![Map of Pioneer Square Historic District - cleaned and corrected](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Map_of_Pioneer_Square_Historic_District_-_cleaned_and_corrected.jpg)
The Kingdome (officially the King County Stadium) was a
multi-purpose stadium
A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy tha ...
located in the
Industrial District
Industrial district concept was initially used by Alfred Marshall to describe some aspects of the industrial organisation of nations. Industrial district (ID) is a place where workers and firms, specialised in a main industry and auxiliary indu ...
(later
SoDo
Sodo ( am, ሶዶ) or Wolaita Sodo ( am, ወላይታ ሶዶ) or ( Wolaytatto: ''Wolayta Sodo Ambbaa'') is a city in south-central Ethiopia. The administrative center of the Wolaita Zone. It has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation bet ...
) neighborhood of
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
,
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, United States. Owned and operated by
King County, it was best known as the home stadium of the
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL) and the
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...
of
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
(MLB); it was also home to the
Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...
of the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
(NBA) and additionally served as both the home
outdoor and
indoor
Indoor(s) may refer to:
*the interior of a building
*Indoor environment, in building science, traditionally includes the study of indoor thermal environment, indoor acoustic environment, indoor light environment, and indoor air quality
*Built envi ...
venue for the
Seattle Sounders
Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...
of the
North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to:
*North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league
*North American Soccer League (2011–2017)
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...
(NASL). The Kingdome measured wide from its inside walls.
The idea of constructing a covered stadium for a
major league football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
or
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
team was first proposed to Seattle officials in 1959. Voters rejected separate measures to approve
public funding
A subsidy or government incentive is a form of financial aid or support extended to an economic sector (business, or individual) generally with the aim of promoting economic and social policy. Although commonly extended from the government, the ter ...
for such a stadium in 1960 and 1966, but the outcome was different in 1968; King County voters approved the issue of $40 million in
municipal bond
A municipal bond, commonly known as a muni, is a Bond (finance), bond issued by state or local governments, or entities they create such as authorities and special districts. In the United States, interest income received by holders of municipal ...
s to construct the stadium. Construction began in 1972 and it opened in
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
as the home of the Sounders and Seahawks.
The Mariners moved in the
following year, and the SuperSonics moved in the
year after that, only to move back to the
Seattle Center Coliseum
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 or ...
in 1985. The stadium hosted several major sports events, including the
Soccer Bowl
The Soccer Bowl was the annual championship game of the North American Soccer League, which ran from 1968 to 1984. The two top teams from the playoffs faced off in the final to determine the winner of the NASL Trophy. From the league's founding ...
in August
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
, the
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
in January
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
, the
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National ...
in July
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
, the
NBA All-Star Game
The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is a basketball exhibition game hosted every February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's star players. It is the featured event of NBA All-Star Weekend, a ...
in
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
, and the
NCAA Final Four in
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
,
1989, and
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
.
During the 1990s, the Seahawks' and Mariners' respective ownership groups began to question the suitability of the Kingdome as a venue for each team, threatening to relocate unless new, publicly funded stadiums were built. An issue was the fact that neither team saw their shared tenancy as profitable; both teams also questioned the integrity of the stadium's roof as highlighted by the collapse of ceiling tiles onto the seating area before a scheduled Mariners game in 1994. As a result, public funding packages for new, purpose-built stadiums for the Mariners and Seahawks were respectively approved in 1995 and 1997.
The Mariners moved to Safeco Field, now known as
T-Mobile Park
T-Mobile Park is a retractable roof stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners and has a seating capacity of 47,929. It is in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood, near the western t ...
, midway through the 1999 season, and the Seahawks temporarily moved to
Husky Stadium
Husky Stadium (officially Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is an outdoor football stadium in the northwest United States, located on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. It h ...
after the
1999 season. On March 26, 2000, the Kingdome was demolished by
implosion. The Seahawks' new stadium, now known as
Lumen Field
Lumen Field is a multi-purpose stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. Located in the city's SoDo neighborhood, it is the home field for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL), the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL, the ...
, was built on the site and opened in
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
. King County finally paid off the bonds used to build and repair the Kingdome in 2015, fifteen years after its demolition.
Concept and construction
In 1959, Seattle
restaurateur
A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspec ...
David L. Cohn wrote a letter to the
Seattle City Council
The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms, seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-lar ...
suggesting the city needed a covered stadium for a
major professional sports franchise.
A domed stadium was thought to be a must because of Seattle's frequent rain. At the time, the city had
Husky Stadium
Husky Stadium (officially Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is an outdoor football stadium in the northwest United States, located on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. It h ...
and
Sick's Stadium
Sick's Stadium, also known as Sick's Seattle Stadium and later as Sicks' Stadium, was a baseball park in the northwest United States in Seattle, Washington. It was located in Rainier Valley, on the NE corner of S. McClellan Street and Rainier Av ...
for
college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
and
minor league baseball, respectively, but both were deemed inadequate for a major league team.
![Proposed floating stadium, 1963](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Proposed_floating_stadium%2C_1963.gif)
In 1960,
King County commissioners placed a $15 million
bond
Bond or bonds may refer to:
Common meanings
* Bond (finance), a type of debt security
* Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States
* Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemica ...
issue measure on the ballot to fund construction of a stadium, but voters on November 8 defeated it with only 48 percent approval because of doubt the stadium could be built within that budget, and lack of a guarantee the city would have a team to play in the stadium.
By 1966, the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
and the
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
were both considering granting the city an
expansion franchise
An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...
, and as a result, the
King County Council
The Metropolitan King County Council, the legislative body of King County, Washington, consists of nine members elected by district. The Council adopts laws, sets policy, and holds final approval over the budget. Its current name and structure i ...
placed another bond issue measure on the ballot for a September vote. While it received 51.5 percent approval, it did not reach the 60 percent required to proceed; the requirement was due to a 1932 initiative that mandated a supermajority for tax levies over 40
mills
Mills is the plural form of mill, but may also refer to:
As a name
* Mills (surname), a common family name of English or Gaelic origin
* Mills (given name)
*Mills, a fictional British secret agent in a trilogy by writer Manning O'Brine
Places Uni ...
.
In 1967, the American League granted Seattle an
expansion
Expansion may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''L'Expansion'', a French monthly business magazine
* ''Expansion'' (album), by American jazz pianist Dave Burrell, released in 2004
* ''Expansions'' (McCoy Tyner album), 1970
* ''Expansio ...
franchise that would be known as the
Seattle Pilots
The Seattle Pilots were an American professional baseball, professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington during the 1969 Major League Baseball season. During their single-season existence, the Pilots played their ho ...
. The league clearly stated Sick's Stadium was not adequate as a major-league stadium, and stipulated that as a condition of being awarded the franchise, bonds had to be issued to fund construction of a domed stadium that had to be completed by 1970; additionally, the capacity at Sick's Stadium had to be expanded from 11,000 to 30,000 by
Opening Day
Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...
1969, when the team was scheduled to begin playing. The Pilots were supposed to begin play in 1971 along with the
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...
. However, when
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
Stuart Symington
William Stuart Symington III (; June 26, 1901 – December 14, 1988) was an American businessman and Democratic politician from Missouri. He served as the first Secretary of the Air Force from 1947 to 1950 and was a United States Senator from M ...
of
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
got wind of those plans, he demanded both teams begin play in 1969. The American League had birthed the Royals and Pilots as a result of the
Kansas City Athletics
The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 seas ...
moving to
Oakland
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
, and Symington would not accept the prospect of
Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
waiting three years for baseball's return.
On February 13, 1968, King County voters approved the issue of $40 million in bonds to fund construction of the "King County Multipurpose Domed Stadium" with 62 percent in favor; it was part of the
Forward Thrust
The Forward Thrust ballot initiatives were a series of bond propositions put to the voters of King County, Washington in 1968 and 1970, designed by a group called the Forward Thrust Committee. Seven of the twelve propositions in 1968 were success ...
group of
bond
Bond or bonds may refer to:
Common meanings
* Bond (finance), a type of debt security
* Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States
* Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemica ...
propositions that, among other items, had a regional
rapid transit
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...
system rejected.
That year, a committee considered over 100 sites throughout Seattle and King County for the stadium; they unanimously decided the best site would be on the grounds of Seattle Center
Seattle Center is an arts, educational, tourism and entertainment center in Seattle, Washington, United States. Spanning an area of 74 acres (30 ha), it was originally built for the 1962 World's Fair. Its landmark feature is the tall Space Needl ...
, site of the 1962 World's Fair. Community members decried the idea, claiming the committee was influenced by special interest groups.
The Pilots began play as planned in 1969, but Sick's Stadium proved to be a problematic venue for fans, media, and visiting players alike. The Pilots only drew 677,000 fans that season, not nearly enough to break even. It soon became apparent that the Pilots would not survive long enough to move to their new stadium without new ownership. It was also obvious that the timetable for a new stadium would have to be significantly advanced, as Sick's Stadium was completely unsuitable even for temporary use. However, a petition by stadium opponents brought the dome project to a halt. The Pilots' ownership group ran out of money by the end of the season, and with the stadium plans in limbo, the team was forced to declare bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
. Despite efforts by Seattle-area businessmen to buy the team as well as an attempt to keep the team in Seattle through the court system, the Pilots were sold to Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
businessman Bud Selig
Allan Huber "Bud" Selig
(; born July 30, 1934) is an American baseball executive who currently serves as the Commissioner Emeritus of Baseball. Previously, he served as the ninth Commissioner of Baseball from 1998 to 2015. He initially served as ...
, who relocated the team to Milwaukee and renamed it the Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...
a week before the start of the 1970 season.
The push to build the domed stadium continued despite the lack of a major league sports team to occupy it. In May 1970 voters rejected the proposal to build the stadium at Seattle Center. From 1970 to 1972, the commission studied the feasibility and economic impact of building the stadium on King Street adjacent to Pioneer Square and the International District—a site that ranked at the bottom when the commission originally narrowed the field of possible sites in 1968.[ This drew sharp opposition primarily from the International District community, which feared the impact of the stadium on neighborhood businesses located east of the site. The King Street site was approved 8–1 by the county council in late 1971,] and the groundbreaking ceremony in 1972 was held on November 2. Several protesters attended the ceremony, disrupted the speakers, and at one point threw mud balls at them.[
In bidding for construction of the stadium, which had separate offers for the dome and the rest of the stadium, Donald M. Drake Construction Company of ]Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
, was the winning contractor for both with respective bids of $28.9 million and $5.9 million. Peter Kiewit Sons Construction Company was the only other bidder, offering $30.57 million for the stadium and $5.8 million for the roof; the latter came with the caveat of the company using its own design consultant. To help alleviate tension between the International District community and county officials, Drake emphasized the hiring of minorities, with minorities eventually representing 13 percent of the workers at the site; a community center
Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...
and a shelter were also built in the neighborhood. However, the stadium's construction encountered numerous issues; in January 1973, six support beams for the roof were toppled as one or two of them buckled, bringing down the others in a domino effect
A domino effect or chain reaction is the cumulative effect generated when a particular event triggers a chain of similar events. This term is best known as a mechanical effect and is used as an analogy to a falling row of dominoes. It typically ...
. By January 1974, the stadium reached 50 percent completion; only reaching 60 percent completion in July, it was clear that Drake would not reach the December deadline at that point. It was also apparent that Drake was ill-prepared to work on a project with such scale, with numerous errors, delays, and short-staffing slowing down construction. Efforts to renegotiate the contract failed, and on November 22, Drake stopped work on the Kingdome. The county fired Drake on December 10, bringing in Kiewit to finish construction on the stadium.
On December 5, 1974, the NFL awarded Seattle an expansion franchise to occupy the new stadium; the team was later named the Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
. Construction lasted another two years, and the stadium held an opening ceremony on March 27, 1976.[ It hosted its first professional sporting event two weeks later on April 9, an exhibition ]soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
game between the Seattle Sounders
Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...
and New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to
* New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada)
* New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independ ...
of the NASL. It set a record for the largest soccer audience in North America at 58,120. The stadium was finished at $20 million over budget, with part of the cost overrun covered by a $12.8 million out-of-court settlement in 1980 between the county and Drake's liability insurers.
Surface
Like virtually all other multi-purpose stadiums, the Kingdome featured AstroTurf
AstroTurf is an American subsidiary of SportGroup that produces artificial turf for playing surfaces in sports. The original AstroTurf product was a short-pile synthetic turf invented in 1965 by Monsanto. Since the early 2000s, AstroTurf has m ...
artificial turf
Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commer ...
for its playing surface, with its baseball configuration featuring dirt sliding pits around each base. When it was constructed, artificial turf was considered a must because the roof was likely to inhibit the growth of natural grass, like the Astrodome
The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Houston ...
's roof.
The AstroTurf surface was first replaced in July 1983 during the MLB All-Star break; Monsanto
The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed in th ...
, the then-owner of AstroTurf, won the turf replacement contract over SuperTurf (then used by the Metrodome) with a bid of $1.2 million. By request of the Mariners and Seahawks, it was replaced again in October and December 1990 at a cost of $2.56 million; the previous surface was sold off thereafter, with 25 rolls of it sold to the Tacoma Dome for $108,200. A strip 40 feet by 4 inches was ripped off left field near second base during a field invasion by celebrating fans after the Mariners won the AL West tiebreaker game in 1995; it was replaced before the first Mariners home game in the ALDS.
Before the 1990 replacement, the AstroTurf surface was converted from baseball to football configuration via the covering of the infield with turf strips; a one-piece surface was placed over the infield after the conclusion of the Mariners season. The surface was attached together via both Velcro
Velcro, officially known as Velcro IP Holdings LLC and trading as Velcro Companies, is a British privately held company, founded by Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral in the 1950s. It is the original manufacturer of hook-and-loop fasten ...
and Ziploc
Ziploc is a brand of reusable, re-sealable sliding channel storage bags and containers originally developed and test marketed by The Dow Chemical Company in 1968 and now produced by S. C. Johnson & Son.
The plastic bags and containers come in ...
fasteners. After the 1990 replacement, separate surfaces were installed for each team; the Seahawks specifically wanted a stiffer variation of AstroTurf. The replacement surfaces were attached together via zipper
A zipper, zip, fly, or zip fastener, formerly known as a clasp locker, is a commonly used device for binding together two edges of textile, fabric or other flexible material. Used in clothing (e.g. jackets and jeans), luggage and other Bag, ba ...
s.
The underlying base of the surface was asphalt
Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...
, with the AstroTurf essentially consisting of a carpet on top of a pad with respective thicknesses of one-half inch and five-eights inch. Lumps, holes, and ridges were also present in the surface along with gaps within its seams. These factors combined to create a playing surface that was despised by both football and baseball players alike; after the 1998 season, a survey by the NFL Players Association
The National Football League Players Association, or NFLPA, is a labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by president J. C. Tretter and executive director DeM ...
found that 56.7 percent of Seahawks players rated the surface as "poor" or "fair", and was the worst-rated one in the AFC West
The American Football Conference – Western Division or AFC West is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division comprises the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Las ...
.
Injuries from playing at the Kingdome and its contemporaries occurred more often compared to stadiums with natural grass. Of note, Seahawks running backs Sherman Smith
Sherman Smith (born November 1, 1954) is a former professional American football running back who played eight seasons for the Seattle Seahawks and San Diego Chargers between 1976 and 1983. He was also the running backs coach for the Seahawks ...
and Curt Warner
Curtis Edward Warner (born March 18, 1961) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). A two-time All-American at Penn State University, Warner was drafted by the Seattle Se ...
respectively suffered season-ending knee injuries in 1980 and 1984 during games at the Kingdome; additionally, the Kingdome's surface is partly blamed for Ken Griffey Jr.'s subsequent injuries and decline in performance after the Mariners traded him to the Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
at the end of the 1999 season.
Football
Seahawks
The expansion Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
of the National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL) played their first game ever on August 1, 1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
, a preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
at the Kingdome in which they lost 27–20 before a crowd of 60,825. The Seahawks' first regular season game was against the St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
at the Kingdome on September 12; they were defeated 30-24 with 58,441 in attendance. At the end of that season, the venue hosted the Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
, the NFL's all-star game, on January 17, 1977.
The Seahawks hosted ''Monday Night Football
''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, AB ...
'' games at the Kingdome twelve times in their history and were 9–3 in those games. The Seahawks and the Oakland
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
/Los Angeles Raiders
The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before relocating back to Oakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural 1960 season to the 1981 season and then agai ...
played five Monday Night games in the Dome in the 1980s with Seattle holding a 3–2 edge including a 37–0 blowout victory in 1986. The next year, in 1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
, Bo Jackson
Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson (born November 30, 1962) is an American former professional baseball and American football player. He is the only professional athlete in history to be named an All-Star in both baseball and football. Jackson's el ...
of the Los Angeles Raiders
The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before relocating back to Oakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural 1960 season to the 1981 season and then agai ...
rushed for 221 yards, the most ever on MNF, and scored 2 touchdowns. One of his scores was a 91-yard touchdown and the other was a historic plowing into Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West, which they rejoined ...
high-profile rookie linebacker Brian "The Boz" Bosworth.
The Seahawks regularly sold out games at the Kingdome from its inception and throughout the 1980s; 117 consecutive regular-season home games were sold out between 1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
and 1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
. However, after Ken Behring
Kenneth Eugene Behring (June 13, 1928 – June 25, 2019) was an American real estate developer, and former owner of the National Football League's Seattle Seahawks.
Early years
Born in Freeport, Illinois, Behring was the son of Mae (Priewe) and El ...
took over ownership of the team from the Nordstrom
Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original Wallin & Nordstrom store operated exclusively as a shoe store, and ...
family in 1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
, the team began to decline in performance; after winning the AFC West
The American Football Conference – Western Division or AFC West is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division comprises the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Las ...
that year, it suffered a franchise-worst 2–14 record in 1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
. Season ticket sales, which had reached 62,000 that year with a waiting list of 30,000, gradually decreased to 46,000 in 1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
, with the team averaging 46,218 in attendance over five games at the Kingdome in 1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
; as a result, the Seahawks began failing to sell out games, resulting in their National Football League television blackout policies, blackout in the Seattle metropolitan area, Seattle market. After the blackout of the October 24, 1993 game versus the 1993 New England Patriots season, New England Patriots, one more game was blacked out that year, with five games blacked out the following year; KING-TV, the main Seahawks television broadcaster at the time via the NFL on NBC, prevented further blackouts by purchasing all remaining unsold tickets for three games in 1993 and two games in 1994.
In the Seahawks' heyday, the Kingdome was known as one of the loudest stadiums in the league. Opposing teams were known to practice with jet engine sounds blaring at full blast to prepare for the painfully high decibel levels typical of Seahawks games. It was where Seahawks fans, who were long called "the 12th man (football), 12th Man" and led the Seahawks to retire the number 12 in honor of them in 1984 Seattle Seahawks season, 1984, made their reputation as one of the most ravenous fan bases in the NFL, a reputation that has carried over to what is now Lumen Field. The Kingdome's reputation contributed to the NFL's 1989 NFL season, 1989 vote in favor of enacting a rule penalizing home teams for excessive crowd noise; it was especially loathed by Seahawks fans during preseason games, with fan displeasure throughout the league leading commissioner Pete Rozelle to soften enforcement of the rule before the start of the regular season. Raucous Seahawk fans at the Kingdome were also some of the earliest performers of Wave (audience), The Wave.
The city of Seattle made numerous bids to host the Super Bowl during the Seahawks' tenure at the Kingdome. However, despite five bids over 12 years, the Kingdome was never awarded the opportunity to host a Super Bowl; its closest chance was in 1989 for Super Bowl XXVI, which was awarded to the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In its 1982 bid for Super Bowl XIX, the Seattle City Council
The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms, seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-lar ...
voted to give tax exemptions to the NFL if the league selected the Kingdome to host the game.
The Seahawks played their final game at the Kingdome on January 9, 1999 Seattle Seahawks season, 2000, suffering a first-round playoff loss to the 1999 Miami Dolphins season, Miami Dolphins in their first playoff appearance since the 1988 season. The Dolphins scored a fourth-quarter touchdown to win 20–17; it marked the first home playoff loss for the Seahawks as well as the first road playoff win in 28 years for the Dolphins. It was the last NFL victory for Pro Football Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino and head coach Jimmy Johnson (American football coach), Jimmy Johnson, and it was also the last event the Kingdome ever hosted before its implosion. The Seahawks had an overall record of in the Kingdome, and were 2–1 in the postseason.
Amateur
College
The first football (and college football by extension) game played in the Kingdome occurred just after it opened in 1976, when the 1976 Washington Huskies football team, Washington Huskies varsity team won 10–7 against a team of Husky alumni on May 1 before 20,470 fans. The Huskies looked into temporarily renting the Kingdome for the 1987 Washington Huskies football team, 1987 season when the north grandstand of Husky Stadium
Husky Stadium (officially Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is an outdoor football stadium in the northwest United States, located on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. It h ...
collapsed during construction on February 25; however, the Kingdome was ultimately not needed as the grandstand was completed in time for the team's first home game against the 1987 Stanford Cardinal football team, Stanford Cardinal on September 5.
The Kingdome also hosted a game between the 1976 Washington State Cougars football team, Washington State Cougars and 1976 USC Trojans football team, USC Trojans on October 9, 1976. With 37,268 in attendance, USC running back Ricky Bell (running back), Ricky Bell rushed for 346 yards and set the Pac-12 Conference, Pac-8 single-game rushing record; the Trojans won by nine points, In 1994, under then-new athletic director Rick Dickson, the Cougars flirted with the idea of hosting an additional home game at the Kingdome starting in 1997; however, the plan never came to fruition.
In the late 1970s, the Kingdome hosted both instances of a Pacific-10 Conference all-star game called the Challenge Bowl; the bowl, sponsored by the Olympia Brewing Company, pitted an all-star team of Pac-10 players against a similar team from another conference. The Pac-10 went undefeated with a 27–20 victory (as the Pac-8) over the Big Ten Conference, Big Ten on January 15, 1978, and a 36–23 victory over the Big Eight Conference, Big Eight on January 13, 1979.
During the same period, the Puget Sound Loggers, University of Puget Sound Loggers and Pacific Lutheran Lutes, Pacific Lutheran University Lutes also faced off at the Kingdome twice; the Loggers won both contests, defeating the Lutes 23–21 on September 17, 1977, with 13,167 in attendance, and then defeating them again 27–14 on September 23, 1978, before a crowd of 8,329. The 1977 game set a series attendance record at the time.
Other levels
The stadium also hosted the annual Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, WIAA high school football state championships in an event called the Kingbowl from 1977 through 1994; the title games were moved to the Tacoma Dome in nearby Tacoma in 1995.
The Seattle and Tacoma Police Departments played a yearly game named the Bacon Bowl to raise money for charity from 1980 to 2005; the Kingdome hosted it from the beginning until 1982, then had a one-off in 1985 during a nine-year span in which the Tacoma Dome hosted the rest of the games. The Kingdome hosted the game again from 1992 to 1994 before it returned to the Tacoma Dome; the game came back for one final time in 1999 before the stadium was demolished.
Baseball
Shortly after the Pilots' departure for Milwaukee, the city of Seattle, King County, and the state of Washington sued the American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
, claiming a breach of contract. The league agreed to grant Seattle another franchise in exchange for dropping the lawsuit, and the team that would later be known as the Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...
was born.
The Mariners held their first game in franchise history at the Kingdome on April 6, 1977 Seattle Mariners season, 1977, as the visiting 1977 California Angels season, California Angels shut out the Mariners 7–0 in front of a sellout crowd of 57,762. The first pitch was a strike thrown by the Mariners' Diego Seguí to Jerry Remy. In the top of the first inning, Don Baylor registered the first hit at the stadium with a double that scored Remy, who had stolen second and third base after drawing a walk from Seguí. The Mariners' first batter, Dave Collins, struck out; however, the next batter, Jose Baez (baseball), José Báez, singled for the franchise's first ever hit. The first home run at the venue was hit in the top of the third inning by Joe Rudi; designated hitter Juan Bernhardt scored the Mariners' first home run in their fifth game at the Kingdome on April 10. The Mariners had their first win at the Kingdome two games after the opener (they were also shut out in their second game), defeating the Angels 7–6 on April 8 via a walk-off double from Larry Milbourne. The venue hosted the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, All-Star Game on 1979 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, July 17, 1979.
The Kingdome was somewhat problematic as a baseball venue. Foul territory was quite large, and seats in the upper deck as far as from home plate. Part of the problem was that the Kingdome was not a multipurpose stadium in the truest sense. Instead, it was built as a football stadium that could convert into a baseball stadium. For instance, most fans in the outfield seats on the 300 level were unable to see parts of right and center field; these areas were not part of the football playing field.
For most of the Mariners' first 18 years, their poor play (they did not have a winning season until 1991 Seattle Mariners season, 1991) combined with the Kingdome's design, led to poor attendance. Some writers and fans called it "the Tomb" (because of its gray concrete and lack of noise) and "Puget Sound, Puget Puke." After their inaugural home opener, the Mariners didn't have another sellout for the next 1,018 home games until their 1990 Seattle Mariners season, 1990 home opener on April 13. At one point the Mariners covered seats in the upper decks in right and right-center with a tarp in order to make the stadium feel "less empty". Additionally, the Kingdome's acoustics created problems for stadium announcers, who had to deal with significant echo issues. However, when the team's fortunes began to change in the mid-1990s and they began drawing larger crowds, especially in the post-season, the noise created an electric atmosphere and gave the home team a distinct advantage similar to the effect on football games. The average attendance of 22,064 in 1995 was the lowest in three years with the removal of nine home games for the season, but when put in perspective, it was still higher compared to any of the Mariners' first 14 seasons.
Despite its cavernous interior, the Kingdome's field dimensions were relatively small. It had a reputation as a hitter's park, especially in the 1990s when Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martínez, Jay Buhner, Alex Rodriguez, and other sluggers played there.
The large number of in-play objects—speakers, roof support wires and streamers—contributed to an "arena baseball" feel. The Kingdome was somewhat improved in 1982 Seattle Mariners season, 1982 with the addition of a wall in right field nicknamed the "Walla Walla" (after Walla Walla, Washington, the city in southeastern Washington); a nearly $100,000 Daktronics out-of-town scoreboard was later installed on it in 1990. In 1990 Seattle Mariners season, 1990 and 1991 Seattle Mariners season, 1991, the moving of home plate closer to the backstop, the addition of box seats down the third base line and the removal of a few rows of seats in left field reduced foul territory and made the outfield dimensions longer and asymmetrical.
In its early years, the outfield was symmetrical with a uniform wall height: deep in center, and short elsewhere. For the All-Star Game in 1979, center field was , power alleys were , and the foul lines were ;[ the unpadded wall was green with a top yellow stripe, approximately in height and did not have the power alley distances listed on it.] Down the lines, the distance was also listed in fathoms (52.7 fm), presumably to maintain a nautical theme in line with the team name; however, this practice was ditched after the 1980 Seattle Mariners season, 1980 season. Like the Kingdome's contemporaries, the bullpens were located in foul territory adjacent to the baselines and the stands.
The longest game in the Kingdome took place on July 30, 1998 Seattle Mariners season, 1998, when the 1998 Cleveland Indians season, Cleveland Indians defeated the Mariners 9–8 in 17 innings via a three-run homer from Manny Ramirez off Bob Wells (baseball), Bob Wells; Paul Shuey staved off a comeback by the Mariners in the bottom of the inning to end the game the next morning after five hours and 23 minutes.
The most noteworthy baseball game in the Kingdome's history took place on October 8, 1995 Seattle Mariners season, 1995; in the List of baseball jargon (R)#rubber game, rubber game of the 1995 American League Division Series, ALDS, the Mariners defeated the 1995 New York Yankees season, New York Yankees 6–5 in 11 innings in front of 57,411 raucous fans. In the bottom of the 11th, Martinez The Double (Seattle Mariners), doubled to left, sending Joey Cora and Griffey home with the winning runs and vaulting the Mariners into the 1995 American League Championship Series, ALCS for the first time in franchise history.
On May 2, 1996 Seattle Mariners season, 1996, a game at the Kingdome between the Mariners and the 1996 Cleveland Indians season, Cleveland Indians was suspended in the bottom of the seventh inning because of a minor earthquake. The earthquake, estimated at a magnitude of 5.3 to 5.4, occurred during a pitching change as Indians' pitcher Orel Hershiser was walking off the mound following a home run by Edgar Martínez. After an inspection by engineers, the game was continued the next evening, resulting in a 6-4 win for the Indians.
Seguí, who retired from professional baseball after the 1977 season, was invited by the Mariners to throw the ceremonial last pitch after the final Mariners game at the Kingdome in 1999. However, while they were able to make the tickets and reservations for Seguí, a payment mix-up prevented him from boarding the flight out of Kansas City International Airport on the day of the game; the incident made him irate such that he refused to visit Seattle again until 2012 Seattle Mariners season, 2012, when he was invited as part of the Mariners' 35th anniversary celebration. Despite the disappointment from Seguí's son, then-Mariners first baseman David Segui, the ceremony went on as planned; David's son, then-seven-year-old Cory Segui, threw the last pitch to Bob Stinson (baseball), Bob Stinson, who was the Mariners' catcher in their first game.
In 1989, Griffey Jr. hit a home run in his first-ever plate appearance at the Kingdome on April 10. On June 27, 1999, Griffey Jr. hit the last home run ever at the Kingdome against the Texas Rangers. The Mariners played 1,755 games at the Kingdome, compiling an overall home record of during their 22½-season tenure there.
Basketball
SuperSonics
Besides the Mariners and Seahawks, the stadium also hosted the Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...
of the National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
(NBA) for seven seasons. The SuperSonics, having previously played at the Seattle Center Coliseum
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 or ...
, announced on July 29, 1977, that they intended to move into the Kingdome for the 1978–79 Seattle SuperSonics season, 1978–79 season after the expiration of their contract with the city of Seattle, the owner of the Coliseum; the team pushed for a move to the Kingdome after the city balked at a $30 million plan to expand the Coliseum to 20,000 seats the previous year. On August 22, the King County Council
The Metropolitan King County Council, the legislative body of King County, Washington, consists of nine members elected by district. The Council adopts laws, sets policy, and holds final approval over the budget. Its current name and structure i ...
voted 7–2 to approve a 17-year lease with the SuperSonics, with the agreement signed the following day. The following week, the council unanimously voted on August 29 to spend $1.5 million on improvements to the Kingdome in preparation for the team; the team would pay the same amount over the first seven years as part of the agreement. Additional terms of the agreement had the SuperSonics pay the county 10 percent of ticket sale proceeds (not including admissions taxes) and $2,539 in personnel costs per game; the county additionally kept all game concession and parking revenue. On the same day as the agreement signing, longtime Kingdome critic Frank Ruano filed a referendum petition in an attempt to halt the move, but he announced on September 17 that he would withdraw support from the petition for lack of support.
While the SuperSonics had played a few games at the Kingdome over the previous two seasons, their full-time tenancy required the addition of 5,000 portable stadium seats added onto the floor of the arena as well as additional scoreboards and a new basketball court. The center circle of the court was positioned over first base, with the court itself laid parallel and adjacent to the right-field seats; the portable seats were positioned across the court with one end hovering over home plate.
The first SuperSonics game in the Kingdome under the agreement was an exhibition game versus the 1978-79 Portland Trail Blazers season, Portland Trail Blazers on September 22, 1978. A few weeks later, a crowd of 15,219 watched as the SuperSonics defeated the 1978-79 Chicago Bulls season, Chicago Bulls, 104–86, on October 14 in their first regular-season game as a tenant. Captain Fred Brown (basketball), Fred Brown and leading scorer Gus Williams (basketball), Gus Williams helped lead the team to their first and only championship that season, defeating the 1978-79 Washington Bullets season, Washington Bullets in the 1979 NBA Finals, Finals and avenging their 1978 NBA Finals, Finals loss to them 1977-78 Seattle SuperSonics season, the previous season. At the time, the Kingdome was known in the NBA for being the noisiest arena for basketball and for having the largest crowds, with stadium vendor Bill Scott ( Bill the Beerman) taking the duties as cheerleader.
In the 1979–80 Seattle SuperSonics season, 1979–80 season, the SuperSonics set an NBA record average attendance of 21,725 fans per game (since broken). The SuperSonics set the NBA single-game playoff attendance record at 39,457 during Game 4 of the 1978 NBA Finals; they set it again on April 15, 1980, during a conference semifinal game against the 1979–80 Milwaukee Bucks season, Milwaukee Bucks with an attendance record of 40,172 (also since broken). The Kingdome regular season, single-game attendance record of 38,067 was set on November 22, 1991, when the SuperSonics faced the 1991–92 Chicago Bulls season, Chicago Bulls.
While leaving a SuperSonics game on February 16, 1983, a 21-year-old man from Olympia, Washington, Olympia fell off a ramp and plunged 47 feet to his death; this was despite the installation of signs warning about the chest-level barriers the previous year.
Logistics would be a problem throughout the team's tenure at the Kingdome because the Seahawks and Mariners had scheduling priority over them, especially during the playoffs when the Mariners were playing there at the same time in the spring. As part of the 1977 agreement, King County agreed to pay the SuperSonics $15,000 for each game (up to five) that was moved elsewhere because of booking issues. Even then, the scheduling priority meant that the SuperSonics would only play home playoff games at the Kingdome while the Mariners were on the road, with most of the games played at the Coliseum; the team even had to use Hec Edmundson Pavilion at the University of Washington for a few games when both the Kingdome and the Coliseum were unavailable.
Along with the scheduling issues, as with other multipurpose stadiums used by the NBA the Kingdome proved itself to be a less-than-ideal venue for basketball. Although the Kingdome's capacity allowed the SuperSonics to set attendance records, the vast space it afforded meant that it did not have the intimate environment of a dedicated arena; furthermore, fans were displeased about the poor sight lines and cold temperatures in the Kingdome. All these factors, plus dwindling attendance due to poor team performance towards the end of their tenancy at the Kingdome, led SuperSonics general manager Zollie Volchok to sign a 10-year contract with the city of Seattle in 1983, agreeing to have the team move back to the Coliseum after the 1984–85 Seattle SuperSonics season, 1984–85 season in exchange for upgrades there.
The SuperSonics faced the 1984–85 Phoenix Suns season, Phoenix Suns at the Kingdome on April 7, 1985, in their final game as a regular tenant, losing 110–125 with 5,672 in attendance. However, exemplifying the scheduling issues, it was not their final home game of the season; the SuperSonics were forced to play at the Tacoma Dome on April 11 because the Mariners hosted the 1985 Oakland Athletics season, Oakland Athletics at the Kingdome that day. By that point, the SuperSonics had an average attendance of 7,399, failing to surpass 10,000 seats sold in 29 of 37 games held at the Kingdome in their final season there.
Despite calling the Coliseum home again, the SuperSonics still played occasionally at the Kingdome over the next few years when large crowds were anticipated; as such, the SuperSonics hosted the 1987 NBA All-Star Game there, having previously hosted the 1974 NBA All-Star Game, 1974 game at the Coliseum before the Kingdome opened. However, SuperSonics owner Barry Ackerley, who had bought the team from Sam Schulman in October 1983 after the Coliseum deal was signed, started seeking a new arena for them in 1989; team president Bob Whitsitt claimed that the Coliseum was outdated and leaking. Ackerley proposed to build a new arena south of the Kingdome (where T-Mobile Park
T-Mobile Park is a retractable roof stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners and has a seating capacity of 47,929. It is in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood, near the western t ...
stands today), but the plan was initially rejected by King County because of objections from the Seahawks and Mariners over inadequate parking. The plan was eventually approved by the Seattle City Council
The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms, seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-lar ...
7–1 on May 30, 1990, but it was ultimately scrapped the following year on June 26 because of issues in financing it; as a compromise measure, the Coliseum was rebuilt as KeyArena during the 1994–95 Seattle SuperSonics season, 1994–95 season, with the SuperSonics playing home games at the Tacoma Dome instead of the closer Kingdome in the meantime. The SuperSonics played at KeyArena until they were Seattle SuperSonics relocation to Oklahoma City, controversially relocated to Oklahoma City by owner Clay Bennett (businessman), Clay Bennett after the 2007–08 Seattle SuperSonics season, 2007–08 season.
The SuperSonics played 303 games at the Kingdome in total, including 14 playoff games; they held an overall record of and a playoff record of at the stadium. Of those games, 20 of them had attendances of 30,000 or more.
College
The first men's college basketball game at the Kingdome was held on January 9, 1984, when the 1983-84 Washington Huskies men's basketball team, Washington Huskies defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 63–61, in the second overtime in front of 7,466 fans. The Huskies held their only other basketball game at the Kingdome more than a decade later, defeating the 1994-95 Old Dominion Monarchs basketball team, Old Dominion Monarchs 71–61 on December 22, 1994-95 Washington Huskies men's basketball team, 1994, with 4,187 in attendance.
The only women's basketball game at the Kingdome was held on December 6, 1979, when the Seattle Redhawks women's basketball, Seattle Chieftains were crushed by the Soviet Union women's national basketball team, Soviet national team, 45–135, before 7,239 spectators.
Final Four
The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, NCAA Final Four of men's college basketball was held three times at the Kingdome, with the stadium hosting the 1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
, 1989, and 1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
editions. The 1984 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, 1984 championship game saw the 1983–84 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team, Georgetown Hoyas defeat the 1983–84 Houston Cougars men's basketball team, Houston Cougars, 84–75. Meanwhile, the 1989 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, 1989 championship game had the 1988–89 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team, Michigan Wolverines beat the 1988–89 Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball team, Seton Hall Pirates, 80–79, in overtime because of a controversial last-second foul call against the Pirates. Finally, with the 1995 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, 1995 championship game, the 1994–95 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team, UCLA Bruins defeated the 1994–95 Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball team, Arkansas Razorbacks, 89–78, to win their first championship since the retirement of coach John Wooden twenty years earlier in 1974–75 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team, 1975.
The Kingdome was not the first venue in Seattle to host the Final Four; Hec Edmundson Pavilion had previously hosted it in 1949 NCAA basketball tournament, 1949 and 1952 NCAA basketball tournament, 1952. However, the Kingdome is credited with helping shape the Final Four into an event with a stature comparable to that of the Super Bowl because of its large capacity. It was the only such capable venue on the West Coast of the United States; the last time a non-Seattle West Coast site hosted the game was when the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena hosted it in 1972 NCAA University Division Baseball Tournament, 1972. The 1995 edition was the last time that Seattle hosted a Final Four, and it will likely remain that way for the foreseeable future since the Kingdome's successors were not designed with a controlled environment in mind; it also remains the last time that the Final Four was held on the West Coast. The Final Four was not held again in the Western United States until 2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, 2017, when University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, hosted it for the Phoenix metropolitan area, Phoenix area.
Other
On February 18, 1979, the Harlem Globetrotters held an exhibition game at the Kingdome with close to 23,000 in attendance, of which around 3,500 were under 12 years old.
As a result of the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott, boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics by the United States, the United States men's national basketball team, U.S. Olympic team faced off against a squad of NBA players in a six-game exhibition tournament called the "Gold Medal Series" that June. On June 20, the NBA All-Stars defeated the U.S. Olympic team, 78–76, before a crowd of 10,902; it was the only victory by the NBA squad in the tournament.
The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) held their 3A and 4A high school basketball state tournament five times at the Kingdome between 1993 and 1999. The boys' and girls' games were held simultaneously until the championship, at which point they took turns playing on a single court.
Soccer
Sounders
The Seattle Sounders
Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...
of the North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to:
*North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league
*North American Soccer League (2011–2017)
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...
(NASL) were the first tenant to move into the Kingdome upon its opening, having played at Memorial Stadium (Seattle), Memorial Stadium for their first two seasons. As a result, they held the honor of hosting the first sporting event at the Kingdome with an exhibition game versus the New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to
* New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada)
* New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independ ...
on April 9, 1976; the Cosmos defeated them 3–1 with 58,128 fans in attendance. Highlighting the secondary treatment of the Sounders, about 5,000 seats were not yet installed when the game occurred. Just weeks later, they hosted their first regular-season game in the Kingdome on April 26, defeating the Portland Timbers (1975–1982), Portland Timbers 1–0 via a Geoff Hurst penalty kick in the second overtime before 24,983 spectators.
The largest crowd to attend a Sounders match, regular or postseason, occurred on 1977 North American Soccer League playoffs#(S2) Los Angeles Aztecs vs. (W3) Seattle Sounders, August 25, 1977, when 56,256 spectators watched as they defeated the Los Angeles Aztecs 1–0 in the second game of the Pacific Conference Final to advance to their first Soccer Bowl '77, Soccer Bowl. The Sounders' regular-season attendance record was set on August 9, 1980, when the Cosmos defeated them 1–0 in front of 49,606 fans. Overall, the team drew an average attendance of 20,183 from 1975 to 1982, peaking in the 1980 season with an average attendance of 24,247.
Along with traditional soccer, the Sounders participated in NASL indoor soccer for the 1980–81 NASL Indoor season, 1980–81 and 1981–82 NASL Indoor season, 1981–82 seasons. However, the 1983 North American Soccer League season, 1983 outdoor season proved to be a dire one for the Sounders; with the team's front office heavily cutting costly foreign players from the roster, the team suffered their worst season ever performance-wise, resulting in a record low average attendance of 8,181. That season additionally saw the smallest crowd to attend a Sounders game, with only 4,270 spectators on hand to witness their 3–1 victory over the Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984), Tulsa Roughnecks on July 27. With the cuts not enough to keep the team afloat, the owners ultimately elected to fold it that year on September 6; their final home game was a 3–2 victory over the San Diego Sockers (1978–1996), San Diego Sockers on August 25 with 7,331 fans in attendance.
College
The Kingdome hosted the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Finals twice in consecutive years. The final on 1984 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament, December 17, 1984, featured the 1984 Clemson Tigers men's soccer team, Clemson Tigers, coached by Dr. I. M. Ibrahim, and defending national champion Indiana Hoosiers men's soccer, Indiana Hoosiers, headed by coach Jerry Yeagley; 7,926 spectators watched as the Tigers won 2–1 in regulation to bring home their first national championship in soccer and deny the Hoosiers a third straight title. A year later, on 1985 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament, December 14, 1985, a crowd of 5,986 watched as the UCLA Bruins men's soccer, UCLA Bruins defeated the American Eagles men's soccer, American Eagles 1–0 after eight overtime periods to win their first national soccer championship; Bruin coach Sigi Schmid went on to coach the Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer (MLS), a Phoenix club (sports), phoenix club of the NASL Sounders, from its inaugural season in 2009 Seattle Sounders FC season, 2009 to 2016 Seattle Sounders FC season, 2016.
Other professional games
A game of the 1976 U.S.A. Bicentennial Cup Tournament was held at the Kingdome on May 28, with Brazil national football team, Brazil defeating Team America (NASL), Team America 2–0 before 20,245 spectators.
The Kingdome also hosted the NASL's championship game, the Soccer Bowl
The Soccer Bowl was the annual championship game of the North American Soccer League, which ran from 1968 to 1984. The two top teams from the playoffs faced off in the final to determine the winner of the NASL Trophy. From the league's founding ...
, between the Minnesota Kicks and the Toronto Metros-Croatia on Soccer Bowl '76, August 28, 1976; the Metros-Croatia defeated the Kicks 3–0 before a crowd of 25,765, setting an NASL championship attendance record at the time.
A 1977 CONCACAF Championship qualification, CONCACAF Championship qualifier for the 1978 FIFA World Cup was hosted at the Kingdome on October 20, 1976; the game, which saw the United States men's national soccer team, United States defeat Canada men's national soccer team, Canada 2–0 before a crowd of 17,675, was the first instance of a World Cup qualifier that was held indoors.
A doubleheader featuring both the U.S. Olympic and national squads was held at the Kingdome on February 3, 1979. The U.S. Olympic team defeated the Canadian Olympic team 2–0 in the first game, while the Soviet Union national football team, Soviet national team defeated the U.S. national team 3–1 in the second game; 13,317 spectators were present for both games.
The Kingdome was additionally considered in Seattle's bid to be a host city for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, but it was rejected in favor of Husky Stadium because of concerns over its indoor environment and its turf; the bid ultimately failed in part because of apprehension from the University of Washington.
Other events
Upon its opening, the Kingdome served as one of the main convention centers in Seattle alongside the Seattle Center Coliseum. During preliminary studies for the then-proposed Washington State Convention Center (now the Seattle Convention Center) in the early 1980s, a proposal to build it on the stadium's northern parking lot was floated, but it was never seriously considered and ultimately rejected by the convention center board in favor of building it in the Downtown area.
The largest crowd to attend a single event in the Kingdome came early, during an eight-day Billy Graham Revival meeting, crusade in 1976. The Friday night edition on May 14 drew 74,000 and featured singer Johnny Cash; 5,000 were turned away. The stadium was also part of Seattle's bid to host the 1988 Republican National Convention, but it ultimately failed because of a scheduling conflict with the Mariners.
Country singer CW McCall performed 8 shows during the 4-day Custom Van, Truck, 4-Wheel Drive and Motorcycle Show, March 17-20, 1977.
The Kingdome hosted a round of the AMA Supercross Championship from 1978 to 1999.
Concerts
Numerous rock concerts were held in the venue, despite significant echo and sound delay problems attributable to the structure's cavernous size.
Final years
By the 1990s, multi-purpose stadiums fell out of favor with the public, and the Kingdome's suitability as an NFL and MLB venue came into doubt as a result. Neither the Seahawks' nor the Mariners' respective ownership groups saw the shared stadium arrangement as economically feasible because the Kingdome was unable to meet the needs of both tenants; they also noted the lack of revenue-generating luxury suites prominent in newer stadiums. After several years of threats to relocate the Mariners because of poor attendance and revenue, then-owner Jeff Smulyan put the team up for sale on December 6, 1991; he subsequently received approval by MLB to sell the team to an ownership group led by Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi on June 10, 1992. Almost immediately, the new ownership group began campaigning with local and state governments to secure public funding for a new baseball-only stadium. In March 1994, King County Executive Gary Locke appointed a task force to study the need for a baseball-only stadium.
1994 ceiling collapse
The Kingdome's roof had been problematic from the beginning because of a design flaw. With the stadium's limited budget compared to its contemporaries, its architects had the roof's acoustic ceiling tiles serve a dual purpose as forms to pour concrete over for the roof sections. They were firmly placed via six metal clips on their edges, but the effectiveness of the clips was weakened as moisture from the polyurethane insulation accumulated in the tiles because it lacked proper water vapor management. As a result, leaks were discovered in the roof three months before the stadium opened, and several attempts at repairs made the situation worse or were quickly undone.
In 1993, the county decided to strip off the outer roof coating and replace it with a special coating. Abrasive blasting, Sandblasting failed to strip the old roof material off, and the contractor changed its method to pressure washer, pressure washing. This pressure-washing resulted in water seepage through the roof, and on July 19, 1994, four , waterlogged acoustic ceiling tiles fell into the seating area. The tiles fell while the Mariners were on the field preparing for a scheduled game against the 1994 Baltimore Orioles season, Baltimore Orioles, a half-hour before the gates were to open for fans to enter the stadium. As a result, the Kingdome was closed for repairs.
The Mariners were forced to play the last 20 games of the 1994 season on the road after the Major League Baseball Players Association, players' union vetoed playing the "home" games at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma, Washington, Tacoma, BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, or a neutral site because the union's believed that its members should play only in major-league venues. The extended road trip could have lasted over two months, but it was shortened because of the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike, which began on August 12 and ended up canceling the remainder of the 1994 MLB season; the strike also resulted in a delay to the start of the 1995 season. The Seahawks had to play both their two preseason home games and their first three regular-season home games of the 1994 Seattle Seahawks season, 1994 season at nearby Husky Stadium
Husky Stadium (officially Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is an outdoor football stadium in the northwest United States, located on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. It h ...
.
The Kingdome held a reopening ceremony the weekend of November 4–6, 1994, which culminated with the Seahawks returning to the stadium for a regular-season game against the 1994 Cincinnati Bengals season, Cincinnati Bengals. Repairing the roof ultimately cost US$51 million, and two construction workers lost their lives in a crane accident on August 17 during the repair. The incident also motivated plans to replace the stadium.
Replacement
On September 19, 1995, King County voters defeated a ballot measure that would have funded the construction of a new baseball-only stadium for the Mariners. However, the following month, the Mariners made it to the MLB postseason for the first time and, on October 8, defeated the New York Yankees in the decisive fifth game of the 1995 American League Division Series, 1995 ALDS on the heels of a walk-off The Double (Seattle Mariners), game-winning double hit by Edgar Martínez. The Mariners' postseason run demonstrated that there was a fan base in Seattle that wanted the team to stay in town, and as a result, the Washington State Legislature approved a separate funding package for a new stadium on October 14.
In January 1996, Seahawks owner Ken Behring
Kenneth Eugene Behring (June 13, 1928 – June 25, 2019) was an American real estate developer, and former owner of the National Football League's Seattle Seahawks.
Early years
Born in Freeport, Illinois, Behring was the son of Mae (Priewe) and El ...
announced he was moving the team to Los Angeles and the team would play at Angel Stadium, Anaheim Stadium, which had recently been vacated as a football venue when the Los Angeles Rams moved to St. Louis. His rationale for the decision included unfounded safety concerns surrounding the seismic stability of the Kingdome. Behring went so far as to relocate team headquarters to Anaheim, California, but his plans were defeated when lawyers found out that the Seahawks could not break their lease on the Kingdome until 2005. As a result, Behring tried to sell the team. He found a potential buyer in Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who stipulated that a new publicly funded stadium had to be built as a condition of his purchase of the team. Allen funded a special election held on June 17, 1997, that featured a measure that would allocate public funding for a new stadium for the Seahawks on the Kingdome site. The measure passed, Allen officially purchased the team, and the Kingdome's fate was sealed.
Despite the intention of the Mariners to start playing at their new home at the beginning of the 1999 season, construction delays meant that installation of its retractable roof would not occur on time, leading to another sale threat by the team's owners. However, the team eventually agreed to play at the Kingdome from the start of the season until after the 1999 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, All-Star Game, with construction on the new home starting on March 8, 1997. Two years later, a sold-out crowd of 56,530 watched as the Mariners defeated the 1999 Texas Rangers season, Texas Rangers 5–2 in their final game at the Kingdome on June 27, 1999; they played their first game at their new home, T-Mobile Park, Safeco Field, nearly three weeks later on July 15.
Meanwhile, the Seahawks temporarily relocated to Husky Stadium
Husky Stadium (officially Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is an outdoor football stadium in the northwest United States, located on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. It h ...
following the 1999 season. To make way for construction of their new stadium, the Kingdome was stripped down and prepared for demolition. During the process, a security incident occurred on February 21, 2000, when a skateboarder disguised himself as a construction worker, climbed up onto the roof, and skated on it with two friends filming him on the nearby Alaskan Way Viaduct; demolition crews were unimpressed by the incident and implemented tighter security measures in response. On the morning of March 26, 2000 at 8:30 AM, the Kingdome was demolished by Controlled Demolition, Inc. via Building implosion, implosion, just one day short of 24 years after the stadium's opening; it set a record recognized by Guinness World Records for the largest building, by volume, ever by implosion. The Kingdome was the first large, domed stadium to be demolished in the United States; its demolition was also the first live event covered by ESPN Classic. The new stadium, Seahawks Stadium, eventually opened on July 20, 2002, in time for the beginning of the 2002 NFL season, NFL season that year.
The Kingdome was demolished before the debt issued to finance its construction was fully paid, and as of September 2010, residents of King County were still responsible for more than $80 million in debt on the demolished stadium. The debt was retired on March 2015, nine months ahead of the original bond maturity and 15 years after the stadium's demolition. The 2% of the 15.6% hotel/motel tax earmarked for the Kingdome debt no longer needed went instead to the county's 4Culture program for arts, heritage, and preservation.[
]
Seating capacity
In popular culture
Because of its versatility and its prominent position in the Seattle skyline for close to a quarter-century, the Kingdome was featured in numerous forms of media during and after its existence. On television, it served as the backdrop for a rescue in the 1978 TV movie "Most Deadly Passage" of NBC's ''Emergency!'' series, which featured the work of Seattle Fire Department, Seattle Medic One paramedics. It was also mentioned in 1992 with the airing of "Crushed", the sixteenth episode of the Full House (season 5), fifth season of American Broadcasting Company, ABC sitcom ''Full House''; in the episode, guest star Tommy Page boasted to Jesse Katsopolis about playing there. The Kingdome was mentioned again in 1998 during the Frasier (season 6), sixth season of NBC sitcom ''Frasier'', which was set in Seattle. In the sixth episode, "Secret Admirer", Martin describes Daphne's frustrating driving that repeatedly takes them right into various traffic delays, ending with them encountering traffic from the Kingdome. Furthermore, the Kingdome's demolition was featured on The History Channel's ''Modern Marvels'' series with their "Concrete" episode that first aired on May 31, 2000.
The Kingdome was not limited to just television mentions; numerous songs mentioned it in their lyrics. Rock band Foo Fighters mentioned it in the refrain of "New Way Home", which was featured on their 1997 album, ''The Colour and the Shape''. Rapper Macklemore also mentioned the Kingdome in "My Oh My", a 2011 song that paid tribute to Dave Niehaus, the longtime play-by-play announcer of the Mariners who had recently died; in it, he talks about growing up in Seattle and going to the Kingdome. The song mentions The Double (Seattle Mariners), the Double in the Mariners–Yankees 1995 ALDS, and its accompanying music video also contains footage of the Kingdome's demolition.
With the rise of 3D computer graphics, video games started to depict the Kingdome as well. The Gran Turismo (series), Gran Turismo series of racing games on the PlayStation line of consoles featured the Kingdome in the Seattle Circuit race track, a street circuit based on the roads of Seattle. Seattle Circuit is featured in Gran Turismo 2, Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec, Gran Turismo 4, Tourist Trophy (video game), Tourist Trophy, and Gran Turismo PSP. Despite the Kingdome's demolition occurring before the game was released, Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec still featured it in the track. The Kingdome also made an appearance in the 2007 RTS game ''World in Conflict'', in which it was destroyed by Soviet artillery during a Soviet invasion of Seattle in an alternate timeline.
See also
* Delta Dome
* Thin-shell structure
* List of thin shell structures
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
External links
*
The Story behind the implosion of The Seattle Kingdome
Kingdome: The Controversial Birth of a Seattle Icon (1959–1976)
Video of Kingdome implosion
via KING-TV
{{Defunct NFL stadiums
Covered stadiums in the United States, Kingdome King County Domed Stadium (demolished 2000)
2000 disestablishments in Washington (state)
Buildings and structures demolished by controlled implosion
Defunct college baseball venues in the United States
Defunct college football venues
Defunct college soccer venues in the United States
Defunct Major League Baseball venues
Defunct National Football League venues
Defunct soccer venues in the United States
Defunct indoor soccer venues in the United States
Defunct American football venues in the United States
Defunct baseball venues in the United States
Defunct multi-purpose stadiums in the United States
Demolished sports venues in Washington (state)
Seattle Mariners stadiums
Seattle Seahawks stadiums
Seattle SuperSonics venues
Seattle Sounders (1974–1983)
Basketball venues in Washington (state)
Soccer venues in Washington (state)
American football venues in Washington (state)
Baseball venues in Washington (state)
Baseball venues in Seattle
Multi-purpose stadiums in the United States
Former National Basketball Association venues
Architecture in Washington (state)
Concrete shell structures
Modernist architecture in Washington (state)
Sports venues in Seattle
Sports venues completed in 1976
Sports venues demolished in 2000
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor venues
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) stadiums
Demolished buildings and structures in Washington (state)
1976 establishments in Washington (state)
Washington Huskies baseball venues
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four venues