The party decks were packed for the Seattle Sounders 2 debut in Cheney Stadium on Friday night. This was not unusual. The ballpark’s party decks are a popular destination for business functions, receptions and reunions on those dreamy midsummer nights when mingling is the attraction and the athletic contest is a casually observed sideshow.
What was unusual Friday is that the party-deck fans were more engaged in the action than with each other. Before the gates opened, Rainiers president Aaron Artman, whose team runs the business side of the S2 operation, sensed the contrast between a baseball and soccer audience.