114-573: The Seattle Pilots were an American professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington , during the 1969 Major League Baseball season . During their single-season existence, the Pilots played their home games at Sick's Stadium and were a member of the West Division of Major League Baseball 's American League . On April 1, 1970, the franchise moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin , and became
228-570: A $ 15 million bond 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 and the American League were both considering granting the city an expansion franchise , and as
342-562: A coach with the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals , became manager . With expansion to twelve teams in each league came a realignment into two divisions. Unlike the National League , the AL owners voted to align strictly based on geography. On paper, the newly-formed American League West was by far the weaker division, as it consisted of the two expansion teams and the four clubs that had finished sixth through ninth place in
456-471: A consortium led by entertainer Danny Kaye , along with Stanley Golub, Walter Schoenfeld, Lester Smith, James Stillwell, Jr. and James A. Walsh. Seattle's new team would be known as the Mariners , and would initially incorporate the same blue and gold colors used by the Pilots (since 1993, they have worn teal, navy blue and silver for their color scheme). Professional baseball Professional baseball
570-474: 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, 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
684-634: A few years, King County built the multi-purpose Kingdome, which would become home to the NFL 's expansion Seattle Seahawks in 1976 . The construction of the Kingdome had originally been approved by area voters as a condition of getting the Pilots, but hadn't begun prior to the Pilots leaving for Milwaukee. The Pilots lawsuit continued until 1976. At trial, the American League offered to give Seattle an expansion baseball franchise in return for dropping
798-416: 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 with the addition of a 23-foot (7.0 m) wall in right field nicknamed the "Walla Walla" (after
912-513: A letter to the Seattle City Council 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 and Sick's Stadium for college football and minor league baseball , respectively, but both were deemed inadequate for a major league team. In 1960, King County commissioners placed
1026-465: 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
1140-681: A playing surface that was despised by both football and baseball players alike; after the 1998 season, a survey by the NFL Players Association 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 . 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 and Curt Warner respectively suffered season-ending knee injuries in 1980 and 1984 during games at
1254-455: 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
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#17327697341911368-474: A record of 64–98, 33 games behind division winner Minnesota and five games behind their expansion brethren, the Royals . Only Cleveland had a worse record in the American League. On the plus side, they did finish 12 games ahead of the two National League expansion teams, Montreal and San Diego , both of whom lost 110 games. However, the team's poor play was the least of its troubles. The most obvious problem
1482-474: A result, the King County Council 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 . In 1967, the American League granted Seattle an expansion franchise that would be known as
1596-674: A stadium in 1960 and 1966, but the outcome was different in 1968; King County voters approved the issue of $ 40 million in municipal bonds to construct the stadium. Construction began in 1972 and the stadium opened in 1976 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 in 1985. The stadium hosted several major sports events, including
1710-705: Is often applied as an umbrella term for all leagues — major and minor — under the authority of the Commissioner of Baseball . Operating outside the Minor League Baseball organization are many independent minor leagues such as the Atlantic League , American Association , Frontier League , and the feeder league to these the Empire Professional Baseball League . Japan has had professional baseball since
1824-481: Is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada consists of the National League (founded in 1876) and the American League (founded in 1901). Historically, teams in one league never played teams in
1938-479: The 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 voted 7–2 to approve a 17-year lease with the SuperSonics, with the agreement signed the following day. The following week,
2052-681: The Athletics to Oakland, California instead. There was no real competition from other professional teams at the time in the city. While Seattle had landed the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s SuperSonics (now the Oklahoma City Thunder ) in 1967, the NBA was not as popular as baseball was at the time. The NFL would come to the city in 1976 with the addition of the expansion Seahawks , followed by
2166-504: The China National Baseball League , Israel Baseball League , and Baseball Philippines . During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, players of black African descent were barred from playing the major leagues , though several did manage to play by claiming to be Cubans or Native Americans . As a result, a number of parallel Negro leagues were formed. However, after Jackie Robinson began playing with
2280-619: The Kansas City Royals . However, when Senator Stuart Symington of Missouri 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 moving to Oakland , and Symington would not accept the prospect of Kansas City waiting three years for baseball's return. On February 13, 1968, King County voters approved
2394-760: The King County Stadium ) was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Industrial District (later SoDo ) neighborhood of Seattle , Washington , United States. Owned and operated by King County , it was best known as the home stadium of the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL) and the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB); it was also home to the Seattle SuperSonics of
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#17327697341912508-579: The Milwaukee Brewers . The lead man for the franchise ownership, Pacific Northwest Sports, Inc. (PNSI), was Dewey Soriano , a former Rainiers pitcher and general manager and former president of the Pacific Coast League. The team's nickname of "Pilots" came from Soriano's part-time job as a harbor pilot and the city's association with the aviation industry. The team colors were royal blue and gold (with accessory red in
2622-457: The NHL in 2021 with the addition of the expansion Kraken . In an ominous sign of things to come, Soriano found himself short of cash after making little effort to find locally-based partners. He had to ask William R. Daley , who owned the Indians during the time they flirted with moving to Seattle, to underwrite much of the purchase price. In return, Soriano sold Daley 47% of the stock. Daley became
2736-643: The National Basketball Association (NBA) (from 1978 to 1985) and additionally served as both the home outdoor and indoor venue for the Seattle Sounders of the North American Soccer League (NASL). The Kingdome measured 660 feet (200 m) wide from its inside walls. The idea of constructing a covered stadium for a major league football or baseball team was first proposed to Seattle officials in 1959. Voters rejected separate measures to approve public funding for such
2850-640: The Pac-8 single-game rushing record; the Trojans won by nine points, 23–14. 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;
2964-749: The Portland Trail Blazers on September 22, 1978. A few weeks later, a crowd of 15,219 watched as the SuperSonics defeated the Chicago Bulls , 104–86, on October 14 in their first regular-season game as a tenant. Captain Fred Brown and leading scorer Gus Williams helped lead the team to their first and only championship that season, defeating the Washington Bullets in the Finals and avenging their Finals loss to them
3078-482: The Seattle Mariners was born. The Mariners held their first game in franchise history at the Kingdome on April 6, 1977 , against the California Angels . The 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
3192-546: The Seattle Pilots . 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 1969, when the team was scheduled to begin playing. The Pilots were supposed to begin play in 1971 along with
3306-541: The Seattle market . After the blackout of the October 24, 1993 game versus the New England Patriots , one more game was blacked out that year, with five games blacked out the following year; KING-TV , which as Seattle's NBC affiliate was the Seahawks' local broadcast home at the time, prevented further blackouts by purchasing all remaining unsold tickets for three games in 1993 and two games in 1994. In
3420-948: The Soccer Bowl in August 1976 , the Pro Bowl in January 1977 , the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in July 1979 , the NBA All-Star Game in 1987 , and the NCAA Final Four in 1984 , 1989 , and 1995 . 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
3534-465: 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
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3648-700: The 1930s. Nippon Professional Baseball consists of two leagues, the Central League and the Pacific League , each with six teams. South Korea has had professional baseball since 1982. There are 10 teams in KBO League . Taiwan has had professional baseball since the 1990s. The Chinese Professional Baseball League absorbed Taiwan Major League in 2003. There are currently 6 teams in the CPBL. Other Asian leagues include three now defunct leagues,
3762-450: The 1968 campaign. The Oakland Athletics were the only AL West team that had a winning record in 1968, finishing 82-80. Due to the favorable alignment, Schultz and Milkes both optimistically predicted that the Pilots could finish third in the new division. However, the Pilots experienced the typical struggles of a first-year expansion team. They won their first game, and then their home opener three days later, but only won five more times in
3876-399: 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
3990-493: The 1978 NBA Finals; they set it again on April 15, 1980, during a conference semifinal game against the 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 Chicago Bulls . While leaving a SuperSonics game on February 16, 1983, a 21-year-old man from Olympia fell off
4104-499: 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 Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino and head coach Jimmy Johnson , and it was also the last event the Kingdome ever hosted before its implosion. The Seahawks had an overall record of 101–83 (.549) in
4218-434: The 1999 season, and the Seahawks temporarily moved to Husky Stadium after the 1999 season . On March 26, 2000, the Kingdome was demolished by implosion . The Seahawks' new stadium, now known as Lumen Field , was built on the site and opened in 2002 . King County finally paid off the bonds used to build and repair the Kingdome in 2015, fifteen years after its demolition. In 1959, Seattle restaurateur David L. Cohn wrote
4332-421: The A's left for Oakland after the 1967 season, and Symington would not accept the prospect of Kansas City having to wait three years for baseball to return there. The American League would not allow only one new team to enter the league, as the resulting odd number of teams would unbalance the schedule. That meant that Kansas City and Seattle had to be admitted together. Despite Soriano having been president of
4446-459: The AL would have been reduced to nine teams for the 1970 season, which would have left the schedule in chaos. With this in mind and with no credible alternatives to Selig's offer, Federal Bankruptcy Referee Sidney C. Volinn declared the Pilots bankrupt on March 31—seven days before Opening Day—clearing the way for them to move to Milwaukee. The team's equipment had been sitting in Provo, Utah , with
4560-522: 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 and Ziploc fasteners. After the 1990 replacement, separate surfaces were installed for each team;
4674-521: The Coliseum after the 1984–85 season in exchange for upgrades there. The SuperSonics faced the 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
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4788-472: 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 , 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 ,
4902-512: 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 at the Kingdome on September 12. The Cardinals defeated the Seahawks, 30–24, with 58,441 fans in attendance. At the end of that season, the venue hosted the Pro Bowl , the NFL's all-star game, on January 17, 1977. The Seahawks hosted Monday Night Football games at
5016-536: The Kingdome on April 10. The Mariners had their first win at the Kingdome and team history two games after the opener (they were also shut out in their second game 2–0), defeating the Angels 7–6 on April 8 via a walk-off double from Larry Milbourne . The venue hosted the All-Star Game on July 17, 1979 . The Kingdome was somewhat problematic as a baseball venue. Foul territory was quite large, and seats in
5130-538: The Kingdome twelve times in their history and were 9–3 in those games. The Seahawks and the Oakland / Los Angeles Raiders played five Monday Night games in the Kingdome in the 1980s with Seattle holding a 3–2 edge including a 37–0 blowout victory in 1986. The next year, in 1987 , Bo Jackson of the Los Angeles Raiders rushed for 221 yards, the most ever on MNF, and scored 2 touchdowns. One of his scores
5244-578: 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. The stadium also hosted the annual WIAA high school football state championships in an event called the Kingbowl from 1977 through 1994;
5358-681: The Kingdome was ultimately not needed as the grandstand was completed in time for the team's first home game against the Stanford Cardinal on September 5. (Seven years later, the Seattle Seahawks would use Husky Stadium as their home field during the first half of the 1994 season while the Kingdome's ceiling was under repair. ) The Kingdome also hosted a game between the Washington State Cougars and USC Trojans on October 9, 1976. With 37,268 in attendance, USC running back Ricky Bell rushed for 346 yards and set
5472-533: The Kingdome, and were 2–1 in the postseason. The first football (and college football by extension) game played in the Kingdome occurred just after it opened in 1976, when the 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 season when the north grandstand of Husky Stadium collapsed during construction on February 25; however,
5586-409: The Kingdome, compiling an overall home record of 852–903 (.485) during their 22½-season tenure there. Besides the Mariners and Seahawks, the stadium also hosted the Seattle SuperSonics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) for seven seasons. The SuperSonics, having previously played at the Seattle Center Coliseum , announced on July 29, 1977, that they intended to move into the Kingdome for
5700-532: 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 at the end of the 1999 season. The expansion Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL) played their first game ever on August 1, 1976 , a preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers at
5814-583: The Mariners 9–8 in 17 innings via a three-run homer from Manny Ramirez off 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 ; in the rubber game of the ALDS , the Mariners defeated the New York Yankees 6–5 in 11 innings in front of 57,411 raucous fans. In
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#17327697341915928-445: 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
6042-485: The Mariners' first 18 years, their poor play (they did not have a winning season until 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 Puke." After their inaugural home opener, the Mariners didn't have another sellout for the next 1,018 home games until their 1990 home opener on April 13. At one point
6156-550: The National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, oversees nearly all minor league baseball in the United States and Canada. The minor leagues are divided into classes AAA, AA, High-A, A, and Rookie. These minor-league divisions are affiliated with major league teams, and serve to develop young players and rehabilitate injured major-leaguers. "Affiliated baseball" (archaically, " organized baseball ")
6270-680: The PCL, he had to pay the PCL $ 1 million to compensate for the loss of one of its longest-standing and most successful franchises. After King County voters approved a bond for a domed stadium (what would become the Kingdome ) in February 1968 with 62% in favor, the Seattle Pilots were officially born. California Angels executive Marvin Milkes was hired as general manager, and Joe Schultz ,
6384-407: The Pilots to Seattle was that Sicks' had to be expanded to 30,000 seats, work did not really begin in earnest until January 1969. Only 18,000-19,500 seats (depending on the source) were ready by Opening Day because of numerous delays. The scoreboard was not even ready until the night before the season opener. By June there were finally 25,000 seats in place. Water pressure was almost nonexistent after
6498-449: The Pilots to Selig's Milwaukee group, but final approval was delayed due to the state seeking an injunction to stop the sale. PNSI's bankruptcy filing, however, was intended to forestall post-sale legal action . At the bankruptcy hearing a week later, Milkes testified there was not enough money to pay the coaches, players, and office staff. Had Milkes been more than 10 days late in paying the players, they would have all become free agents and
6612-415: 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
6726-433: The Pilots' most immediate debts. Under new manager Dave Bristol , the Pilots arrived for spring training in Tempe, Arizona unsure of where they would play. However, Soriano and Daley declared bankruptcy, claiming that the loan was not enough to keep the team alive. The league stripped Soriano and Daley of their authority over the Pilots and took control of the team. Soon afterward, the league gave tentative approval to sell
6840-506: The Pilots, with the Kansas City Royals having 902,414 attend their games while the Montreal Expos finished 10th in attendance with 1,212,608. The highest attendance for a Pilots home game was 23,657, on August 3 against the New York Yankees . The lowest attendance for a Pilot home game was on April 29, their 17th game, when a reported 1,954 fans showed up to watch them play the California Angels. The Pilots lost several hundred thousand dollars their first and only season. The team's new stadium
6954-446: The Seahawks specifically wanted a stiffer variation of AstroTurf. The replacement surfaces were attached together via zippers . The underlying base of the surface was asphalt , 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
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#17327697341917068-423: 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 " and led the Seahawks to retire the number 12 in honor of them in 1984 , made their reputation as one of
7182-402: The Sorianos and reduce Daley's stake to 30 percent. The $ 10 million deal received preliminary approval in December. However, the deal fizzled when it emerged that three months earlier, the Bank of California had called in a $ 4 million loan (or $ 3.5 million, depending on the source) it made to the Soriano-Daley group to finance the purchase of the franchise. No one in the American League knew that
7296-409: The Tacoma Dome; the game came back for one final time in 1999 before the stadium was demolished. Shortly after the Pilots' departure for Milwaukee, the city of Seattle, King County, and the state of Washington sued the American 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
7410-441: The bottom of the 11th, Martinez doubled to left , sending Joey Cora and Griffey home with the winning runs and vaulting the Mariners into the ALCS for the first time in franchise history. On May 2, 1996 , a game at the Kingdome between the Mariners and the 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
7524-433: 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 on January 15, 1978, and a 36–23 victory over the Big Eight on January 13, 1979. During the same period, the University of Puget Sound Loggers and Pacific Lutheran University Lutes also faced off at
7638-412: The ceremony went on as planned; David's son, then-seven-year-old Cory Segui, threw the last pitch to 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
7752-410: The city in southeastern Washington); a nearly $ 100,000 Daktronics out-of-town scoreboard was later installed on it in 1990. In 1990 and 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,
7866-416: The city in 1967, his only interview was with Soriano. Despite their straitened financial condition, the Sorianos balked at corporate support, a critical factor even in those days for sports franchises. By the end of the season, the Pilots were gasping. However, Daley refused to put up more financing. It was obvious that they would not survive long enough to move into their new park without new ownership. It
7980-404: The concerns of the owners when he said that under Carlson's plan, "no one person, group, or firm" would be responsible for team expenses. The owners also feared it would devalue the other clubs' worth. A slightly modified deal came one vote short of approval. After a winter and spring full of court action, the owners loaned Soriano and Daley $ 650,000 to send the team to spring training and settle
8094-465: 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
8208-497: 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
8322-456: The drivers awaiting word on whether to drive toward Seattle or Milwaukee. Selig intended to change the team's colors to navy and red in honor of the minor-league Brewers of his youth. Instead, due to the move being finalized at such a late date, the Brewers were stuck using old blue and gold Pilots' uniforms, with the team name replaced. Blue and gold remain the Brewers' colors today although
8436-476: 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
8550-468: The first month. Nevertheless, the Pilots stayed within striking distance of .500 for much of the spring, and were only six games out of the AL West lead as late as June 28. But a disastrous 9–20 July ended even a faint hope of any kind of contention, though they were still in third place as late as August. However, a 6–22 August sent them into the AL West basement for good. The team finished the season with
8664-411: 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
8778-422: The grounds of Seattle Center , 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
8892-412: 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
9006-419: 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
9120-483: 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 group of bond propositions that, among other items, had a regional rapid transit 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
9234-489: 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 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 , when the Cleveland Indians defeated
9348-402: The loan had even existed. Faced with having to raise more money than expected, Danz walked away. In January 1970, Carlson put together a nonprofit group, modeled loosely on the ownership structure of the National Football League 's Green Bay Packers , to buy the team. However, the other American League owners rejected the idea almost out of hand. Chicago White Sox owner John Allyn expressed
9462-694: The logo: helm and baseball seams). Seattle had long been a hotbed for minor league baseball and was home to the Seattle Rainiers , one of the pillars of the Pacific Coast League (PCL). At the time, Seattle was the third-biggest metropolitan area on the West Coast . The then- Cleveland Indians (now Guardians) briefly considered a move to Seattle in 1964 but opted to stay in the city. In 1967, Charles Finley looked to move his Kansas City Athletics to Seattle, but ended up moving
9576-679: The major-league Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, the Negro leagues gradually faded. The process of integration did not go entirely smoothly; there were some ugly incidents, including pitchers who would try to throw directly at a black player's head. Now, however, baseball is fully integrated, and there is little to no racial tension between teammates. Between 1943 and 1954, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League fielded teams in several Midwestern towns. Kingdome The Kingdome (officially
9690-414: 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 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
9804-542: The new stadium; the team was later named the Seattle Seahawks . 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 game between the Seattle Sounders and New York Cosmos of the NASL . It set a record for the largest soccer audience in North America at 58,120. The stadium
9918-570: The other until the World Series , in which the champions of the two leagues played against each other. This changed in 1997 with the advent of interleague play . The Philadelphia Phillies , founded in 1883, are the oldest continuous same-name, same-city franchise in both Major League Baseball and all of American professional sports. In addition to the major leagues, many North American cities and towns feature minor league teams. An organization officially styled Minor League Baseball , formerly
10032-486: 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 410 feet (120 m), power alleys were 357 feet (109 m), and the foul lines were 316 feet (96 m); the unpadded wall was green with a top yellow stripe, approximately twelve feet (3.7 m) in height and did not have the power alley distances listed on it. Down
10146-515: 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 ( a.k.a. Bill the Beerman) taking the duties as cheerleader. In the 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
10260-484: The rule before the start of the regular season. Raucous Seahawk fans at the Kingdome were also some of the earliest performers of 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
10374-423: 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
10488-528: The season with Seattle, although he was traded to the Houston Astros in late August. In 1970, in the aftermath of the Pilots' purchase and relocation to Milwaukee, the City of Seattle, King County , and the state of Washington (represented by then- State Attorney General Slade Gorton ) sued the American League for breach of contract . Confident that Major League Baseball would return to Seattle within
10602-509: The seventh inning, especially with crowds above 8,000. The Pilots had a total attendance of 677,944 people for the season, 20th out of 24 teams in Major League Baseball, and their average attendance per game, 8,268, was also 20th. Seattle finished above fellow cellar dweller teams like the Cleveland Indians , Chicago White Sox , Philadelphia Phillies , and the expansion San Diego Padres . The other two expansion teams outdrew
10716-434: The shades have been darker since 2000. The move also came too late for Topps to change the cards for the 1970 season - so the 1970 Topps set has cards for the Pilots. Jim Bouton was a Pilots relief pitcher through most of 1969 , his contract having been sold to the Seattle Pilots by the New York Yankees in mid- 1968 . His book Ball Four is based on a journal that Bouton kept during the 1969 season. Bouton spent most of
10830-419: 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 , 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
10944-419: 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 and a shelter were also built in the neighborhood. However,
11058-467: The stadium plans in limbo, the team was forced to declare bankruptcy . 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 businessman Bud Selig , who relocated the team to Milwaukee and renamed it the Milwaukee Brewers a week before the start of the 1970 season . The push to build
11172-464: 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 . 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
11286-630: The suit, and details were ironed out over the next year. To keep the league with an even number of teams, a formal expansion proceeding was held, with a second team, the Blue Jays , being awarded to the city of Toronto (also allowing both leagues to place a team in Canada, the National League 's Montreal Expos [now the Washington Nationals ] having been established in 1969). The new Seattle team, to begin play in 1977 , would be owned by
11400-442: The team began to decline in performance; after winning the AFC West that year, it suffered a franchise-worst 2–14 record in 1992 . Season ticket sales, which had reached 62,000 that year with a waiting list of 30,000, gradually decreased to 46,000 in 1995 , with the team averaging 46,218 in attendance over five games at the Kingdome in 1994 ; as a result, the Seahawks began failing to sell out games, resulting in their blackout in
11514-504: The team's largest shareholder and chairman of the board, while Soriano remained team president. A couple of factors were beyond the Pilots' control. They were originally not set to start play until 1971 along with the Kansas City Royals . However, the date was moved up to 1969 under pressure from Senator Stuart Symington of Missouri . Professional baseball had been played in Kansas City in one form or another from 1883 until
11628-562: 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
11742-432: The upper deck as far as 617 feet (188 m) 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
11856-474: Was Sick's Stadium. The longtime home of the Rainiers, it had once been considered one of the best ballparks in minor league baseball. However, in 1964, the Rainiers sold the stadium to the city, which was more interested in building a freeway on the stadium site than maintaining it. Indeed, both the Indians and A's had balked at moving to Seattle because of Sick's rapid deterioration. While a condition of awarding
11970-475: Was a 91-yard touchdown and the other was a historic plowing into Seahawks 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 and 1993 . However, after Ken Behring took over ownership of the team from the Nordstrom family in 1988 ,
12084-457: Was also obvious that the timetable for a new stadium would have to be significantly advanced, as Sicks' Stadium was inadequate even for temporary use. It turned out both the league and commissioner's offices were concerned about the Pilots' viability as well. As early as June, an MLB memo envisaged the Pilots moving to Milwaukee. During the offseason, Soriano made contact with car salesman and former Milwaukee Braves minority owner Bud Selig , who
12198-596: Was awarded to the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis , Minnesota . In its 1982 bid for Super Bowl XIX , the Seattle City Council 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, 2000 , suffering a first-round playoff loss to the Miami Dolphins in their first playoff appearance since
12312-575: Was considered a must because the roof was likely to inhibit the growth of natural grass, like the Astrodome 's roof. The AstroTurf surface was first replaced in July 1983 during the MLB All-Star break; Monsanto , 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
12426-430: 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. Like virtually all other multi-purpose stadiums, the Kingdome featured AstroTurf artificial turf for its playing surface, with its baseball configuration featuring dirt sliding pits around each base. When it was constructed, artificial turf
12540-462: 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
12654-759: Was leading the effort to bring major league baseball back to Milwaukee. They met in secret for over a month towards the end of the season, and during Game 1 of the World Series , Soriano agreed to sell the Pilots to Selig for $ 10.8 million. Selig would then move the team to Milwaukee. However, the remaining owners of the Pilots turned it down in the face of pressure from Washington's two senators, Warren Magnuson and Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson , as well as state attorney general Slade Gorton . Local theater chain owner Fred Danz, restaurateur Dave Cohn, and Westin Hotels head Eddie Carlson came forward with an offer to buy out
12768-469: 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
12882-565: Was slated to be built at the Seattle Center , but a petition by stadium opponents ground the project to a halt. The project was later moved to south of downtown and developed for the Kingdome . Additionally, the Pilots were severely underfinanced. The Sorianos were forced to bring Daley into their group after making almost no effort to court Seattle-based partners. However, the American League did not even consider any other prospective owners. When league president Joe Cronin scouted out
12996-463: Was 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 , midway through
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