History
King County opened its domed stadium in March 1976. The Seahawks and NASL Sounders arrived that year, the Mariners in 1977 and the SuperSonics in 1978, so all of Seattle's top-level teams were under one roof.
The dome hosted the 1979 MLB All-Star Game, NCAA Final Fours in 1984, 1989 and 1995, and a 1978 NBA Finals game that set a playoff attendance record. In July 1994, falling ceiling tiles closed it for months, and KATU reports that the repairs reportedly cost more than the original construction.
The Mariners played their last game there on June 27, 1999, before moving to Safeco Field. The Seahawks' wild-card loss to Miami on January 9, 2000 was the final event. The dome was imploded on March 26, 2000, and the Seahawks' new stadium, now Lumen Field, opened on the site in 2002.
Why it matters: It put all of Seattle's major-league teams under one roof and was the Mariners' home for their first 23 seasons.
Timeline
- March 27, 1976
The dome opened to the public; the first event was a soccer exhibition on 1976-04-09.
- April 6, 1977Mariners' first game[2]
The Mariners played their first game at the dome.
- July 17, 1979MLB All-Star Game[1]
The dome hosted the 1979 All-Star Game.
- July 19, 1994
Waterlogged ceiling tiles fell into the seats before a Mariners game, closing the dome for repairs.
- June 27, 1999
The Mariners beat Texas 5-2 and moved to Safeco Field in July.
- January 9, 2000
The Seahawks lost a wild-card playoff game to Miami.
- March 26, 2000
The dome was brought down by controlled implosion.
The site today
| Physical status | Site redeveloped[1,2,3] |
|---|---|
| Current use | Lumen Field (opened 2002) was built on the site[1,2] |
| Built on the site | Lumen Field (Seahawks' stadium built on the site; opened 2002) |
| Mapped location | Former venue parcel |
Street View near the former site · Satellite view (external, current imagery)
Teams & events
| Seattle Seahawks | NFL · 1976–1999 |
|---|---|
| Seattle Sounders | NASL · 1976–1983 |
| Seattle Mariners | American League · 1977–1999 |
| Seattle SuperSonics | NBA · 1978–1985 |
Listed here are organizations that used this physical venue. A franchise's history and a venue's history are tracked separately.
Venue facts
| Official name | King County Stadium |
|---|---|
| Other names | King County Stadium |
| Location | 201 South King Street, Seattle, Seattle, Washington[1] |
| Venue type | Domed stadium |
| Sports | Baseball, Football, Basketball, Soccer |
| Level | MLB, NFL, NBA, NASL, NCAA |
| Opened | March 27, 1976[1,3] |
| Last used for sports | January 9, 2000[1,5] |
| Demolished | March 26, 2000[1,2,3] |
| Physical status | Site redeveloped |
| Final capacity | 59,166[1,2] |
| Capacity notes | Baseball 59,166, football 66,000, basketball 40,000 (Wikipedia); Ballparks of Baseball lists 59,100. |
| Architect | Naramore, Skilling & Praeger[1] |
| Construction cost | $67 million[1,2] |
| Surface | AstroTurf[1] |
| Owner / operator | King County (owner); King County Department of Stadium Administration (operator)[1] |
| Closure | Replaced by Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) for the Mariners and by a new football stadium (now Lumen Field) built on the site, funded by 1998's Referendum 48. |
Documented details
Connected venues
Sources
- Kingdome, Wikipedia. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: address, architect, capacity, closed, construction cost, coordinates, current land use, demolished, events, opened, owner operator, surface, teams
- Kingdome, Ballparks of Baseball. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: capacity, construction cost, coordinates, current land use, demolished
- Seattle marks 25 years since the Kingdome implosion, KOMO News / KATU. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: demolished, opened, teams
- Kingdome Lasts, Retrosheet. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: teams
- Brock, Damon Huard recall memories of final game in Kingdome, Seattle Seahawks. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: closed
Research confidence
Key facts on this page (opening, closing, status and location) are each supported by sources, with key dates corroborated by at least two independent sources. Last reviewed 2026-10-19.
Where sources disagree (3)
- Ballparks of Baseball lists the opening as 1977-04-06 (first Mariners game) rather than the 1976 opening.
- Ballparks of Baseball's facts give the last MLB game as 1999-06-27 but its text says 1999-07-27; Retrosheet and KATU confirm 1999-06-27.
- KATU calls the 1999-12-26 Seahawks win over Kansas City their final Kingdome game (the regular-season finale); Wikipedia and Seahawks.com give the 2000-01-09 wild-card game as the last game.
See something wrong or missing? Suggest a correction or submit a source.