title: Fez, Morocco

text: Following the death of Idris II in 828 the region was divided among his sons. The eldest, Muhammad, received Fez, but some of his brothers attempted to break away from his leadership, resulting in an internecine conflict. Although the Idrisid realm was eventually reunified and enjoyed a period of peace under Ali ibn Muhammad and Yahya ibn Muhammad, it fell into decline again in the late 9th century. According to one of the major early sources on this period, the "Rawd al-Qirtas" by Ibn Abi Zar, in this period the Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque was founded in 859 by Fatima al-Fihri, the daughter of a wealthy merchant. Her sister, Mariam, is likewise reputed to have founded the Al-Andalusiyyin Mosque the same year.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: In the 10th century, the city was contested by the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba and the Fatimid Caliphate of Ifriqiya (Tunisia), who ruled the city through a host of Zenata clients. The Fatimids took the city in 927 and expelled the Idrisids definitively, after which their Miknasa (one of the Zenata tribes) were installed there. The city, along with much of northern Morocco, continued to change hands between the proxies of Córdoba and the proxies of the Fatimids for many decades. Following another successful invasion by Buluggin ibn Ziri in 979 and a brief period of Fatimid control, the forces of Al-Mansur of Cordoba managed to retake the region again, expelling the Fatimids permanently. From 980 (or from 986), Fez was ruled by a Zenata dynasty from the Maghrawa tribe, who were allies of the Caliphate of Córdoba. They maintained this control even after the Caliphate's collapse in the early 11th century and until the arrival of the Almoravids.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: Fez continued to grow under Zenata control, even though conflicts between its two settlements, "Madinat Fas" and "Al-'Aliya", flared up during periods of political rivalry. Ziri ibn Atiyya, the first ruler of the new dynasty, had a troubled reign. However, Ibn Atiyya's descendant Dunas ibn Hamama, ruling between 1037 and 1049, was responsible for improving the city's infrastructure. He developed much of Fez's water supply system, which has largely survived up to the present day. Other structures built in his time included hammams (bathhouses), mosques, and the first bridges over the Oued Bou Khrareb (mostly rebuilt in later eras). The two cities became increasingly integrated: the open space between the two was filled up by new houses and up to six bridges across the river allowed for easier passage between them. A decade after Dunas, between 1059 and 1061, the two cities were ruled separately by two rival Zenata emirs who fought with each other: "Al-'Aliya" was controlled by an emir named Al-Gisa and "Madinat Fas" was controlled by Al-Fetouh. Both brothers fortified their respective shores, and their names have been preserved in two of the city's gates to this day: Bab Guissa (or Bab Gisa) in the north and Bab Ftouh in the south.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: In 1069–1070 (or possibly a few years later), Fez was conquered by the Almoravids under Yusuf ibn Tashfin. In the same year of this conquest, Yusuf ibn Tashfin unified "Madinat Fas" and "Al-'Aliya" into one city. The walls dividing them were destroyed, bridges connecting them were built or renovated, and a new circuit of walls was constructed that encompassed both cities. A kasbah (citadel) was built at the western edge of the city (just west of Bab Bou Jeloud today) to house the city's governor and garrison. Under Almoravid patronage, the largest expansion and renovation of the Great Mosque of al-Qarawiyyin took place (1135–1143). Although the capital was moved to Marrakesh under the Almoravids, Fez acquired a reputation for Maliki legal scholarship and remained an important centre of trade and industry. Almoravid impact on the city's structure was such that Yusuf ibn Tashfin is sometimes considered to be the second founder of Fez.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: In 1145 the Almohad leader Abd al-Mu'min besieged and conquered the city during the Almohad overthrow of the Almoravids. Due to the ferocious resistance they encountered from the local population, the Almohads demolished the city's fortifications. However, due to Fez's continuing economic and military importance, the Almohad caliph Ya'qub al-Mansur ordered the reconstruction of the ramparts. Since the city had grown in the meantime, the new Almohad perimeter of walls was larger than that of the former Almoravid ramparts. The walls were completed by his successor Muhammad al-Nasir in 1204, giving them their definitive shape and establishing the perimeter of Fes el-Bali to this day. The Almohads built the Kasbah Bou Jeloud on the site of the former Almoravid kasbah and also built the first kasbah occupying the site of the current Kasbah an-Nouar. Not all the land within the city walls was densely inhabited; much of it was still relatively open and was occupied by crops and gardens used by the inhabitants. During the 12th century, the city was one of the largest in the world, with an estimated population of 200,000.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: In 1250, Fez regained its status as the capital under the Marinid dynasty. The city reached its golden age in the Marinid period. In 1276, an anti-Marinid revolt resulted in a massacre of the Jewish community that was stopped by the intervention of the ruler Abu Yusuf Ya'qub. Following the revolt, Abu Yusuf Yaqub founded Fes Jdid as the new administrative and military centre. Under the Marinids, many of the principal monuments in the medina were built and the city established its reputation as an important intellectual centre. Between 1271 and 1357 seven madrasas were built, which are among the best examples of Moroccan architecture and some of the most richly decorated monuments in Fez.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: The Jewish quarter of Fez, the "Mellah", was created in Fes Jdid at some point during the Marinid period. The exact date and circumstances of its formation are not firmly established, but many scholars date the transfer of the Jewish population from Fes el-Bali to the new Mellah to the 15th century, a period of political tension and instability. In particular, Jewish sources describe the transfer as a consequence of the "rediscovery" of Idris II's body in the heart of the city in 1437, which caused the surrounding area – if not the entire city – to acquire a "holy" ("haram") status, requiring that non-Muslims be removed from the area. The Jewish community had initially consisted of indigenous local Jews (known as the "Toshavim") but these were joined by Sephardic Jews from the Iberian Peninsula (known as the "Megorashim") in subsequent generations, especially after the 1492 expulsion of Jews from Spain.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: The 1465 Moroccan revolt overthrew the last Marinid sultan. In 1472 the Wattasids, another Zenata dynasty which had previously served as viziers under the Marinid sultans, succeeded as rulers of Morocco from Fez. They perpetuated the structure of the Marinid state and continued its policies, but were unable to control all of Morocco. They did not contribute significantly to the physical fabric of Fez.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: In the 16th century the Saadis, a dynasty claiming prophetic heritage, rose to power in southern Morocco and challenged the Wattasids. Around the same time, the Ottoman Empire came close to Fez after its conquest of Algeria. In January 1549, the Saadi sultan Mohammed ash-Sheikh took Fez and ousted the last Wattasid sultan Ali Abu Hassun. The Wattasids later retook the city in 1554 with Ottoman support, but this reconquest was short-lived and later that same year the Wattasids were decisively defeated by the Saadis. The Ottomans attempted to invade Morocco after the assassination of Mohammed ash-Sheikh in 1558, but were stopped by his son Abdallah al-Ghalib at the Battle of Wadi al-Laban north of Fez. After the death of Abdallah al-Ghalib a new power struggle emerged. Abd al-Malik, Abdallah's brother, captured Fez with Ottoman support and ousted his nephew Abu Abdullah from the throne. The latter fled to Portugal where he asked king Sebastian of Portugal for help to regain his throne, while Abd al-Malik accepted Ottoman suzerainty. This led to the Battle of Wadi al-Makhazin (also known as Battle of the Three Kings) in which Abd al-Malik's army defeated the invading Portuguese army, ensuring Moroccan independence. Abd al-Malik was killed during the battle and was succeeded by Ahmad al-Mansur (r. 1578–1603).


title: Fez, Morocco

text: The Saadians, who used Marrakesh again as their capital, did not lavish much attention on Fez, with the exception of the ornate ablutions pavilions added to the Qarawiyyin Mosque's courtyard during their time. Perhaps as a result of persistent tensions with the city's inhabitants, the Saadians built a number of new forts and bastions around the city which appear to have been aimed at keeping control over the local population.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: After the long reign of Ahmad al-Mansur, the Saadian state fell into civil war between his sons and potential successors. Fez became a rival seat of power for a number of brothers vying against other family members ruling from Marrakesh. Both cities changed hands multiple times until the internecine conflict finally ended in 1627. Despite the reunification of the realm after 1627, the Saadians were in full decline and Fez had already suffered considerably from the repeated conquests and reconquests during the conflict. In 1641, Muhammad al-Haj of the Sanhaja Amazigh Dilā' Sufi order occupied Fes. The time was particularly difficult for Fessi Jews.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: It was only when the founder of the Alaouite dynasty, Moulay Rashid, took Fez in 1666 that the city saw a revival and became the capital again, albeit briefly. Moulay Rashid set about restoring the city after a long period of neglect. He built the Kasbah Cherarda (also known as the Kasbah al-Khemis) to the north of Fes Jdid in order to house a large part of his tribal troops. He also restored or rebuilt what became known as the Kasbah an-Nouar, which became the living quarters of his followers from the Tafilalt region (the Alaouite dynasty's ancestral home). For this reason, the kasbah was also known as the Kasbah Filala ("Kasbah of the people from Tafilalt"). Moulay Rashid also built a large new madrasa, the Cherratine Madrasa, in 1670. After his death Fez underwent another dark period. Moulay Isma'il, his successor, apparently disliked the city – possibly due to a rebellion there in his early reign – and chose nearby Meknès as his capital instead. Although he did restore or rebuild some major monuments in the city, such as the Zawiya of Moulay Idris II, he also frequently imposed heavy taxes on the city's inhabitants and sometimes even forcibly transferred parts of its population to repopulate other cities in the country. After his death, Morocco was plunged into anarchy and decades of conflict between his sons who vied to succeed him. Fez suffered particularly from repeated conflicts with the Udayas (or Oudayas), a "guich" tribe (vassal tribe serving as a garrison and military force) previously installed in the Kasbah Cherarda by Moulay Isma'il. Sultan Moulay Abdallah, who reigned intermittently during this period and used Fez as a capital, was initially welcomed in 1728–29 as an enemy of the Udayas, but relations between him and the city's population quickly soured due to his choice of governor. He immediately built a separate fortified palace in the countryside, Dar Dbibegh, where he resided instead. For nearly three more decades the city remained in more or less perpetual conflict with both the Udayas and the Alaouite sultans.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: Starting with the reign of Moulay Muhammad ibn Abdallah, between 1757 and 1790, the country stabilized and Fez finally regained its fortunes. Although its status was partly shared with Marrakesh, it remained the capital of Morocco for the rest of the Alaouite period up to the 20th century. There was a brief period of disorder under Moulay Yazid (ruled 1790–1792) and Moulay Slimane (ruled 1792–1822), with the sultans in Fez losing control of most of the rest of Morocco between 1790 and 1795. However, the city benefitted from a long era of relative peace and remained a major economic center even during short periods of conflict. The Alaouites continued to rebuild or restore various monuments and undertook a series of extensions to the Royal Palace. The sultans and their entourages also became more and more closely associated with the elites of Fez and other urban centers, with the "ulama" (religious scholars) of Fez being particularly influential. After Moulay Slimane's death, powerful Fassi families became the main players of the country's political and intellectual scene.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: The Tijani Sufi order, started by Ahmad al-Tijani (d. 1815), has had its spiritual center in Fez since al-Tijani moved here from Algeria in 1789. The order spread quickly among the literary elite of North West Africa and its "ulama" had significant religious, intellectual, and political influence in Fez and beyond. Until the 19th century the city was the only source of fezzes (also known as the "tarboosh").


title: Fez, Morocco

text: The last major change to Fez's topography before the 20th century was made during the reign of Moulay Hassan I (1873-1894), who finally connected Fes Jdid and Fes el-Bali by building a walled corridor between them. New gardens and summer palaces, used by the royals and the capital's high society, were built within the corridor, such as the Jnan Sbil Gardens and the Dar Batha palace. Moulay Hassan also expanded the old Royal Palace itself, extending its entrance up to the current location of the Old Mechouar while adding the New Mechouar, along with the Dar al-Makina, to the north. The expansion separated the Moulay Abdallah neighbourhood to the northwest from the rest of Fes Jdid.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: Fez played a central role in the "Hafidhiya", the brief civil war that erupted when Abdelhafid challenged his brother Abdelaziz for the throne. The "ulama" of Fez, led by the Sufi modernist Muhammad Bin Abdul-Kabir Al-Kattani, offered their conditioned support to Abd al-Hafid, which turned the tide of the conflict. Abdelaziz was defeated in the Battle of Marrakesh in 1908. Abdelhafid's reign soon deteriorated and in early 1911 the sultan was besieged in Fez by the tribes of the Middle Atlas. Abdelhafid appealed for French help and a French force under Colonel arrived in Fez on May 21 and established a command centre at Dar Dbibegh.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: In 1912, French colonial rule was instituted over Morocco following the Treaty of Fes. One immediate consequence was the 1912 riots in Fez, a popular uprising which included deadly attacks targeting Europeans as well as native Jewish inhabitants in the Mellah, followed by an even deadlier repression. The first French resident general, Hubert Lyautey, decided to move the administrative capital of the Protectorate to Rabat in 1912–1913, which has remained the capital ever since.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: A number of social and physical changes took place during this period and across the 20th century. Starting under Lyautey, one important policy with long-term consequences was the decision to largely forego redevelopment of existing historic walled cities in Morocco and to intentionally preserve them as sites of historic heritage, still known today as "medinas". Instead, the French administration built new modern cities (the "Villes Nouvelles") just outside the old cities, where European settlers largely resided with modern Western-style amenities. This was part of a larger "policy of association" adopted by Lyautey which favoured various forms of indirect colonial rule by preserving local institutions and elites, in contrast with other French colonial policies that had favoured "assimilation". The also became known as "Dar Dbibegh" by Moroccans, as the former palace of Moulay Abdallah was located in the same area.The creation of the separate French to the west had a wider impact on the entire city's development. While new colonial policies preserved historic monuments, it also had other consequences in the long-term due to stalling urban development in these heritage areas. Scholar Janet Abu-Lughod has argued that these policies created a kind of urban "apartheid" between the indigenous Moroccan urban areas, who were forced to remain stagnant in terms of urban development and architectural innovation, and the new, mainly European-inhabited planned cities, which expanded to occupy lands formerly used by Moroccans outside the city. This separation was partly softened, however, by wealthy Moroccans who started moving into the during this period. By contrast, the old city (medina) of Fez was increasingly settled by poorer rural migrants from the countryside.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: Fez also played a role in the Moroccan nationalist movement and in protests against the French colonial regime. Many Moroccan nationalists received their education at the Al-Qarawiyyin University and some of their informal political networks were established thanks to this shared educational background. In July 1930, the students and other inhabitants protested against the Berber Dahir, decreed by the French authorities in May of that year. In 1937, the Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque and R'cif Mosque were rallying points for demonstrations against a violent crackdown on Moroccan protesters in the nearby city of Meknes, which ended with French troops being deployed across Fes el-Bali, including at the mosques themselves. Towards the end of World War II, Moroccan nationalists gathered in Fez to draft a demand for independence which they submitted to the Allies on January 11, 1944. This resulted in the arrest of nationalist leaders followed by the violent suppression of protests across many cities, including Fez.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: After Morocco regained its independence in 1956 many of the trends begun under colonial rule continued and accelerated during the second half of the 20th century. Much of Fez's bourgeois classes moved to the growing metropolises of Casablanca and the capital, Rabat. The Jewish population was particularly depleted, either moving to Casablanca or emigrating to countries like France, Canada, and Israel. Although the population of the city grew, it did so only slowly up until the late 1960s, when the pace of growth finally accelerated. Throughout this period (and up to today) Fez nonetheless remained the country's third largest urban center. Between 1971 and 2000, the population of the city roughly tripled from 325,000 to 940,000. The became the locus of further development, with new peripheral neighbourhoods–with inconsistent housing quality–spreading outwards around it. In 1963 the University of Al-Qarawiyyin was reorganized as a state university, while a new public university, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, was founded in 1975 in the . In 1981, the old city, consisting of Fes el-Bali and Fes Jdid, was classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: Social inequalities and economic precarity were accentuated during the repressive reign of King Hassan II and the period known as the Years of Lead (roughly 1975–1990). Fez was strongly affected by unemployment and lack of housing. Austerity measures led to several riots and uprisings across other cities during the 1980s. On December 14, 1990, a general strike was called and led to protests and rioting by university students and youths in Fez. Buildings were burned and looted, including the , a luxury hotel overlooking Fes el-Bali and dating to the time of Lyautey. Thousands were arrested and at least five were killed. The government promised to investigate and raise wages, though some of these measures were dismissed by the opposition.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: Today Fez remains a regional capital and one of Morocco's most important cities. Many of the former notable families of Fez still make up a large part of the country's political elite. It is also a major tourism destination due to its historical heritage. In recent years efforts have been underway to restore and rehabilitate the old medina, ranging from the restoration of individual monuments to attempts to rehabilitate the Fez River.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: The city is divided between its historic medina (the two walled districts of Fes el-Bali and Fes Jdid) and the now much larger "Ville Nouvelle" (New City) along with several outlying modern neighbourhoods. The old city is located in a valley along the banks of the "Oued Fes" (Fez River) just above its confluence with the larger Sebou River to the northeast. The Fez River takes its sources from the south and west and is split into various small canals which provide the historic city with water. These in turn empty into the Oued Bou Khrareb, the stretch of the river which passes through the middle of Fes el-Bali and separates the Qarawiyyin quarter from the Andalusian quarter.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: The new city occupies a plateau on the edge of the Saïs plain. The latter stretches out to the west and south and is occupied largely by farmland. Roughly 15 km south of Fes el-Bali is the region's main airport, Fes-Saïs. Further south is the town of Sefrou, while the city of Meknes, the next largest city in the region, is located to the southwest.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: Northwest of the Middle Atlas mountains, Fez has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification "Csa") with a strong continental influence, shifting from relatively cool and wet in the winter to dry and hot days in the summer months between June and September. Rainfall can reach up to in good years. The winter highs typically reach around in December–January. Frost is not uncommon during the winter period. The highest and lowest temperatures ever recorded in the city are and , respectively.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: Snowfall on average occurs once every 3 to 5 years. Fez recorded snowfall in three straight years in 2005, 2006 and 2007.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: According to the 2014 national census, the population of the city of Fez was 1,112,072, which includes the municipalities of Fez proper and Méchouar Fès Jdid (New Fès). Most of this population was Moroccan, but it also included 3515 resident foreigners. The majority of the population lives in the region and other modern-day neighbourhoods outside the historic walled city.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: The main spoken language in Fes is Arabic Darija ( lit. "the Moroccan vernacular"), a vernacular variety of Arabic. Like the inhabitants of other historical urban centers in Morocco, "Ahl Fes" ( "the people of Fes," referring especially to old elite families) speak their own distinct dialect of Darija. This "Fessi" dialect has traditionally been regarded as a prestige dialect over other forms of Moroccan Darija—particularly those seen as rural or "'arūbi" ( "of the rural Arabs")—due to its "association with the socio-economic power and dominance that its speakers enjoy at the national level," in the words of Mohammed Errihani.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: The "Fessi" dialect has traditionally had distinctive linguistic features. On the phonological level, these include the stereotypical use of a postalveolar approximant (like the American pronunciation of /ɹ/ in the word "red") in the place of a trilled [r] for /ر/, or a pharyngealized glottal stop or voiceless uvular plosive in the place of a voiced velar plosive ([g]) for /ق/. On the morphosyntactic level, gender distinction in pronouns and verb inflections is neutralized in the second person singular.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: Many of these features were shared with the other "pre-Hilalian" dialects in the region. However, due to social and demographic changes that started in the 20th century such as mass rural migration into the city and the departure of most of the city's old urban elites to Casablanca, these old linguistic features are no longer dominant in the speech of Arabic speakers in Fez today. Prior to the departure of most Jewish residents in the second half of the 20th century, the Jewish community in Fez also spoke an Arabic dialect similar to the rest of city.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: Modern Standard Arabic and Berber (Tamazight) are Morocco's two official state languages, although French is also widespread as a language of government and law. The primary language of the literary traditions of Fes is Arabic. While the daily spoken language is Darija (the Moroccan Arabic dialect), many people also speak French fluently. English is increasingly being learned by younger generations. Berber dialects are commonly spoken in the countryside around the city.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: Historically, the city was one of Morocco's main centers of trade and craftsmanship. The tanning industry, for example, still embodied by tanneries of Fes el-Bali today, was a major source of exports and economic sustenance since the city's early history. Up until the late 19th century, the city was the only place in the world which fabricated the fez hat. The city's commerce was concentrated along its major streets, like Tala'a Kebira, and around the central bazaar known as the Kissariat al-Kifah from which many other "souq"s (markets) branched off. The crafts industry continues to this day and is still focused in the old city, though largely reliant on tourism.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: Today, the city's surrounding countryside, the fertile Saïss plains, is an important source of agricultural activity producing primarily cereals, beans, olives, and grapes, as well as raising livestock. Tourism is also a major industry due to the city's UNESCO-listed historic medina. Religious tourism is also present due to the old city's many major zawiyas (Islamic shrines), such as the Zawiya of Moulay Idris II and the Zawiya of Sidi Ahmed al-Tijani, which attract both Moroccan and international (especially West African) pilgrims. The city and the region still struggle with unemployment and economic precarity.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: Two municipalities (Arabic: , French: ) in the (Arabic: ) make up the city of Fez. Most of Fez is administered as the municipality of Fez, while the neighborhood of Fes Jdid is administered separately as the municipality of Méchouar Fès Jdid. Outside of the city, there are also three rural municipalities in the prefecture, Aïn Bida, Oulad Tayeb, and Sidi Harazem.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: The municipality of Fez has an area of and recorded a population of 1,091,512 in the 2014 Moroccan census. It is divided into six "arrondissements" ():


title: Fez, Morocco

text: The municipality of Fez is governed by a 91-member council, elected by direct universal suffrage every six years. The "arrondissements" of Zouagha and Marininyine elect 17 councillors each; Jnane El Ward and Saiss elect 16 councillors each; Agdal elects 13, and Fès-Médina elects 12. Executive power is wielded by a president and ten vice-presidents, which are elected by the council. In 2021, Abdeslam Bekkali, a member of the National Rally of Independents (RNI), succeeded Driss Azami El Idrissi as the new president of the municipality of Fez.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: The municipality of Méchouar Fès Jdid consists of the neighborhood of Fes Jdid in the old city and forms an enclave within the municipality of Fez. Established in 1992, it is only in extent, and recorded a population of 20,560 in the 2014 census. The municipality possesses a special administrative status as the location of a royal palace (the "Dar al-Makhzen" or "méchouar"), one of four such municipalities (French: "communes des méchouars") in Morocco. The other three are located in Casablanca, Marrakesh, and Rabat. These four municipalities are governed by special provisions that do not apply to ordinary municipalities.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: The subdivisions of Fez Prefecture are grouped into two electoral districts, North Fez and South Fez, each of which elects four members to the House of Representatives. North Fez consists of the "arrondissements" of El Mariniyine, Fès-Médina, and Zouagha and the municipality of Méchouar Fès Jdid. South Fez consists of the other three "arrondissements" of Agdal, Jnan El Ouard, and Saiss, and the three rural municipalities outside the city of Fez.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: The historic city of Fez consists of Fes el-Bali, the original city on both shores of the Oued Fes (River of Fez), and the smaller Fez Jdid, founded on higher ground to the west in the 13th century. It is distinct from Fez's now much larger "Ville Nouvelle" (new city). Fes el-Bali is the site of the famous Qarawiyyin University and the Zawiya of Moulay Idris II, the most important religious and cultural sites, while Fez el-Jdid is the site of the 195 acre Royal Palace, still used by the King of Morocco today. These two historic cities are linked together and are usually referred to together as the "medina" of Fez, though this term is sometimes applied more restrictively to Fes el-Bali only.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: Fez is becoming an increasingly popular tourist destination and many non-Moroccans are now restoring traditional houses (riads and dars) as second homes in the medina. In 1981, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated "Medina of Fez" a World Heritage site, describing it as "one of the most extensive and best conserved historic towns of the Arab-Muslim world." It was the first site in Morocco to be granted this status.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: There are numerous historic mosques in the medina, some of which are part of a madrasa or zawiya. Among the oldest still standing today are the Mosque of al-Qarawiyyin, founded in 857 and subsequently expanded, the Mosque of the Andalusians founded in 859–860, the Bou Jeloud Mosque from the late 12th century, and possibly the Mosque of the Kasbah en-Nouar (which may have existed in the Almohad period but was likely rebuilt much later). The very oldest mosques of the city, dating back to its first years, were the Mosque of the Sharifs (or Shurafa Mosque) and the Mosque of the Sheikhs (or al-Anouar Mosque); however, they no longer exist in their original form. The Mosque of the Sharifs was the burial site of Idris II and evolved into the Zawiya of Moulay Idris II that exists today, while the al-Anouar Mosque has left only minor remnants.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: A number of mosques from the important Marinid era, when Fes Jdid was created to be the capital of Morocco, include the Great Mosque of Fez el-Jdid from 1276, the Abu al-Hasan Mosque from 1341, the Chrabliyine Mosque from 1342, and the al-Hamra Mosque from around the same period. The Bab Guissa Mosque was also founded in the reign of Abu al-Hasan (1331-1351), but modified in later centuries. Other major mosques from the more recent Alaouite period are the Moulay Abdallah Mosque, built in the early to mid-18th century with the tomb of Sultan Moulay Abdallah, and the R'cif Mosque, built in the reign of Moulay Slimane (1793-1822). The Zawiya of Moulay Idris II and the Zawiya of Sidi Ahmed al-Tijani include mosque areas as well, as do several other prominent zawiyas in the city. The also includes many modern mosques, the largest of which is the Imam Malik Mosque which opened in 1994.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: Elsewhere, the Jewish quarter (Mellah) is the site of the 17th-century Al-Fassiyin Synagogue and Ibn Danan Synagogue, as well multiple other lesser-known synagogues, though none of them are functioning today. According to the World Jewish Congress there are only 150 Moroccan Jews remaining in Fes. The Church of Saint Francis of Assisi, the only Catholic church in Fez, was established in 1919 or 1920, during the French colonial period. The current building was constructed in 1928 and expanded in 1933. Today it is part of the Archdiocese of Rabat, and it was most recently restored in 2005.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: The Madrasa (or University) of al-Qarawiyyin was established in 857 by Fatima al-Fihri, originally as a mosque. It is the oldest existing and continually operating degree-awarding educational institution in the world according to UNESCO and Guinness World Records. The Marinid dynasty devoted great attention to the construction of madrasas following the Maliki orthodoxy, resulting in the unprecedented prosperity of the city's religious institutions. The first madrasa built during the Marinid era was the Saffarin Madrasa in Fes el-Bali by Sultan Abu Yusuf in 1271. Sultan Abu al-Hasan was the most prolific patron of madrasa construction, completing the Al-Attarine, Mesbahiyya and Sahrij Madrasas. His son Abu Inan Faris built the Bou Inania Madrasa, and by the time of his death, every major city in the Marinid Empire had at least one madrasa. The library of al-Qarawiyyin, which holds a large collection of manuscripts from the medieval era, was also established under Marinid rule around 1350. The largest madrasa in the medina is Cherratine Madrasa, which was commissioned by the Alaouite sultan Al-Rashid in 1670 and is the only major non-Marinid foundation besides the Madrasa of al-Qarawiyyin.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: Located in the heart of Fes el-Bali, the Zawiya of Moulay Idris II is a "zawiya" (a shrine and religious complex; also spelled "zaouia"), dedicated to and containing the tomb of Idris II (or Moulay Idris II when including his sharifian title) who is considered the main founder of the city of Fez. Another well-known and important zawiya is the Zawiyia of Sidi Ahmed al-Tijani, which commemorates Sidi Ahmed al-Tijani, the founder of Tijaniyyah "tariqa" from the 18th century. A number of zawiyas are scattered elsewhere across the city, many containing the tombs of important Sufi saints or scholars, such as the Zawiya of Sidi Abdelkader al-Fassi, the Zawiya of Sidi Ahmed esh-Shawi, and the Zawiya of Sidi Taoudi Ben Souda.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: The old city contains several major historic cemeteries which stand outside the walls of Fes el-Bali, namely the cemeteries of Bab Ftouh (the most significant), Bab Mahrouk, and Bab Guissa. Some include marabouts or domed structures, containing the tombs of local Muslim saints (often considered Sufis), for example the Marabout of Sidi Harazem in the Bab Ftouh Cemetery. The ruins of the Marinid Tombs, built during the 14th century as a necropolis for the Marinid sultans, are close to the Bab Guissa Cemetery.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: The entire medina of Fez was heavily fortified with crenelated walls with watchtowers and gates, a pattern of urban planning which can be seen in Salé and Chellah as well. The oldest sections of the walls today, on the north side of Fes el-Bali, date back to the Almohad period. The gates of Fez, scattered along the circuit of walls, were guarded by the military detachments and shut at night. Some of the main gates have existed, in different forms, since the earliest years of the city. The oldest gates today, and historically the most important ones of Fes el-Bali, are Bab Mahrouk (in the west), Bab Guissa (in the northeast), and Bab Ftouh (in the southeast). The main gates of Fes Jdid include Bab Dekkakin, Bab Semmarine, and Bab al-Amer. In modern times, the function of gates became more ceremonial rather than defensive, as reflected by the 1913 construction of the decorative Bab Bou Jeloud gate at the western entrance of Fes el-Bali by the French colonial administration.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: Several forts were constructed along the defensive perimeters of the medina during different time periods. A "kasbah" in the context of Maghrebi region is the traditional military structure for fortification, military preparation, command and control. Some of them were occupied as well by citizens, certain tribal groups, and merchants. Throughout the city's history, 13 kasbahs were constructed. Among them is the Kasbah an-Nouar, the Kasbah Tamdert, and the Kasbah Cherarda. The Saadis also built a number of bastions and forts in the late 16th century including Borj Nord and its sister fort, Borj Sud.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: Since the city's foundation, the tanning industry has been continually operating in Fez and is considered one of the main tourist attractions. There are three tanneries in the city, largest among them is Chouara Tannery near the Saffarin Madrasa along the river. The tanneries are packed with the round stone wells filled with dye or white liquids for softening the hides. The leather goods produced in the tanneries are exported around the world. The two other major tanneries are the Sidi Moussa Tannery to the west of the Zawiya of Moulay Idris II and the Ain Azliten Tannery in the neighbourhood of the same name on the northern edge of Fes el-Bali.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: Many old private residences have also survived to this day, in various states of conservation. The typical traditional house ("dar") is centered around an internal courtyard. Some of these houses also had internal gardens known as a "riad". Such private houses include the Dar al-Alami, the Dar Saada (now a restaurant), Dar 'Adiyil, Dar Belghazi, and others. Larger and richer mansions, such as the Dar Mnebhi, Dar Moqri, and Jamai Palace, have also been preserved. Numerous traditional houses, popularly known as "riads", are now utilized as hotels for the tourism industry. The Jamai Palace was converted into a luxury hotel, known as "Palais Jamaï", in the early 20th century. The lavish former mansion of the Glaoui clan, known as the Dar Glaoui, is partly open to visitors but still privately owned.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: As a former capital, the city contains several royal palaces as well. Dar Batha is a former palace completed by the Alaouite Sultan Abdelaziz. In 1915 it was turned into a museum of historical art and artifacts, containing around 6,000 pieces. A large area of Fes Jdid is also taken up by the 80-hectare Royal Palace, or Dar al-Makhzen. Its ornate gates built in 1969-71 are the main feature visible to the public. Its grounds are not open to the public, as they are still used by the King of Morocco when visiting the city.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: The Jnane Sbile Garden, between Fes Jdid and Fes el-Bali, is the oldest surviving garden in Fez and was created as a royal park and garden in the 19th century by Sultan Moulay Hassan I. Many bourgeois and aristocratic mansions also had private gardens, especially in the southwestern part of Fes el-Bali. Other gardens also exist within the grounds of the historic royal palaces of the city, such as the Agdal and Lalla Mina Gardens in the Royal Palace or the gardens of the Dar al-Beida (originally attached to Dar Batha).


title: Fez, Morocco

text: The old city of Fez includes more than a hundred "funduq"s or "foundouk"s (traditional inns, or urban caravanserais). These commercial buildings housed the workshops of artisans or provided lodging for merchants and travelers. They also frequently served as venues for other commercial activities such as markets and auctions. The Funduq al-Najjarin was built in the 18th century by Amin Adiyil to provide accommodation and storage for merchants and now houses the Nejjarine Museum of Wooden Arts & Crafts. Other major important examples include the Funduq Shamma'in (also spelled "Foundouk Chemmaïne") and the Funduq Staouniyyin (or Funduq of the Tetouanis), both dating from the Marinid era or earlier, and the Funduq Sagha which is contemporary with the Funduq al-Najjariyyin.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: Fez is also notable for having preserved a great many of its historic hammams (public bathhouses in the Muslim world) which continue to be used by local people. Examples, all dating from around the 14th century, include the Hammam as-Saffarin, the Hammam al-Mokhfiya, and the Hammam Ben Abbad. They were generally built next to a well or natural spring which provided water, while the sloping topography of the city allowed for easy drainage. The layout of the traditional hammam in the region was inherited from the Roman bathhouse model, consisting of a changing room, a cold room, a warm room, and a hot room. Though their architecture can be very functional, some of them, like the Hammam as-Saffarin and the Hammam al-Mokhfiya, feature more decoration. The hammams are identifiable from the exterior by the domes and vaults above their main chambers.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: The "Ville Nouvelle" is centered around Avenue Hassan II, a wide street laid out by the French colonial administration after 1912 and known then as "Avenue de France". A tree-lined park area runs along its middle between the lanes for car traffic. At the avenue's northeastern end is "Place de la Résistance" (originally called Place Gambetta), a large roundabout with a fountain at its center. Further south along the same avenue is Place Florence (originally Place Lyautey), a wide plaza planted with trees and originally designed as a public garden. At the southwest end of the avenue is Place Ahmed El Mansour (originally Place Galliéni).


title: Fez, Morocco

text: During the colonial period the main public buildings of the city were erected along and around this main avenue. Buildings from this period were constructed in a mix of "mauresque" (neo-Moorish or Moroccan), Art Deco, and Neoclassical styles. On the south side of Place Florence is the Bank al-Maghrib building, built between 1928 and 1931 by architect René Canu. Nearby, on the east side of Avenue Hassan II, is the Central Post Office building. The first post office here was built in 1925 and 1927 by architect Edmond Pauty, but it was rebuilt and expanded in its current form by architect Emile Toulon in 1946–1947. The Court of Appeals building, located southwest of the post office, was constructed in 1934-1936 by architects Adrien Laforgue and Antoine Marchisio and it originally housed the Court of First Instance ("Tribunal de première instance").


title: Fez, Morocco

text: Up until the 19th century, the al-Qarawiyyin dominated the intellectual life of the city and of the country around it. Literature was focused on religious scholarship, philosophy, and poetry. The city's largest library was located at the Qarawiyyin Mosque, while others were attached to other major mosques. Under Sultan Abd al-Rahman (r. 1822–1859a) a new library was created inside the Royal Palace and later in the 19th century the city's wealthy elites began creating their own privates libraries. The city is also one of the historical centers of Moroccan Sufism and a significant body of written works were devoted to its many Sufi "wali"s ("saints" or teachers). This type of literature established itself as one of the main literary genres of Morocco by the late 14th century and Sufi written works from Fez are especially abundant from the 17th to 20th centuries. A study by Ruggero Vimercati Sanseverino describes the rise of the "Zawiya al-Fasiyya," a Sufi order founded in 1581 by Abu l-Mahasin Yusuf al-Fasi, as the impetus for the development of a tradition of Sufi literature particular to Fez. This literature was a diverse mix of hagiographies (religious biographies), genealogies, and historiographies whose conventions evolved over time. Writers sought to establish a continuity between the teachings of contemporary Sufi masters and those that came before them, with the city of Fez portrayed as the center of this spiritual heritage. Towards the beginning of the 20th century Moroccan literature began to diversify, with polemic or political works becoming more common at this time. For example, there were Muhammad Bin Abdul-Kabir Al-Kattani's anti-colonial periodical "at-Tā'ūn" (الطاعون The Plague), and his uncle Muhammad ibn Jaqfar al-Kattani's popular "Nasihat ahl al-Islam" (“Advice to the People of Islam”), published in Fez in 1908, both of which called on Moroccans to unite against European encroachment.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: Fez, along with Cordoba, was one of the centers of a Jewish intellectual and cultural renaissance that took place in the 10th and 11th centuries in Morocco and al-Andalus. Jewish literary figures associated with Fez include the poet Dunash Ben Labrat (d. circa 990), the grammarian Judah ben David Hayyuj (d. circa 1012), the Talmudist Isaac al-Fasi (d. 1103), and the scholar Joseph ben Judah ibn Aknin (d. circa 1220), who were all born in Fez or spent time there. Maimonides (d. 1204), one of the most important Jewish intellectuals of his era, also lived in Fez from 1159 to 1165 after fleeing al-Andalus. The first book printed on the African continent was printed in Fez. A copy of "Sefer Abudarham" () was printed in Hebrew in 1516 by Samuel ben Isaac Nedivot and his son, who were Jewish refugees from Lisbon. The press was short-lived and printed 15 copies, one of which is now preserved at the Library of Congress.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: Printing in Arabic was introduced to Morocco in 1864–65, on the initiative of a man named , an Islamic scholar and judge originally from the Sous region. In 1864 Ar-Rudani, while returning from his "Hajj" pilgrimage, bought an Arabic printing press in Cairo and contracted an Egyptian operator, bringing both back with him to Morocco. The press appears to have been confiscated by the Moroccan authorities when it arrived at port and sent to Meknes, where Sultan Muhammad IV was residing at the time. The first book in Arabic was thus printed in Meknes in June 1865, before the press was moved again to Fez in that same year, where it continued to operate until the 1940s. The press was installed in a central neighbourhood of Fes el-Bali and was managed by the government, which printed traditional scholarly books and made some of the productions available to the Qarawiyyin University free of charge. After 1871 the government transferred management of the press to private citizens and the applications of printing widened. After 1897 it became a regulated industry overseen by officials in Fez. By 1908 there were at least four printing establishments in Fez, while two other Moroccan printers were in Tangier. Hebrew printing presses were reintroduced to Morocco in the 1890s in Tangier and were more firmly established across the country in the 1920s.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: Fes is associated with the ( lit. "joy of the instrument") musical style, a result of a large migration of Muslims from Valencia to Fes. The Fessi "āla" style utilizes the Moroccan forms of the Andalusi nubah melodical arrangements. While this musical style is sometimes popularly referred to as Andalusi music, those who have studied it reject this naming: Mohamed El Fassi intentionally chose the name "āla" ( "instrument") to differentiate it from the Sufi tradition of "samā"', which is purely vocal, while , in his study of Mohammed al-Haik's "Kunash al-Haik", described the appelation "Andalusi music" as an unprecedented colonial invention "meant to detract from [the musical form's] Arabness and [Moroccans'] intellectual and artistic abilities."


title: Fez, Morocco

text: Maghrebi Arabic script is an important part of the history of visual art in Fes. While some aspects of Maghrebi script are codified and prescribed, there have also been innovations, such as those by the 19th century calligrapher Muhammad al-Qandusi.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: The city's main museums are housed in historic monuments mentioned above, including the Nejjarine Museum, the Dar Batha Museum, and the Arms Museum in Borj Nord. The Al Houria Cultural Complex, opened in 2005, is a cultural center in the "Ville Nouvelle" that includes a theatre, a media library, and exhibition spaces. Several language institutes in Fez also organize cultural activities in addition to offering courses. The French Institute and the Cervantes Institute have branches in Fez which promote French and Spanish, respectively. The American Language Center and the Arabic Language Institute in Fez, sister organizations that share the same location in the "Ville Nouvelle", offer courses in English and Arabic, respectively.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: Fez hosts the annual World Sacred Music Festival, which started in 1994 and showcases religious music from around the world. The festival occurs in May or June and concerts take place at multiple venues across the city, including at historic sites such as Bab Makina (the New Mechouar) in Fes Jdid. The annual Festival of Amazigh Culture, which started in 2005, normally takes place in July and hosts performances from Amazigh (Berber) musicians and artists from across Morocco. The annual Festival of Sufi Culture hosts a conference with discussions and debates on Sufism as well as Sufi musical performances and rituals such as "haḍra"s. The Festival of Malhoun Art features performances of "malhun" music and poetry from across the country.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: Multiple moussems (Sufi religious festivals) have traditionally taken place every year in honour of local Muslim saints and are typically sponsored by one or more of the city's guilds. The most important moussem in the city, and one of the most important in Morocco, is the Moussem of Moulay Idris II. This festival has taken place for hundreds of years and is sponsored by all the guilds in he city, who march through the city together in a procession that culminates at the mausoleum of Idris II. Each guild donates gifts to the zawiya, one of which is a "keswa", a large textile decorated with Qur'anic verses that is draped over Idris II's catafalque. The week of the moussem is also marked by other cultural events and entertainment.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: The university of al-Qarawiyyin is considered by some to be the oldest continually-operating university in the world. The university was first founded as a mosque by Fatima al-Fihri in 859 which subsequently became one of the leading spiritual and educational centers of the historic Muslim world. It became a state university in 1963, and remains an important institution of learning today.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University is a public university founded in 1975 and is the largest in the city by attendance, counting over 86,000 students in 2020. It has 12 faculties with sites across the city, with two main campuses known as Dhar El Mehraz and Sais. Another public university, the Euromed University of Fez, was created in 2012 and is certified by the Union for the Mediterranean.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: The city's first private university, the Private University of Fez, was created in 2013 out of the founded 5 years earlier. Its main focus is its engineering school, though it also offers diplomas in architecture, business, and law.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: The city is served by the region's main international airport, Fès–Saïs, located roughly 15 km south of the city center. A new terminal was added to the airport in 2017 which expanded the airport's capacity to 2.5 million visitors a year.


title: Fez, Morocco

text: The city's main train station, operated by ONCF, is located a short distance from the downtown area of the and is connected to the rail lines running east to Oujda and west to Tangier and Casablanca. The main intercity bus terminal (or ) is located just north of Bab Mahrouk, on the outskirts of the old medina, although CTM also operates a terminal off Boulevard Mohammed V in the "Ville Nouvelle". Intercity taxis (also known as ) depart from and arrive at several spots including the Bab Mahrouk bus station (for western destinations like Meknes and Rabat), Bab Ftouh (for eastern destinations like Sidi Harazem and Taza), and another lot in the "Ville Nouvelle" (for southern destinations like Sefrou).


title: Fez, Morocco

text: Fez has two football teams, MAS Fez (Fés Maghrebi) and Wydad de Fès (WAF). They both play in the Botola the highest tier of the Moroccan football system and play their home matches at the 45,000 seat Complexe Sportif de Fès stadium.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: Climate Pledge Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is located north of Downtown Seattle in the entertainment complex known as Seattle Center, the site of the 1962 World's Fair, for which it was originally developed. After opening in 1962, it was subsequently bought and converted by the city of Seattle for entertainment purposes. From 2018 to 2021, the arena underwent a $1.15 billion redevelopment; the renovation preserved the original exterior and roof, which was declared a Seattle Landmark in 2017 and was listed on the Washington Heritage Register as well as the National Register of Historic Places in 2018. The renovated venue has a capacity of 17,151 for ice hockey and 18,300 for basketball.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: The arena is currently the home to the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL), the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), the Seattle University Redhawks men's basketball team, and the Rat City Roller Derby league of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association. It has also played host to the Pac-12 Conference's women's basketball tournament.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: The arena was previously most notable as the long-time former home of the Seattle SuperSonics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The SuperSonics first played at the facility, then known as the Seattle Center Coliseum, from their founding in 1967 to 1978. After a seven-season stint in the higher capacity Kingdome, they returned to the arena in 1985. The facility underwent an extensive renovation after the 1993–94 season, which necessitated the relocation of SuperSonics home games to the Tacoma Dome for the 1994–95 season, and it was renamed KeyArena after KeyCorp bought the naming rights in 1995. The SuperSonics left KeyArena in 2008 amid a controversial relocation to Oklahoma City. The arena was also known for hosting minor professional hockey teams, first as home to the Seattle Totems of the original Western Hockey League and the Central Hockey League from 1964 to 1975, followed by the Seattle Thunderbirds of the current Western Hockey League from 1989 to 2008.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: The arena was the first publicly financed one in the area that was fully supported by earned income from the building. Arena finances were bolstered for several years by a payment following the settlement with the SuperSonics in 2008, but the lower level of activity and revenue during the time between the departure of the team and the arrival of the NHL left little reserve beyond basic building maintenance. The naming rights deal with KeyCorp concluded at the end of 2010, but the building maintained the KeyArena name until its 2018 closure. On June 25, 2020, Amazon bought the naming rights to the arena. In a departure from usual corporate naming, Amazon dedicated the arena name to bringing attention to climate change. It also announced that the venue would be the first zero-carbon arena in the world, powered exclusively by renewable energy including both on-site and offsite solar, rather than the widespread standard use of natural gas found in other arenas.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: The arena opened in 1962 as the Washington State Pavilion for the Century 21 Exposition, the work of architect Paul Thiry. After the close of the Exposition, the Pavilion was purchased by the city of Seattle for $2.9 million and underwent an 18-month conversion into the Washington State Coliseum, one of the centerpieces of the new Seattle Center on the former Exposition grounds. When the newly renovated Coliseum opened, the Seattle University men's basketball team became the arena's first major tenant. In 1964, the facility was renamed the Seattle Center Coliseum. That same year, the Seattle Totems moved into the Coliseum. The Coliseum became home to its most famous resident, the Seattle SuperSonics, beginning with their inaugural season in 1967 and remaining as host throughout most of the team's lifetime.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: The Coliseum in this incarnation hosted two NBA Finals, in 1978 and 1979, both between the Washington Bullets and SuperSonics. The Bullets won in 1978, prevailing in in Seattle. The Sonics retaliated the following year, winning in Game 5 on the Bullets' home court, thus capturing the franchise's only championship. Upon the opening of the new Kingdome in 1976, which first hosted the NFL's Seahawks and NASL's Sounders followed by MLB's expansion Mariners in 1977, the Sonics would begin playing a small number of home games at the stadium. For the championship 1978-79 season, the basketball club moved into the Kingdome full-time. They would call it home through the 1984-85 season, after which the team returned to the Coliseum. During those 7 years, the Sonics would occasionally play home playoff games at the Coliseum or Hec Edmundson Pavilion to not interfere with the Mariners' regular season home schedule. They would continue to play occasional games at the Kingdome through the late 1980s and early 1990s.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: The arena hosted the NBA All-Star Game once, in 1974; the 1987 game had included NBA All-Star Saturday festivities on February 7, where former Sonics star "Downtown Freddie" Brown was the MVP of the legends game, Boston Celtics star Larry Bird won the three-point contest, and Chicago Bulls star Michael Jordan won the slam-dunk competition. The NBA All-Star Game itself for 1987 in Seattle was held at the Kingdome.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: In 1983, Barry Ackerley, head of the Washington D.C.-based television, radio, and billboard company Ackerley Communications Inc., purchased the Sonics from long-time owner Sam Schulman. In the mid-to-late 1980s, the team's on-court success would decline. This was coupled with a sub-par home court experience at the Coliseum, which included the NBA's lone rain delayed game on January 5, 1986 when rain water leaked from the roof onto the court as the Sonics played the Phoenix Suns. Timeouts were called so ball boys armed with towels could do their best to wipe up the puddles, but even so, two players slipped and fell on the wet surface. Early in the second quarter, referee Mike Mathis called the game with the Suns up by eleven points. The game was resumed from that point the following night, and Phoenix won .


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: Ackerley began exploring new options for an arena. Heavy relocation rumors began to circulate, amongst them a potential move to San Diego or possible sales to groups in other markets like Milwaukee or Toronto. In 2018, Ackerley's son Chris would say that the family was always committed to keeping the team in Seattle, and that "[...] in each case, we stood on our principles that this is a Seattle community asset."


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: In 1990, the Ackerleys talked about building an arena east of Lake Washington near Bellevue Square. They would eventually purchase land in the SoDo district near the Kingdome, some of which includes the site that would later become the Mariners' home, T-Mobile Park. Ackerley approached the city about a public contribution to the new arena, but the city was reluctant over fears the city-owned Coliseum would become obsolete. They offered to help finance a renovation of the Coliseum, but the team owner declined. To sweeten the offer, Ackerley sold city leaders on the idea that the new arena in SoDo could also attract a National Hockey League club. The city, along with Denver, had been conditionally granted an expansion NHL franchise in 1974 to begin play in the 1976-77 season. The NHL briefly flirted with relocating the Pittsburgh Penguins to Seattle (and the California Golden Seals to Denver) to address a troubled market and fill the expansion commitment, but ultimately kept the team there. Eventually, the Seattle franchise award was rescinded altogether when the potential ownership group was unable to secure the funds for the expansion fee.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: In July 1990, the city council approved a deal for a privately owned $100 million facility to be built on the Ackerley land in SoDo, despite objections over traffic and parking by the Seahawks and Mariners in the neighboring Kingdome. The city's contribution would be to waive about $31 million in tax revenues (about $1 million per year) to potentially be collected on admissions fees at the new arena. It would also pay $2 million for street improvements around the proposed site, including a pedestrian walkway over South Royal Brougham Way. Ackerley also agreed to sign a 30-year lease for the Sonics and to build an 1,800-stall parking garage. Ackerley appeased the Seahawks' concerns, noting the arena would be empty during any NFL games. The Mariners unsuccessfully continued to object, even enlisting then-Major League Baseball commissioner Fay Vincent and then-American League president Bobby Brown to speak before the council ahead of their final vote.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: During negotiations, Ackerley had asked for a provision to reduce the seating at the Coliseum by 9,000 seats so the older arena could not compete with the new building, but the city would not agree. Another selling point of the new arena were luxury suites, a means to attract corporate money and sponsorship that was then an emerging new revenue stream for sports team owners. Ackerley's financing and agreement with the city hinged on the ability to sell the 70 proposed luxury suites.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: Ackerley also committed to submitting an expansion application to the NHL by a September 15, 1990 deadline as part of the arena deal. His son Bill would head the expansion effort, while a competing group led by Microsoft executive Chris Larson and former Seattle Totems player then coach Bill MacFarland was preparing their own application. With the Ackerley application already submitted, the two groups would merge with Larson and MacFarland being primary points of contact with the NHL. Then owner of the Seattle Thunderbirds, Bill Yuill, also joined the group. Larson and MacFarland, along with Barry Ackerley and Bill Lear, Ackerley's financial advisor, were set to make a presentation to the NHL's Board of Governors on December 5, 1990. At the meeting, Ackerley and Lear asked to meet with the board first, promptly withdrew their application, and left. Larson and MacFarland were stunned to learn of the development but were unable to pursue any recourse as their names were never on the submitted application.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: Thought to play a factor in Ackerley's decision were the significant demands by the NHL for an expansion team: a $50 million expansion fee that was more than any NHL club was valued at the time; a $5 million down payment that would be forfeited if 10,000 season tickets were not sold in the first year – the Sonics had never sold more than 9,000 season tickets; season tickets needed to produce at least $9 million annually, which would've made the tickets the second most expensive for a team in the area at the time; a 20-year lease with a "substantial" share of arena revenues from concessions, parking, and ad signage; priority status for postseason arena dates; and a secured $5 million line of credit in case the league had to take over ownership of the team at any point. Ackerley would not sacrifice Sonics revenues for a hockey team in which he would be a minority investor.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: In June 1991, nearly a year after the city agreed to the arena deal, Ackerley announced that the project would not move forward. Increasing project costs, legal disputes, and inability to secure construction financing were cited as reasons to drop the project. Only around 30 of the 70 luxury suites were sold and the Ackerleys were unable to find a corporate buyer for naming rights. Ackerley Communications profits were down, which also contributed to the financing difficulties. A state Supreme Court case brought by Seattle Center employees challenged the constitutionality of the arena deal, while potential lawsuits from the Mariners and trade show organizers and possible legal challenges to environmental review of the project loomed.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: Newly elected Seattle mayor Norm Rice was concerned over a loss of concerts and events to cities with larger, more modern facilities, and the strong possibility the city could lose the Sonics. The mayor believed that sports unite a community and that Seattle Center would continue to serve as a valuable hub for tourism. At his insistence, a Center commission developed a plan to renovate the Coliseum by excavating the floor to lower it and build a new bowl with more seating. The Ackerleys turned down the renovation concept in favor of building their own arena in SoDo. Though the city preferred the renovation, they would reluctantly agree to the new arena plan. After the SoDo proposal fell through, the Ackerleys attempted to find other investors to no avail. Barry Ackerley would return to the city to ask if they would still consider renovating the Coliseum.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: With renewed interest on all sides, including the city council, the city spent $250,000 studying if it was even environmentally and engineeringly feasible to dig into the ground beneath the building. The plan proved possible and it was found that the compression ring holding the roof could be preserved, saving $15 million in cost and keeping the facility seismically sound against earthquakes. The original cable-suspended roof would be replaced by a conventional fixed roof with steel trusses that would preserve the well-known shape.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: The project had an estimated cost of $73.4 million, considerably less than other new arenas of the time in Portland and Vancouver, to be paid with the city's bond capacity. A new kitchen and support building, a parking garage on 1st Avenue N, a new team store, and a tunnel connecting the store to the arena brought the total cost to nearly $127.3 million. New amenities would include 22 concession stands, 8 portable stands with vending in the seating, three private sports clubs, and a public sports bar and restaurant. Club-level seating with 1,100 seats would also offer exclusive club, concession, and lounge areas, and a private concourse with 58 luxury suites would also be added.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: A mandate of the project was that no taxpayer funds could be used to pay for it. This brought concern from the Ackerleys, but after nearly a year of negotiations a revenue sharing plan was developed. The city and the team would split revenues from suites, concessions, and other items all within the arena to service the debt for the city and provide income to the team. The arena would be the first to finance itself by use of the arena. In May 1993, the city council voted 7-2 in favor of the deal with the Sonics signing a 15-year lease agreement and a guaranteed income of $7 million per year during the lease. The agreement was initially turned down in council committee in the hopes of negotiating a 20-year lease with an increased guaranteed income of $9 million per year starting in year 15. The Ackerleys declined these changes.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: The Coliseum was rebuilt between 1994 and 1995, bringing the arena up to the NBA standards of the day. The local Seattle office of NBBJ, the second largest architectural firm in the country, was chosen as the architects. In an unusual move, the Coliseum would be closed for a year during the renovation. Construction began on June 16, 1994. During the 1994–95 season, the SuperSonics played their home games at the multi-purpose Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, about south.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: On April 11, 1995, the city sold the naming rights to Cleveland-based KeyCorp, the parent of KeyBank, which renamed the Coliseum as KeyArena. The renovation cost the city of Seattle $74.5 million and the SuperSonics approximately $21 million. The naming rights cost KeyCorp $15.1 million.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: The remodeled arena maintained the architectural integrity of the original roofline by using the existing steel trusses in combination with four new main diagonal trusses. The wood, steel and concrete from the demolition was either reused in construction of the new arena or sold to recyclers. The original acoustical panels, the panels attached to the roof that keep the space from echoing, were refurbished and reused. The court was lowered below street level to allow for 3,000 more seats. The doors opened to the newly renovated arena on October 26, 1995. The sightlines, however, benefitted the SuperSonics at the expense of the junior Thunderbirds. The floor was just barely large enough to fit a regulation ice rink. Many seats in the lower level were so badly obstructed that almost half the lower level was curtained off for T-Birds games. The new scoreboard was significantly off-center in the ice hockey configuration, hanging over one blue line instead of the center-ice faceoff circle.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: The first regular season game for the SuperSonics at the rechristened KeyArena was played on November 4, 1995, against the Los Angeles Lakers. The renovated arena hosted the 1996 NBA Finals in its first season, when the SuperSonics lost to the Chicago Bulls in six games.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: In 2001, ownership of the Seattle SuperSonics (who had called KeyArena home on-and-off since their establishment in 1967) transferred from Barry Ackerley to Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. Schultz claimed that in the five years he owned the SuperSonics, the team suffered heavy financial losses, which led him to seek funding from the Washington State Legislature for a newer, more modern arena. After failing to reach an agreement with the city of Seattle over a publicly funded $220 million expansion of KeyArena, the Basketball Club of Seattle, led by Schultz, put the SuperSonics and its sister team, the WNBA's Seattle Storm up for sale. After failing to find a local ownership group to sell the team to, Schultz talked to ownership groups from Kansas City, St. Louis, Las Vegas, San Jose and Anaheim before agreeing to sell the team on July 18, 2006 to an ownership group from Oklahoma City, who was pursuing an NBA franchise after hosting the New Orleans Hornets franchise successfully for two seasons as the city of New Orleans rebuilt from Hurricane Katrina. The sale to Clay Bennett's ownership group, Professional Basketball Club LLC (PBC) for $350 million was approved by NBA owners on October 24, 2006. Terms of the sale required the new ownership group to "use good faith best efforts" for a term of 12 months in securing a new arena lease or venue in the Seattle metropolitan area.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: In 2006, 74% of voters in Seattle voted to pass Initiative 91, a measure that prohibited use of tax dollars on arena projects in the city unless it could be shown the city would turn a profit on their investment. The limitation of tax dollars that could be spent on the arena, combined with earlier losses under recent ownership groups, "likely doomed the Sonics' future in the city".


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: On February 12, 2007, Bennett proposed using tax money to pay for a new $500 million arena in Renton, a suburb of Seattle. After failing to reach a deal by the end of the legislative session, Bennett gave up his attempt in April 2007. On November 2, 2007, the team announced it would move to Oklahoma City as soon as it could get out of its KeyArena lease. Seattle's mayor, Greg Nickels, maintained a stance that the Sonics were expected to stay in Seattle until their lease expired in 2010 and said the city did not intend to make it easy for Bennett to move the team early. Over concerns the city would accept a buyout of the lease, a grassroots group filed a citywide initiative that sought to prevent the city from accepting such an offer from Bennett's group. Seattle City Council later unanimously passed an ordinance modeled after the initiative. On August 13, 2007, Aubrey McClendon, a minor partner of Bennett's ownership group, said in an interview with "The Journal Record" (an Oklahoma City newspaper) that the team was not purchased to keep it in Seattle but to relocate it to Oklahoma City. Bennett later denied such intentions, saying McClendon "was not speaking on behalf of the ownership group". Due to his comments, McClendon was fined $250,000 by the NBA.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: On October 31, 2007, Bennett informed NBA commissioner David Stern that the ownership group intended to move the Sonics to Oklahoma City as soon as it was legally possible. The timing of the announcement, one day after the Sonics' home opener, drew critical comments from Tom Carr, Seattle's attorney, who said "Mr. Bennett's announcement today is a transparent attempt to alienate the Seattle fan base and follow through on his plan to move the team to Oklahoma City ... Making this move now continues the current ownership's insulting behavior toward the Sonics' dedicated fans and the citizens of the city." Bennett also reiterated that the team was not for sale and dismissed attempts by local groups to repurchase the team.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: On September 23, 2007, the City of Seattle filed a lawsuit in an attempt to keep the Sonics from leaving before the end of their lease in 2010. In the midst of the lawsuit, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer offered to pay half of a $300 million renovation of KeyArena; the rest to be provided by the city and county. However, when the state legislature did not give approval for the county to provide funds by an April 10 deadline, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said that the effort had failed and the city's hopes rested in its lawsuit.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: The last SuperSonics game played at KeyArena was on April 13, 2008, a 99–95 win over the Dallas Mavericks.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: On June 16, 2008, the grassroots organization "Save Our Sonics" organized a well-publicized rally, which reportedly drew over 3,000 participants, at the U.S. District Courthouse in Seattle to protest the proposed relocation of the team. The rally was held on the first day of the city of Seattle's lawsuit against the PBC to enforce the remaining two years on the KeyArena lease.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: On July 2, 2008, two hours before a ruling in the city's lawsuit was to be given, it was announced that the team and the city had reached a settlement where PBC would pay the city $45 million immediately in exchange for breaking the lease, and an additional $30 million if Seattle was not given a replacement team in five years. According to the conditions of the settlement, the Sonics' name and colors could not be used by the team in Oklahoma City, but could be taken by a future team in Seattle, although no promises for a replacement team were given. The Oklahoma City team would retain the franchise history of the SuperSonics, which could be "shared" with any future NBA team in Seattle. The team moved to Oklahoma City immediately and announced it would begin play in the 2008–09 season.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: Once KeyArena lost the SuperSonics and the Thunderbirds, there was speculation that KeyBank may try to amend the naming rights deal. In March 2009, the city and KeyCorp signed a new deal for a two-year term ending December 31, 2010, at an annual fee of $300,000.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: In 2009, the Seattle University Redhawks men's basketball team began playing their home games at KeyArena for the first time since 1980. In February 2009, the Seattle City Council approved a new 10-year lease that would keep the WNBA's Storm at KeyArena.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: In 2009, the arena hosted the WWE No Way Out pay-per-view event. The WWE returned on March 9, 2010 to tape the March 9 episode of "NXT" and March 12 episode of "SmackDown". They would return a year later to host the WWE Over the Limit pay-per-view on May 22, 2011. In April 2011, the Professional Bull Riders brought the Built Ford Tough Series to KeyArena for the first time.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: Between June 28 and 30, 2011, the arena hosted the Seattle audition stages in the first season of the Fox singer search program "The X Factor".


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: On January 21, 2011, Seattle Center announced that KeyCorp would not renew its agreement for naming rights of KeyArena, after 15 years of sponsorship. However, the venue retained the KeyArena name until its redevelopment, despite the fact that the naming right had expired.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: In January 2012, ESPN.com reporter Scott Burnside said KeyArena "would be entirely acceptable", as a temporary venue for a NHL franchise, depending on a future arena plan. The Phoenix Coyotes were often speculated to be a likely candidate for relocation and in June 2013, reports circulated that if the NHL could not negotiate a new lease for the Coyotes with the city of Glendale, Arizona by July 2, the league would sell the team to a private investment group which would then be given permission to relocate the team to Seattle prior to the 2013–2014 season and use KeyArena as a temporary home. On July 2, the city of Glendale, Arizona approved a new lease for the Coyotes at Jobing.com Arena, and soon after, the NHL approved the sale of the Coyotes to an investment group that would keep the Coyotes in the Phoenix area, eliminating the possibility that the Coyotes could move to Seattle.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: Conversely, in February 2012, SB Nation columnist Travis Hughes said that while it made "too much sense" for the NHL not to put a team in Seattle in the future, KeyArena was completely unsuitable even as a temporary facility due to the same problems with sight lines that ultimately forced the Thunderbirds to move out. Hughes wrote that even one year of NHL hockey in an arena where half the lower bowl sat unused would be "just unacceptable." He argued that the situation would be even worse than what the Coyotes faced at America West Arena, their original home in Phoenix. When the Coyotes played there from 1996 to 2003, they had to deal with seats where part of the ice could not be seen at all, forcing them to curtain off several thousand seats in the upper level.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: League officials later hinted that a new arena would have to be in place before a new or relocated NHL team came to Seattle. During the 2012 All-Star Weekend, Bettman said that while Seattle was a good fit for the NHL, "there's no building." Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said that KeyArena would be "a difficult arena for hockey" due to the large number of obstructed-view seats.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: In February 2012, KING 5 reporter Chris Daniels said an NBA team could also use KeyArena as a temporary home.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: In July 2012, at a public town hall meeting debating Chris Hansen's proposed NBA/NHL arena in downtown Seattle, anti-arena proponents wanted to "re-explore" using KeyArena instead of the proposed site downtown.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: Starting in 2014, American video game developer Valve began hosting The International "Dota 2" eSports tournaments at the venue, which have since featured prize pools of over $20 million.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: Roger Federer organized a tennis exhibition match at KeyArena with Match for Africa 4, held on April 29, 2017. Two matches were played, the first a doubles match pitting Roger Federer and Bill Gates against John Isner and Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, and a singles match featuring Federer and Isner. More than $2 million was raised for the Roger Federer Foundation from the match's proceeds.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: On October 5, 2018, the Golden State Warriors played against the Sacramento Kings in a preseason game at KeyArena, the same arena where Kevin Durant played previously with the Sonics. The game was mostly played to celebrate its moments with the NBA and ended up being its final event as the KeyArena before the arena closed down for redevelopment.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: In October 2016, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray announced that the city would seek proposals to redevelop KeyArena into an NBA and NHL ready venue, issuing a full request for proposal in January. This came after the rejection of the new arena proposed in SoDo by Seattle City Council over the street vacation of Occidental Avenue.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: Two groups, Seattle Partners (led by AEG and Hudson Pacific Properties) and the Oak View Group (led by former AEG CEO Tim Leiweke), submitted proposals to the city in April 2017 to redevelop the arena, also securing corporate partnerships and seeking the support of the NHL. Both groups were required to submit an additional proposal to preserve the arena's iconic roof, which the city planned to submit for municipal landmark status. AEG unveiled a $520 million proposal that would extend the iconic roofline over presently underutilized space on the arena's south end. Oak View Group submitted a $564 million proposal that would lower the arena's bowl within the existing roof structure. On June 7, 2017, the city selected OVG as the preferred bidder for the redevelopment. The landmark status of the arena's exterior, including the roof, was approved by a city-appointed landmarks preservation board on August 2, 2017; the exterior was subsequently listed on the Washington Heritage Register on March 8, 2018, and on the National Register of Historic Places on May 10.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: On December 4, 2017, the city council approved a memorandum of understanding with OVG to rebuild the arena by 2020. The approval came days after the previous memorandum with the SODO Arena had expired. Four days after the approval of the MOU, the NHL gave the Oak View Group approval to submit an application for an expansion franchise in Seattle. The arena would be closed for two years, and the last remaining professional sports team tenant, the WNBA's Seattle Storm, plans to move elsewhere in the Seattle metropolitan area during those two years. The team played its usual summer schedule at KeyArena in 2018, beginning in mid-May and continuing through the playoffs in early September; they ultimately won the 2018 WNBA Finals. During the renovation, the Storm played most of their home games at the Alaska Airlines Arena on the campus of the University of Washington, with other games at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: On September 25, 2018, the proposed $700 million renovation of KeyArena was approved unanimously by the Seattle City Council and signed into legislation by mayor The NHL Board of Governors voted to approve an expansion team for Seattle on December 4, 2018. Redevelopment commenced the next day on December 5. In mid-December 2018, OVG announced that overall project costs had increased to between $825 and $850 million. Although some design changes and additions had contributed to the increase in cost, OVG replaced the general contractor, Skanska Hunt, with Mortenson Construction.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: With the closing of the arena in October 2018 to begin redevelopment, the City of Seattle, Seattle Center, and Oak View Group retired the KeyArena name and officially adopted Seattle Center Arena as the name for the project. It was alternately referred to as the New Arena at Seattle Center. In February 2018, it was reported that six interested parties had approached OVG regarding naming rights for the new arena. Alaska Airlines was announced as the naming sponsor of the south atrium in January 2020. On June 25, 2020, Amazon purchased the naming rights; the arena would be branded as Climate Pledge Arena to promote Amazon's partnership with the environmental advocacy group Global Optimism and its "Climate Pledge", under which the company (and by extension the arena) vowed to make the entirety of its operations carbon neutral. The rooftop signage for KeyArena was removed by a helicopter on July 8, 2020. The replacement signage was installed on December 5, 2020.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: During redevelopment, the arena's existing roof was "detached from 20 original concrete Y-columns and four gigantic buttresses that previously supported it", being held up by "72 temporary steel columns, cross-beams and a steel reinforcement structure called a kickstand.” 600,000 cubic yards of dirt were removed during the excavation of the arena bowl, and the structure was then built upwards to connect with the roof.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: Climate Pledge Arena was opened to the public on October 19, 2021, by a Foo Fighters and Death Cab for Cutie concert for local charities. The first scheduled event, a sold-out Coldplay concert, took place three days later on the 22nd. The first sports event at the renovated arena, a Seattle Kraken regular season game, took place on October 23 against the Vancouver Canucks. Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn scored the first NHL goal in the arena and the game ended in a 4–2 Kraken loss to the Canucks. The first Kraken win at the arena was on October 26, a 5-1 victory against the Montreal Canadiens. On May 6, 2022, the Seattle Storm played their first game at the redeveloped arena against the Minnesota Lynx, winning 97-74. For the first two months of the 2022-23 AHL season, the Climate Pledge Arena will host the Coachella Valley Firebirds, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Kraken, until their arena, Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs is completed.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: Bruce Springsteen has performed at the arena four times. He and the E Street Band performed a nearly four-hour long concert during The River Tour 2016 on March 24, 2016. It included a guest appearance by Eddie Vedder.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: In December 2013, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis became the first Seattle-based act ever to play three consecutive sold-out shows at KeyArena when the duo concluded their 2013 World Tour in support of their album The Heist.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: Foo Fighters and Death Cab for Cutie performed at the first event in Climate Pledge Arena after its renovation on October 19, 2021.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: In its initial configuration, the arena had a seating capacity of 13,200 for basketball games, 12,250 for ice hockey games, 16,000 for meetings, and 14,770 for boxing matches. Minor expansion occurred as the SuperSonics grew in popularity, but the design of the arena limited its expansion potential; calls for its renovation occurred as early as 1976.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: In 1977, Seattle voters passed a bond measure to make improvements to Seattle Center. Permanent ticketing areas were added to the arena eliminating the portable ticket booths that were in use since The Seattle World's Fair. In 1983, the original seats were replaced while improvements were made to the concourses to compete for concerts after the Tacoma Dome opened.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: With the 1995 renovation, the arena's capacity was expanded to 17,072 for basketball, 15,177 for ice hockey and ice shows, 16,641 for end-stage concerts, and 17,459 for center-stage concerts and boxing. Risers held 7,440 on the upper level and up to 7,741 on the lower level, with luxury suites adding another 1,160 seats. However, the ice hockey capacity was reduced to 10,442 when obstructed seats were removed.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: The redeveloped arena features a new interior and entrance atrium while retaining the existing roof and three exterior walls. It seats 18,300 for basketball, 17,151 for ice hockey (as well as arena football, box lacrosse, indoor soccer, and ice shows), and 17,200 for concerts.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: The post-renovation Climate Pledge Arena is and has 17,100 seats in its hockey configuration, with higher capacities for other events. Most of the lower level seats are subterranean, while the concourse and main south entrance at the Alaska Airlines Atrium are near ground level. The arena has several food vendors that use Amazon One for contactless payments.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: The arena has a pair of six-sided ceiling scoreboards in lieu of the traditional single, center-hung scoreboard used in other indoor arenas. They were designed to not interfere with sightlines and are also positioned higher than other NHL scoreboards.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: Concurrent with the announcement that the arena would be named Climate Pledge Arena, it was stated that the venue would aim to receive a net-zero certification by pledging to have all events be "zero-waste" (through use of compostable containers and reduction of single-use plastic), use captured rainwater for its ice surface, and source at least 75% of food served at the arena from local producers.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: Climate Pledge Arena is located in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood, which is served by King County Metro bus service from surrounding areas, including Queen Anne Hill and Downtown Seattle. The RapidRide D Line and other routes provide frequent service between the arena's west side and Downtown Seattle. Route 8 connects the neighborhood to Capitol Hill and the Central District.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: The Seattle Center Monorail also serves the arena, connecting it to Westlake Center and the Westlake light rail station in downtown, and runs higher frequency service during events.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: Climate Pledge Arena is served by three public parking garages, with a total capacity of 2,944 vehicles, located in and around the Seattle Center. Additional neighborhood parking lots and on-street parking spaces bring the total number of spaces up to 7,400 stalls. The arena is located near the Mercer Street exit on Interstate 5, as well as State Route 99.


title: Climate Pledge Arena

text: Link light rail service to the Seattle Center and Climate Pledge Arena is planned to begin in 2035, as part of the Ballard–Downtown extension.


title: Gabriel Luna

text: Gabriel Luna is an American actor and producer. He is known for his roles as Robbie Reyes / Ghost Rider on the ABC action superhero series "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.", set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tony Bravo on the El Rey Network drama series "Matador", Paco Contreras on the ABC crime drama series "Wicked City", and Rev-9 in the "Terminator" film "" (2019). He has also starred in the films "Bernie" (2011), "Balls Out" (2014), "Freeheld" (2015), "Gravy" (2015), and "Transpecos" (2016).


title: Gabriel Luna

text: Luna's parents were both of Mexican descent. His father died at the age of 20, three months prior to Luna's birth, and he was raised by his mother. He attended St. Edward's University in Austin, where he made his stage debut as Romeo in a production of "Romeo and Juliet", and graduated in 2005.


title: Gabriel Luna

text: Luna made his screen acting debut as Kristofer Rostropovich in the drama film "Fall to Grace", which premiered at South by Southwest in March 2005. He then provided voice-over work for the science fiction video game "", which was released in November 2007. Luna is a founding member of the Austin-based Paper Chairs Theatre Company. On stage in Austin, Luna has portrayed Sergei Maxudov in "Black Snow" (2009), the title character in "Orestes" (2009), and Clov in "Endgame" (2010). For these three performances, he received the Austin Critics Table Best Lead Actor Award in 2010.


title: Gabriel Luna

text: Luna then starred as the lead character, Nate Hitchins, in the drama film "Dance with the One", which premiered at South by Southwest in March 2010. The following year, he had a supporting role in the black comedy film "Bernie", directed by Richard Linklater, which premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival in June 2011. Luna's television credits include minor roles on Fox's serial drama "Prison Break" (2008), HBO's television film "Temple Grandin" (2010), Fox's drama-thriller "Touch" (2013), and CBS' action procedural drama "" (2013).


title: Gabriel Luna

text: In 2014, he was cast in the leading role of Tony Bravo on the El Rey Network television series "Matador". The series premiered in July 2014 and ran for one season of 13 episodes, ending that October. That same year, he co-starred as Vinnie in the sports comedy "Balls Out", which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2014. Luna next recurred as Miguel Gilb, a former lover of Taylor Kitsch's character, on the second season of the HBO anthology drama series "True Detective", appearing in 3 episodes. He then co-starred in the Julianne Moore and Elliot Page-led drama film "Freeheld", directed by Peter Sollett, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2015.


title: Gabriel Luna

text: Luna subsequently had a supporting role in the comedy film "Gravy", directed by James Roday, which was released in October 2015. He was then cast as Paco Contreras, a detective searching for a serial killer on the Sunset Strip, on the ABC crime drama series "Wicked City". The series premiered in October 2015, but was cancelled following its third episode; the remaining episodes were later released through Hulu.


title: Gabriel Luna

text: The following year, he starred as border patrol agent Lance Flores in the thriller film "Transpecos", opposite Clifton Collins, Jr. and Johnny Simmons. The film had its premiere at South by Southwest in March 2016. Luna next appeared as motorcycle racer Eddie Hasha in the Discovery Channel miniseries "Harley and the Davidsons". In July of the same year, it was announced that he would join the cast of "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." in season 4 as Robbie Reyes / Ghost Rider. He was nominated for Choice TV: Action Actor at the 2017 Teen Choice Awards for his role as Ghost Rider. Luna will have a supporting role as Mr. Lawrence in the coming-of-age film "Hala", alongside Jack Kilmer and Anna Chlumsky. In April 2018, he was cast as the villainous Rev-9 Terminator in "".


title: Gabriel Luna

text: In 2019, it was announced that Luna would be reprising his role of Robbie Reyes / Ghost Rider from "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." in a television series centred on the character which will be released on Hulu to debut in 2020. On September 25, it was reported that Hulu had decided not to go forward on the series.


title: Gabriel Luna

text: In April 2021, it was announced that Luna will play Tommy Miller in the upcoming HBO television adaptation of "The Last of Us" opposite Pedro Pascal.


title: Fedora

text: A fedora () is a hat with a soft brim and indented crown. It is typically creased lengthwise down the crown and "pinched" near the front on both sides. Fedoras can also be creased with teardrop crowns, diamond crowns, center dents, and others, and the positioning of pinches can vary. The typical crown height is . The term "fedora" was in use as early as 1891. Its popularity soared, and eventually it eclipsed the similar-looking homburg.


title: Fedora

text: The fedora hat's brim is usually around wide, but can be wider, can be left raw-edged (left as cut), finished with a sewn overwelt or underwelt, or bound with a trim-ribbon. "Stitched edge" means that there is one or more rows of stitching radiating inward toward the crown. The Cavanagh edge is a welted edge with invisible stitching to hold it in place and is a very expensive treatment that can no longer be performed by modern hat factories. Fedora hats are not to be confused with small brimmed hats called trilbies.


title: Fedora

text: Fedoras can be made of wool, cashmere, rabbit or beaver felt. These felts can also be blended to each other with mink or chinchilla and rarely with vicuña, guanaco, cervelt, or mohair. They can also be made of straw, cotton, waxed or oiled cotton, hemp, linen or leather.


title: Fedora

text: A special variation is the rollable, foldaway or crushable fedora (rollable and crushable are not the same) with a certain or open crown (open-crown fedoras can be bashed and shaped in many variations). Special fedoras have a ventilated crown with grommets, mesh inlets or penetrations for a better air circulation. Fedoras can be lined or unlined and have a leather or cloth or ribbon sweatband. Small feathers are sometimes added as decoration. Fedoras can be equipped with a chinstrap, but this is uncommon.


title: Fedora

text: The term "fedora" was in use as early as 1891. Its popularity soared, and eventually it eclipsed the similar-looking homburg.


title: Fedora

text: The word "fedora" comes from the title of an 1882 play by dramatist Victorien Sardou, "Fédora," which was written for Sarah Bernhardt. The play was first performed in the United States in 1889. Bernhardt played Princess Fédora Romanov, the heroine of the play. During the play, Bernhardt – a noted cross-dresser – wore a center-creased, soft brimmed hat. The hat was fashionable for women, and the women's rights movement adopted it as a symbol. After Edward, Prince of Wales (later the Duke of Windsor) started to wear them in 1924, it became popular among men for its stylishness and its ability to protect the wearer's head from the wind and weather. Since the early part of the 20th century, many Haredi and other Orthodox Jews have made black fedoras normal to their daily wear.


title: Fedora

text: During the early twentieth century, a hat was a staple of men's fashion and would be worn in almost all public places. However, as a social custom and common courtesy, men would remove their hats when at home or when engaged in conversation with women. In addition, the ability to own a hat was culturally considered a sign of wealth due to fashion being recognized as a status symbol. Only those with few economic resources would venture out without a hat. The introduction of a new line of felt hats made from nutria, an animal similar to the beaver, helped establish the fedora as a durable product. Prices, in the first decade of the twentieth century, for a nutria fedora ranged from ninety-eight cents to two dollars and twenty-five cents.


title: Fedora

text: Starting in the 1920s, fedoras began to rise in popularity after the Prince of Wales adopted the felt hat as his favored headwear. As a result, "the soft felt hat replaced the stiff hat as the best seller in the decade". The fedora soon took its place as a choice hat and joined other popular styles that included the derby and the homburg.