RENTON – When Julius Jones visited the Seattle Seahawks as a free agent during the offseason, the first place the team’s decision-makers took him was the new practice facility on the shores of Lake Washington, the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.

It was their first chance to court a player they really wanted, and what better way than to show him what is being described as one of the best facilities in the NFL, built with Paul Allen’s $60 million.

As the story goes, Jones was ready to sign on the dotted line almost immediately.

His teammates got to see why on Wednesday afternoon. For the first time this season, the entire squad traveled 12 miles south of their current practice facility in Kirkland to get a sneak peak of their new home.

They won’t officially move in until Aug. 18, but Wednesday was a chance for the appetites of players, front-office personnel and select VIPs to be whetted.

“It’s the best. It’s a great feeling,” said Pro Bowl tackle Walter Jones. “I had been here with the Kingdome, (and) I’ve been here with the new stadium, so to be able to be blessed to see this, it’s great.”

It was difficult for players to concentrate as they gawked at the massive size of the new structure, which includes an 88,000 square foot indoor field housed in what looks like an airplane hangar. Overall, the new facility has more than 225,000 square feet compared to 41,000 square feet at the Seahawks’ current facility, which is leased from Northwest University.

The new facility includes a locker room that is three times bigger than the current one and has lockers that are twice as big; a training room that is more than twice as big, and has amenities like an indoor pool for rehabilitation and hot tubs; during training camp, the players currently are sitting in hot tubs in the team’s parking lot.

“It’s probably the nicest facility I’ve ever been in,” quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. “Everything about it was kind of fun and exciting.”

Outside, there are three pristine fields parallel to the lake, with the sun glinting off the blue water and million-dollar homes dotting the opposite shoreline. The team is building a dock so that employees can boat to work if they want. During Wednesday’s practice, a bald eagle flew up and down the banks while a cerulean 12th Man flag flapped in the breeze.

“This place is crappy; I can’t practice here,” defensive lineman Craig Terrill jokingly told assistant coach John Jamison.

Seahawks CEO Tod Leiweke said the three-story building, which has been under construction for two years, was his top priority since taking over the organization in 2003 because it was too difficult having the team’s business operations at Qwest Field while its football operations were across the lake.

Now, different facets of the organization can have meetings without the hour-long delay it took for the employees to come together.

Leiweke said the team considered sites in Bothell and Issaquah, but they ultimately figured it would be more appealing to players to drive 15 minutes from the airport to the facility rather than an hour to the other locations.

The building still needs some finishing touches in the next two weeks, including weights being moved into a weight room that has two massive garage doors that open onto the fields.

Regardless, the appeal was apparent. Under a white tent, Leiweke, general manager Tim Ruskell and coach Mike Holmgren made introductory remarks to the folks on hand who will be able to come to the team’s full training camp next summer.

“The game has changed,” said Holmgren, recalling his days in a spartan building in San Francisco. “The money has changed; the stadiums have changed. The NFL is a really big business, and I’m very proud of our city ... everyone that put this whole thing together and allowed us to do this. It’s fabulous.”

Injury report

The Seahawks placed linebacker Wesly Mallard on injured reserve with a knee injury and signed former UW cornerback Derrick Johnson. However, Johnson injured his toe early in practice and never returned. The Associated Press contributed to this story.