What Happened to the Kingdome? ABANDONED?



One of the earliest enclosed stadiums in the county was in the foul-weather city of Seattle. It was once home to 4 sports teams at once (Seahawks, Mariners, Sounders (MLS) and Supersonics), a situation that would eventually lead to the stadiums demise. It took several attempts to the get stadium off the ground with the Pilots of the MLB crashing before King County could even break ground. In this video we cover the full history of what strangely has been one of the most remembered stadiums of its time. This is the story of the Kingdome.

What Happened to the Kingdome? ABANDONED?

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28 thoughts on “What Happened to the Kingdome? ABANDONED?”

  1. “No one can deny that sports would not exist in Seattle if it weren’t for the Kingdome”

    I mean, it wouldn’t have been the same but they would have eventually figured it out even without the Kingdome.

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  2. I’d love to see an anthology of the multi-use stadium era covering design considerations, choices, innovations and compromises. Although universally derided today, it would be cool to see comparisons and maybe a ranking of which ones got it better than others.

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  3. The Kingdome was a local celebrity. It featured in so much local culture while it was around from songs to legends to shows.

    That giant cement dome made so many events earsplittingly loud be it sports, concerts or Monster Trucks any trip to the dome was likely to leave you with tinnitus for the night and a smile on your face. Everything in the place was perfect for making noise. Fireworks, Cannons, Laser Lights and Rock 'N' Roll kept things noisy and rowdy even when the product on the field was the things jokes were made of.

    I went to many an event at the Dome where the host was not necessarily the biggest draw but rather the venue itself, the teams were simply the excuse to be there. Even the Astroturf was something that made the show special. Every sport was a whole different sport from when it was played at any other venue with the way the ball played off the surface the way it did. The Mariners may not have often been a great Baseball team, but when it came to turfball they… well they still weren't that good, but it was entertaining.

    The Kingdome would never be considered attractive, never was bright or inviting. Hell, it probably looked closer to a fortress or penitentiary. But damn it was fun to go in there and make some noise.

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  4. Great video. One additional fact about the Kingdome that people may not know about is that in 1976 it hosted the first ever FIFA World Cup qualifier to be played indoors between the US & Canada. It also hosted the NCAA Final Four for men's soccer in 1985, making it the only venue to ever host the Final Four in both basketball & soccer & it is the only time the Final Four for college soccer has been played indoors. As for the Sounders, they weren't terrible at the Kingdome as they made the playoffs 6 out of the 8 years they played there (1976-83) & made the Soccer Bowl (the NASL's championship game) twice. They were also in the top 3 in the NASL in attendance every year & creating a legacy of support that would see the Sounders return this time in MLS (the NASL's successor) in 2009.

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  5. Most heralded words I can remember mentioning The Kingdome were by none other than the Hall of Fame legend… Dave Niehaus…

    “And the 0-1 pitch to Edgar Martinez, swung on and lined down the left field line for a base hit! Here comes Joey! Here’s Junior to third base, they’re gonna wave him in! The throw to the plate will be LATE! The Mariners are going to play, for the American League championship! I don’t believe it! It just continues! MY OH MY! Edgar Martinez with a double, ripped down the left field line, and they are going crazy… at The Kingdome!”

    RIP Dave Niehaus

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  6. I was at that game 5 of the '95 Mariners playoff run against the Yankees, in the uppermost row of the 300 level. It was truly a deafeningly loud stadium. I even got to run around the bases as a kid once and remember how lumpy the artificial turf was even in the infield. Thanks LaBreeceTV for covering such memorable Seattle icon.

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  7. I'll b honest. I think it's insane that taxpayers have to pay for stadiums for Uber rich ball teams.. We pay and benefit none.. Politicians and select businesses owners (bars, hotels, etc..) are the only ones to benefit monetarily.. And then we are ALLOWED to purchase a ticket.. What a scam.

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  8. I grew up with the kingdome and was there when it imploded. It's weird that it's basically been gone longer than it was around; but it was there my entire time growing up. At the time I didn't know any better, but now I realize how god damned ugly and utilitarian it was. I mean it was SO spartan… just insanely cheap. Still, have MANY fond memories of the place from myriad mariners games, to NASL sounders games, to Monsters of Rock with Metallica and Guns and Roses, to truck pull competitions, to the high school football championships, even saw the very first Wrestlemania there on Closed Circuit TV (which was stupid as hell; they did not have anything approaching a large enough "jumbotron" so you watched it on these TV's mounted above the seats on the 2000 level. Basically the equivalent of 15 inch monitors like 25 feet away.)

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