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Kingdome
Throughout the Seattle Seahawks tenure at the
Kingdome, it was seen as a very ugly stadium and not liked by many fans. Talk of a
dome stadium for a professional team was first discussed in the
1960’s. The main problem with getting a stadium built was where it
should be built at. By 1972, a site for the dome
stadium in southern downtown Seattle was chosen to build on.
During the same year, a group of businessmen from Seattle
announced their intentions of trying to obtain a NFL franchise.
After much debate, construction of a dome multipurpose stadium
began on November 2, 1972. The dome was completed by March 1976. The stadium was named the Kingdome because of its location
in King County, Washington.
By 1976, the Seattle area was awarded both a
football team (Seahawks) and a baseball team (Mariners). The
Seattle Seahawks played their inaugural first game in front of
66,000 fans at the Kingdome on September 12, 1976. The Kingdome
consisted of three tiers of seating. The first and second decks
circled the entire stadium. The upper deck extended nearly 80
percent around the stadium. The main video/scoreboard was located
over the south end zone seats. The Kingdome was a very cavernous
stadium with the roof 250 feet over the Astroturf playing surface.
The Kingdome underwent few changes during its existence. In the
1990's the Seahawks and Mariners began lobbying to have new
stadiums built. Both teams succeeded in getting new stadiums. The
Mariners moved out of the Kingdome and into Safeco Field during
the 1999 MLB season. However, in order for the Seahawks to move
into a new stadium, they first had to move out of the Kingdome, so
it could be imploded and a new stadium be built on its spot. The
Seahawks played their last game at the Kingdome in December 1999.
The Kingdome was imploded on March 26, 2000. During the 2000 and
2001 seasons, the Seahawks played Husky Stadium, home of the
Washington Huskies. The Seahawks moved into their new stadium,
Qwest Field in September 2002.
Seahawks-Cardinals-49ers-NFC
Championship |
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Facts and Figures |
Kingdome Pictures |
-Name: Kingdome
-Location: Seattle, WA
-Tenant: Seattle Seahawks (NFL), Seattle Mariners (MLB)
-Capacity: 66,000 (NFL)
-Surface: Astroturf
-Construction Began: November 2,
1972
-Opened: September 12, 1976
-Closed: December 1999
-Demolished: March 26, 2000
-Cost: $67 Million
-Architect:
Naramore, Skilling, & Praeger |

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