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ALL STAR GAME: 1979
NCAA basketball Final Four: 1984, 1989, 1995
BEEN THERE: I drove by while visiting an old friend in Washington state during my cross-country vacation in 1987.
After the ignominious failure of the Seattle Pilots baseball franchise (1969), Seattle civic leaders decided to push for massive public financing for an all-weather multisport facility, and the Kingdome was the result. It was only the second domed baseball stadium, built (at a cost of $67 million) eleven years after the Astrodome, but it set the stage for three other such stadiums built over the next twelve years in northern cities: Montreal, Minneapolis, and Toronto. The Kingdome was the tenth of the circular "doughnut clone" stadiums, but it was the first (and only) stadium to combine a circular outer perimeter with a (rounded) rectangular field shape. As a result, the depth of the upper deck varied considerably, like at RFK Stadium, except that the roof had a uniform height. Like the two "octorad" stadiums -- Jack Murphy Stadium and Veterans Stadium -- the football gridiron in the Kingdome was aligned parallel to the foul lines. The overall design was quite ill-suited for baseball, as the total outfield area was much less than normal, while the amount of foul territory was enormous. Most fans needed binoculars.
The original field dimensions were perfectly symmetrical, and extremely short: only 315 feet to each foul pole, later adjusted slightly. To reduce the number of home runs, the inner fence in right field was removed in 1982, leaving a 23-foot high wall that provided a little more challenge for sluggers. In 1988 a six-foot high plexiglass shield was installed on top of the left field fence, following the example of the Metrodome in Minneapolis. As the novelty of indoor baseball wore off and the crowds thinned during the 1980s, the Kingdome became known as "the Tomb," for its deathly gray color and haunting echo effects. According to Bob Wood (1988), the view from the back rows of the lower decks was severely constricted by the low clearance between decks. This was apparently an artifact of the dome structure: the massive weight of the concrete roof provided an added measure of cantilevered stress, making possible greater "overhang" between decks.
In 1990 the Kingdome was renovated and the diamond was moved closer to the right side dugout, increasing the distance to left field was by ten feet; the distance was increased by seven more feet in 1991. At some point (during the late 1980s?) both ends of the upper deck were extended toward the scoreboard overlooking left field, but the capacity figures do not reflect the four additional seating sections.
Sparked by the batting of Ken Griffey, Jr. and Alex Rodriguez, as well as the awesome pitching of Randy Johnson, in 1995 the Mariners made it to the postseason for the first time in their franchise history. They edged the California Angels in a one-game divisional playoff and then beat the the Yankees in the first round, but finally lost the American League pennant to the Cleveland Indians. It was about this time that a number of the ceiling tiles fell onto the seats and it was a miracle somebody didn't get hurt. Repairs were made, and anti-echo acoustical ceiling tiles were installed, but everyone knew that this bleak white elephant's days were numbered. Encouraged by the Mariners' winning ways, Seattle mustered the political will to fund new (separate) baseball and football stadiums, as the state legislature authorized $320 million in public financing in 1996. In July 1999 the Mariners abandoned the leaky old Kingdome and moved into the superb (though costly) Safeco Field, right next door.
The Seattle Seahawks played in the Kingdome from 1977 until the end of the 1999 season. The seating capacity for football games was 66,000. The Seattle SuperSonics played in the Kingdome from 1978 to 1985, one of only three NBA teams to share a home field with a major league baseball team. There was still $127 million of outstanding debt on the Kingdome when it was demolished on March 26, 2000, and it is hoped to pay this off by 2016!
SOURCES: Wood (1988), Lowry (1992, 2006), Gershman (1993), USA Today / Fodor's (1996), New York Times, ESPN 1999 Sports Almanac
FAN TIPS: T.J. Zmina
