Growing up in the Northwest, Paul G. Allen’s passion for football was kindled attending University of Washington football games. As years passed, a fondness toward the Seahawks developed. When former ownership threatened to move the Seahawks to southern California in 1996, Allen acted on an opportunity to purchase the club and save pro football in Seattle. Along with the purchase came the vision of a new multi-functional stadium and exhibition hall. On June 30, 1997, the purchase was completed and secured that the future of the Seahawks would remain in the Great Northwest.
“From the beginning of this process, my goals have been to work with the community to create a lasting asset for our future; and to ensure the long-term success of the Seahawks,” said Allen at the time of purchasing the franchise. “Moving forward, our goals are to build a playoff caliber team and to create a world-class facility for the state of Washington.”
Both goals have been realized. In 2002, the vision of Seahawks Stadium and Exhibition Center, renamed Qwest Field & Qwest Field Event Center in 2004, became reality. An open air facility which many critics argue is the best venue in the National Football League, Qwest Field is home to over 300 events annually ranging from soccer, to Supercross, concerts, graduation ceremonies, and trade shows. The Seahawks have also reached the postseason five of the last seven seasons, including their first ever Super Bowl trip in 2005 after a franchise-best 13-3 record.
“It exceeds the vision we had originally,” Allen said shortly after the opening of the stadium. “We had a bunch of goals about trying to create a really intimate stadium that would be great for the fans, to have elegant architecture, and I think we’ve ended up with a fantastic facility.”
An investor and philanthropist, Allen creates and advances world-class projects that change and improve the way people live, learn, work and experience the world through arts, education, entertainment, sports, business and technology. He co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates in 1976, remained the company’s chief technologist until he left Microsoft in 1983, and is the founder and chairman of Vulcan Inc. In addition, Allen’s multibillion dollar investment portfolio includes stakes in technology, media and content companies. Allen also owns the Portland Trail Blazers NBA franchise and is a member of the ownership group for the Seattle Sounders FC of the MLS.
Growing up in the Northwest, Paul G. Allen’s passion for football was kindled attending University of Washington football games. As years passed, a fondness toward the Seahawks developed. When former ownership threatened to move the Seahawks to southern California in 1996, Allen acted on an opportunity to purchase the club and save pro football in Seattle. Along with the purchase came the vision of a new multi-functional stadium and exhibition hall. On June 30, 1997, the purchase was completed and secured that the future of the Seahawks would remain in the Great Northwest.
“From the beginning of this process, my goals have been to work with the community to create a lasting asset for our future; and to ensure the long-term success of the Seahawks,” said Allen at the time of purchasing the franchise. “Moving forward, our goals are to build a playoff caliber team and to create a world-class facility for the state of Washington.”
Both goals have been realized. In 2002, the vision of Seahawks Stadium and Exhibition Center, renamed Qwest Field & Qwest Field Event Center in 2004, became reality. An open air facility which many critics argue is the best venue in the National Football League, Qwest Field is home to over 300 events annually ranging from soccer, to Supercross, concerts, graduation ceremonies, and trade shows. The Seahawks have also reached the postseason five of the last seven seasons, including their first ever Super Bowl trip in 2005 after a franchise-best 13-3 record.
“It exceeds the vision we had originally,” Allen said shortly after the opening of the stadium. “We had a bunch of goals about trying to create a really intimate stadium that would be great for the fans, to have elegant architecture, and I think we’ve ended up with a fantastic facility.”
An investor and philanthropist, Allen creates and advances world-class projects that change and improve the way people live, learn, work and experience the world through arts, education, entertainment, sports, business and technology. He co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates in 1976, remained the company’s chief technologist until he left Microsoft in 1983, and is the founder and chairman of Vulcan Inc. In addition, Allen’s multibillion dollar investment portfolio includes stakes in technology, media and content companies. Allen also owns the Portland Trail Blazers NBA franchise and is a member of the ownership group for the Seattle Sounders FC of the MLS.
Raised in the Pacific Northwest, Paul Allen has been named one of the top philanthropists in America - with lifetime giving totaling more than $1 billion - and is committed to giving back to communities in the region he still calls home. Allen gives back through The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, which strengthens communities and supports vulnerable populations in the areas of arts and culture, human services, opportunities for youth, and scientific advancement. In 2003 Allen announced a commitment of $100 million in seed money dedicated to brain research and unveiled the creation of the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle. The nonprofit Allen Institute was founded as an innovative and unprecedented resource for neuroscientists around the world. In 2006 the Allen Institute completed its inaugural project, the Allen Brain Atlas—Mouse Brain. The mouse brain atlas is a Web-based, three-dimensional map of gene expression in the mouse brain which is freely accessible online and available at no cost. Detailing more than 21,000 genes at the cellular level, the Atlas continues to help lead scientists to new insights about neurological function and disease. In 2008 the Allen Institute announced three new major atlas projects -- the Allen Brain Atlas (ABA)—Human Brain, ABA—Developing Mouse Brain, and ABA—Mouse Spinal Cord. The new atlases are designed to accelerate brain, and spinal cord research, dramatically advancing the field of neuroscience.
Inspired by growing up in the era of the “space race,” with its Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions, Allen underscored his passion for rocketry by sponsoring the development of SpaceShipOne, the first privately funded spacecraft to successfully attain suborbital space. SpaceShipOne won the Ansari X-Prize in 2004. Additionally, in 1998, Allen began acquiring and preserving rare aircraft of 20th-century military aviation, many of which are the last of their kind. The Flying Heritage Collection’s purpose is to preserve and highlight the increasing rarity of original vintage aircraft, to restore these artifacts to flying condition with the highest standard of authenticity, and to share them with the public.
Allen is also founder of Experience Music Project, Seattle’s critically acclaimed interactive music museum, the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame, and, Vulcan Productions, the independent film production company behind feature films including Hard Candy and Far From Heaven and television documentaries on PBS, including 2010’s “This Emotional Life,” “RX for Survival: A Global Health Challenge,” “The Blues,” executive produced by Martin Scorsese in conjunction with Allen and Jody Allen, and “Evolution.” Learn more about Allen online at www.paulallen.com.
