Seattle Reign FC Announces Full Details Surrounding Sunday’s Can’t-Miss Celebration
Gates open at 5:30 p.m. PT and fans are encouraged to arrive early to be a part of the Megan Rapinoe Jersey Retirement pre-match ceremony
Seattle Reign FC announced a variety of celebrations for the Megan Rapinoe Jersey Retirement Match, presented by Google Pixel, on Sunday, August 25 at 7:00 p.m. PT. With gates opening at 5:30 p.m. PT, fans are encouraged to arrive early to enjoy the matchday festivities for this can’t-miss Seattle sports moment.
“I can’t wait to return to Lumen Field for this once-in-a-lifetime moment,” said Megan Rapinoe. “It has been an honor to wear 15 throughout my career and represent a city that means so much to me. Seattle, this is a celebration of all that we’ve accomplished together.”
The first 10,000 fans in attendance will receive a reversible RISE-branded bucket hat. Prior to the match at the Muckleshoot Heritage Plaza, there will be live music, food trucks from locally-owned businesses and other activities for fans to participate in. At the Olympic Hall, TOGETHXR will host a Megan Rapinoe inspired photo station.
Fans will have the opportunity to purchase limited-edition merchandise from the RISE Collection at all retail locations around Lumen Field.
In preparation for the pre-match ceremony, fans should be in their seats by 6:28 p.m. PT to be a part of the celebration. The ceremony kicks off with The Highlight Pro Skydiving Team, an elite all-female skydiving team focused on highlighting women’s rights initiatives, flying into Lumen Field with a RISE flag and streamers.
The ceremony will feature a fan-involved visual spectacle, surprise guest speaker, an on-field appearance of Reign alumni and past Starbucks Legends. To countdown the celebration, a flag will be raised by several members of the historical 1985 U.S. Women’s National Team. In honor of Megan Rapinoe’s jersey retirement, there will be an unveiling of a permanent LED display.
Prior to kickoff, The Residency, which includes Rainbow Jackson, Brihana Jua, Sania Lewis and Tah-Jae Shante, will perform the National Anthem.
At halftime, the festivities continue with a performance from The Brittany Davis Band and a special check presentation featuring Rave Foundation, Brandi Carlile and the Looking Out Foundation.
In addition to all the activations taking place on matchday, fans can see the unique RISE purple reflected around the city ahead of the match in the following ways:
One of Seattle’s most iconic landmarks, the Space Needle, will illuminate the skyline purple on Saturday night.
Seattle’s iconic MoPOP – the Museum of Pop Culture – goes purple on Saturday and Sunday to honor the legend.
The 520 Bridge is lighting its sentinels purple for the club on Saturday and Sunday evening.
The Columbia Center's iconic crown will light up purple above the Seattle skyline for the match.
The Seattle Convention Center arch will glow purple on Sunday night.
The Great Seattle Wheel will shine purple over the waterfront the night of the match.
The statues of Seattle Mariners legends Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez, located outside T-Mobile Park, will wear R15E scarves.
Seattle Reign FC’s home, Lumen Field, will shine purple on Sunday in celebration of the match.
A new partnership between RAVE Foundation, aimed at supporting access and inclusion in soccer, and Looking Out Foundation, the nonprofit organization founded by Grammy-Award winning artist Brandi Carlile, will be announced at the match. Brandi Carlile and her wife Catherine Carlile, Executive Director of Looking Out Foundation, will be joined on the Lumen Field pitch for a halftime announcement by Reign FC Chief Business Officer Maya Mendoza-Exstrom and Executive Director of RAVE Foundation and Vice President of Social Impact for Reign FC, Ashley Fosberg.
Fans are encouraged to donate to this alliance to support Reign FC’s efforts to Affirm LGBTQ+ Rights, Further Access to Soccer for all, and to assert and support the power of women and gender diverse people. Donations can be made by texting LOF to 76278 or by visiting the donation page.
“We hope this will be the start of a powerful, long-term partnership between our three organizations,” said Looking Out Foundation Executive Director, Catherine Carlile. “Looking Out Foundation is committed to supporting and advocating for both global and local causes – and we couldn’t dream of two better organizations to be aligned with locally than Seattle Reign FC and RAVE Foundation, and we are honored to launch our partnership while honoring social justice hero and soccer legend, Megan Rapinoe.”
Seattle Reign FC is proud to partner with Microsoft, Rad Power Bikes and Umpqua Bank in the club's efforts to make attending Reign FC matches accessible. Thanks to the support of Reign FC partners, community groups across the state are able to attend the Megan Rapinoe Jersey Retirement Match on August 25!
Rad Power Bikes offered fans the chance to test their product and win free Reign tickets in their Test Ride Zone. Any fan wearing Reign gear in the Test Ride Zone at Rad’s storefront in Seattle had the chance to win free tickets to the match. In addition, Rad will be providing Season Ticket Members the opportunity to try out a Rad Power Bike at the Reign’s exclusive Member event on Friday.
Fans can be a part of the action-packed evening, which includes the return of Olympians Jordyn Huitema and Quinn and potential club debuts of recent signings Ana-Maria Crnogorčević, Jaelin Howell and Nérilia Mondésir. RISE for Rapinoe by securing tickets to see Megan Rapinoe’s jersey retirement celebration.