2007 MEDIA GUIDE - Seahawks Online Media Packet

FRONT OFFICE 18PAUL G. ALLENCHAIRMAN, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS AND FIRST & GOAL INC.Growing up in theNorthwest, Paul G. Allen’spassion for football was kindledattending University ofWashington football gamesas a youth. As years passed, afondness toward theSeahawks developed. Whenformer ownership threatenedto move the Seahawks tosouthern California in 1996,Allen acted on an opportunityto purchase the club and savepro football in Seattle. Alongwith the purchase came thevision of a new multi-functionalstadium and exhibitionhall. On June 30, 1997, thepurchase was completed and secured that thefuture of the Seahawks would remain in theGreat Northwest.“From the beginning of this process, mygoals have been to work with the community tocreate a lasting asset for our future; and toensure the long-term success of the Seahawks,”said Allen at the time of purchasing the franchise.“Moving forward, our goals are to build aplayoff caliber team and to create a world-classfacility for the state of Washington.”Both goals have been realized. In 2002, thevision of Seahawks Stadium and ExhibitionCenter, renamed Qwest Field & Qwest FieldEvent Center in 2004, became reality. An openair facility which many critics argue is the bestvenue in the National Football League, QwestField is home to over 300 events annually rangingfrom soccer, to Supercross, concerts, graduationceremonies, and trade shows. TheSeahawks have also reached the postseason thelast four seasons, including their first everSuper Bowl trip in 2005 after a franchise-best 13-3 record.“It exceeds the vision we had originally,”Allen said shortly after the opening of the stadium.“We had a bunch of goals about trying to createa really intimate stadium that would be greatfor the fans, to have elegant architecture, and Ithink we’ve ended up with a fantastic facility.”An investor and philanthropist, Allen createsand advances world-class projects and highimpactinitiatives that change and improve theway people live, learn, work and experience theworld through arts, education, entertainment,sports, business and technology. He co-foundedMicrosoft with Bill Gates in 1976, remained thecompany’s chief technologist until he leftMicrosoft in 1983, and is the founder and chairmanof Vulcan Inc., and chairman of CharterCommunications. In addition, Allen’s multibilliondollar investment portfolio includes largestakes in DreamWorks Animation SKG, OxygenMedia and more than 40 othertechnology, media and contentcompanies. Allen also ownsthe Portland Trail Blazers NBAfranchise.Raised in the PacificNorthwest, Paul Allen hasbeen named one of the topphilanthropists in America -with lifetime giving totalingmore than $900 million - andis committed to giving back tocommunities in the region hestill calls home. Allen givesback to the communitythrough the Paul G. AllenFamily Foundation, whichstrengthens communities andsupports vulnerable populations in the areas ofarts and culture, health and human services,opportunities for youth, and scientific advancement.In 2003 Allen announced a commitment of$100 million in seed money dedicated to brainresearch and unveiled the creation of the AllenInstitute for Brain Science in Seattle. The nonprofitAllen Institute was founded as an innovativeand unprecedented resource for neuroscientistsaround the world. In 2006 the Allen Institutecompleted its inaugural project, the Allen BrainAtlas. The Brain Atlas is a Web-based, threedimensionalmap of gene expression in themouse brain. Detailing more than 21,000 genesat the cellular level, the Atlas continues to helplead scientists to new insights and propel thefield of neuroscience forward dramatically.Inspired by growing up in the era of the“space race,” with its Mercury, Gemini, andApollo missions, Allen underscored his passionfor rocketry by sponsoring the development ofSpaceShipOne, the first privately funded spacecraftto successfully attain suborbital space.SpaceShipOne won the Ansari X-Prize in 2004.Additionally, In 1998, Allen began acquiring andpreserving rare aircraft of 20th-century militaryaviation, many of which are the last of their kind.The Collection’s purpose is to preserve and highlightthe increasing rarity of original vintage aircraft,to restore these artifacts to the higheststandard of authenticity, and to share them withthe public.Allen is also founder of Experience MusicProject, Seattle’s critically acclaimed interactivemusic museum; the Science Fiction Museumand Hall of Fame; and, Vulcan Productions, theindependent film production company behindHard Candy, Far From Heaven, “RX for Survival:A Global Health Challenge” series on PBS, “TheBlues,” executive produced by Martin Scorsesein conjunction with Allen and Jody Patton andthe 2001 “Evolution” series on PBS. Learn moreabout Allen online at www.paulallen.com.