Kingdome
From BR Bullpen
Home of the Seattle Mariners, 1977 to 1999
(known as King County Domed Stadium, 1976 to 1977)
FIRST GAME April 6th, 1977, vs. California Angels (Angels 7, Mariners 0)
- Diego Segui (L) vs. Frank Tanana (CG-W); HR: Joe Rudi
- First Hit: Don Baylor (double)
- First Single: Jose Baez (first MLB AB)
- First Triple: Rod Carew (April 11th, 1977)
- First HR: Rudi (off Segui)
- First Run: Jerry Remy
- First RBI: Baylor
The Kingdome was the second domed stadium used in Major League Baseball, after Houston's Astrodome. It was conceived to lessen the disruption caused by abundant rains in the Pacific Northwest, which would otherwise have led to an unwieldy number of rainouts.
Contrary to the Astrodome, the Kingdome was very favorable to hitters. The enclosed air-conditioned space seemed to lessen the dampening effect of Seattle's lack of altitude and humid air. The stadium was also home to the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL, who started play six months before before their fellow expansion team, the Seattle Mariners of the American League.
On July 19, 1994, the stadium became temporarily inaccessible when four acoustic ceiling tiles tumbled into the stands two and half hours before a Mariners home game. No one was injured, but the Mariners were forced to play all their remaining games on the road until August 11, when the remainder of the season was cancelled by the 1994 strike. For their part, the Seahawks had to relocate to a nearby university for a few games.
After the construction of Safeco Field, the Kingdome was demolished in one of the largest and most spectacular controlled implosions ever attempted, on March 26, 2000.
