Kingdome implosion: Wednesday marks 25 years since demolition

SEATTLE - Wednesday marks 25 years since Seattle's iconic Kingdome imploded. 

The backstory:

On March 26, 2000, thousands gathered to watch the 60,000-seat stadium come down in order to make way for what is now Lumen Field. The Kingdome was officially retired later as one of the state's premiere sports stadiums, concert venues and convention centers.

The stadium was the home to the Mariners, Seahawks, SuperSonics and Sounders. It was even envisioned to host Seattle's first Major League Baseball expansion, the Seattle Pilots, who had mismanaged their franchise went bankrupt after one year and moved to Wisconsin, where they are now known as the Milwaukee Brewers.

Artists who held concerts there include Paul McCartney, the Eagles, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Blue Öyster Cult, Joan Jett, The Who, Beach Boys, Madonna, Pink Floyd, Van Halen, Guns 'N Roses, Metallica and U2.

The Kingdome imploding in March 2000. ((Seattle Municipal Archives))

While it is fun to look back on such a seminal piece of Puget Sound history, we know there were legitimate reasons to tear the place down.

The Kingdome — sometimes less-than-affectionately referred to as "the Tomb" or "Puget Puke" — was criticized for its poor acoustics, cavernous size, and downright brutalist concrete design. Throughout the 1980s, its ear-shattering echoes gave the Seahawks a reputation as having one of the loudest fanbases in the NFL, the Kitsap Sun reported in 1999. Seahawks games frequently sold out until the late 80s, when attendance began to dip.

Those fans came back in the early 1990s when the Mariners began racking up winning seasons, drawing thousands to watch future Hall of Famers like Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martínez, Randy Johnson and Jay Buhner.

Pressure from Seattle teams in the mid-90s led local leaders to seek publicly-funded replacements for separate baseball and football fields. The Mariners later debuted at Safeco Field, now T-Mobile Park, on July 15, 1999. On Sep. 15, 2002, the Seahawks first played at Seahawks Stadium — which was later named Qwest Field, then CenturyLink Field, and now Lumen Field.

In all, construction on the Kingdome cost $67 million, and King County only finished paying off those bonds in 2015.

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