The Kingdome was completed in March 1976, and in 1977 became the AL’s first indoor stadium as the home of the expansion Mariners. The Kingdome was a standard circular, domed structure. Its roof was 250′ above the field at its highest point, but several speakers, which were in play, dangled considerably lower and were hit numerous times by both fair and foul balls. On April 11, 1985, Dave Kingman lost a certain home run when the ball struck a speaker and was caught for an out. Unlike in the Astrodome, the ball carried extremely well here, and in 1982 the right-field fence was raised to 23′, at one point the second highest in the ML. The field, of course, was artificial turf, and the outfield fences were symmetrical. The Kingdome had a baseball capacity of 58,850, and was also home to the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks before it was demolished in March 2000. Following the implosion, Seahawks Stadium was built on the site; the new arena opened for football in 2002.
