The Kingdome’s Role
The Kingdome once hosted the Seattle Mariners, Seahawks, and Supersonics. This was a multipurpose arena. This venue would host NBA, NFL, NASL and MLB games. It was one of the few multipurpose venues to host more than two major sports. MLB games hosted at the facility could only be played on artificial turf. This put a lot of pressure on players’ joints and knees. One benefit of having the Kingdome is that no team had to worry about getting rained out. All games scheduled would be guaranteed.
After the Seattle Pilots left to become the Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle needed a new stadium to attract an MLB team. The Kingdome would open on March 27, 1976. The main tenants would be the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL, the Seattle Sounders of the NASL, the Seattle Mariners of the MLB, and the Seattle Supersonics of the NBA. There were two downsides to this stadium. One downside was that the field was artificial turf. This made players struggle to field ground balls and run, as it was hard on players knees.
The Kingdome certainly made its mark in the Pacific Northwest. Being the Major Hub for entertainment and sports in the region brought memorable history. The Seattle Supersonics would win their only NBA championship in 1979. The most memorable moment came on October 8th, 1995. The Seattle Mariners almost left Seattle, but it was this game that saved them. Mariners owners at the time wanted a new stadium, and they needed voters to approve a tax increase to pay for it or for lawmakers to come up with another way to fund the stadium. Without a new stadium, the team was widely expected to move to Tampa Bay.
In 2000, the Mariners would move into what is now known as T-Mobile Park. At the time, it was known as Safeco Field.
