Seattle Post-Intelligencer: The Kingdome (Miscellaneous Memories)

Memories

We asked readers to send us their favorite recollections of the Kingdome. Here's a sampling of what we received.

I have been a broadcast announcer for years now and my biggest Kingdome memory was getting the chance to become the dome's announcer for one of the big events there in 1986 called "The Deal of the Decade" involving new cars with local dealerships.
At the event, Wayne Cody was doing a remote for KIRO-TV at the same time I was in the PA booth playing music and announcing car sales, winners, etc. One moment, when Wayne had to go on LIVE on the dome floor, I was informed to take a break during that time so the speakers won't be too loud and override the sound when he would be on TV...well, as fate would have it, word did not get to me in time and Wayne's two minute remote was interrupted by this loud voice above and he was a little miffed afterwards to see who this guy was! He came over and after I explained what happened - that I wasn't informed on time, he chuckled, bought me lunch and we worked out the break-timing PERFECT after that!
I want to thank Wayne for that, the Kingdog he treated me to and for the assistance on covering this short but lively event back then that for me was indeed a big thrill. I didn't rise up to stardom because of it, but was privilaged to play a part of the Kingdome's duties in announcing over the huge speakers it had; the biggest in town for THESE vocal chords! It was an experience that I and many others will never forget.
-- Tim W. Shook, Seattle
I went to the Kingdome to see Led Zeppelin with my two best friends in 1977. It was kind of like that movie "Detroit Rock City." We were 13 years old, and there were all these cool chicks waiting in line. They opened the gates before the show and we just ran inside to find a place to sit. We were goofballs. We didn't know what was going on. And it was just a God-like experience.
-- Michael "Duff" McKagan, bassist for Guns N' Roses
In the early 1980s, I was a flag girl in the Nathan Hale High School marching band. We competed in the annual Kingdome Band Blast, which was held the Friday night before the state football championships. Our uniform looked a little like a cheerleader outfit, with the sweaters and very short, flared skirts, with special tights for modesty's sake. At the end of our routine, the flag girls would bend over, flip up our skirts, and we had Nathan Hale spelled out across our butts (I was the H). We didn't do very well in the competition and later when viewing the video taped in the judges' booth (complete with the judges' remarks), the comment at the time we flipped our skirts up, "Oh, my!" and "interesting ending." So my most memorable moment in the Kingdome is bent over, flashing my behind to the world.
-- Diane Rapp, Lynnwood
My fondest memory of the Kingdome is about something that happened as I drove by it. My son, Nicholas, was in the car with me, and we were heading west on Interstate 90. As we were approaching the merge onto Interstate 5, the Kingdome and it's stunning Puget Sound backdrop came into view. Nicholas, then age 3, exclaimed with delight, "Mommy, look! A castle!"
-- Lora Reed Ford
Although I have enjoyed many memories at the Kingdome, I think the most memorable was being there for Promise Keepers. It was just wonderful hearing the voices of so many men singing the praises of God. It was great to know that all men of different races and cultures could come together in love and harmony for one another.
-- Dale R Newman, Seattle
My first memory of the Kingdome was a class field trip to the new stadium, which hadn't opened yet for events. Our class was given a tour throughout, including down onto the field. I remember how big it seemed in comparison to the Colliseum. It was so shiny and new. The tour guide spoke with pride about the Kingdome. Later in life, on July 22, 1980, we were attending a Mariners game. As we walked up the ramp, we looked to the south and were able to see plumes rising from one of Mount St. Helens secondary eruptions. I can't imagine driving down Interstate 5 or state Route 99 without the Dome being a part of the landscape.
-- Catherine Valiant, Seattle
My father keeps telling me that I was the first kid lost in the Kingdome. It was during a Seattle Sounders vs. New York Cosmos soccer game. They put my father's name up on the Diamondvision screen, and it said I was the first child lost there.
-- Sean Lee, Lynnwood
I was employed by the Seattle insurance broker that insured the Kingdome. Some of us employees were given a tour before it opened. We entered at ground level, and I will never forget looking up at the huge structure and how enormous it was. Seattle sports had truly entered the "big time."
-- Tom Kennedy, Bothell
The dedication ceremony was a pageant of incredible scope. There was a band with 76 trombones, and the entire floor of the Kingdome was filled with whirling, swinging dancers in colorful costumes. The choirs and bands were simply wonderful. Recently, I found the original program in my piano bench. It seems tragic that this auspicious beginning was for a building whose life was so short.
-- Patricia R. King, Seattle
I remember Richard Peterson playing his horn outside the Dome with the little sign on his coffee can reading "no Canadian coins!" As a season ticket holder for the second year Mariners, we were able to get in the season-ticket-holders' lounge. There were about 11 front row, second-level seats that were usually full soon after the Dome opened 90 minutes before game time. We soon discovered that folks sitting there liked to watch about one inning and then go down to their regular seats. We took over their seats as they left and watched the entire game from the lounge. We never sat in our regular seat all season long. I saw an ultra-light aircraft take off and fly several loops inside the Dome. Amazing! I always liked to ask friends, once we were sitting inside the Dome, "Which way is downtown?" Few knew the right direction. I liked the early years at the Dome when it was rarely crowded. One day I took seven 7-year-olds to the game. Every other inning, we all got up and moved about three sections to our right. They never got bored!
-- Charlie Tiebout, Seattle
I'll never forget my first encounter with public drunkenness. I was about 10 years old and was at a weeknight Mariners game with my dad, my best friend and his father. The Kansas City Royals were in town, back in the glory days of the mid-'80s when they had George Brett, Hal McRae and other stars. They also had a journeyman named Clint Hurdle on their team. The gentleman behind us, several KingBeers into the game, regaled our section with chants of 'Hurdle the Turtle, Hurdle the Turtle, Hurdle the Turtle.' You'd think that it would have grown tiresome after an inning or so. But you'd be wrong. It was pure magic.
-- Sean M. Pender, Seattle