
More recently, WNBA outfit Seattle Storm won their first league title in 2004 at KeyArena. While they won two more WBNA championships (2010, 2018) the more recent triumphs have been captured on the road.
