|
What an improvement!
Safeco Field made its debut July 15th, 1999. What makes Seattle's new stadium
better than the Kingdome -- and, in fact, truly unique?
Here are a few tidbits:
-
Yes, it has a retractable roof. But unlike the stadiums in Toronto
(which is technically a domed
facility where part of the dome slides out of the way) and Phoenix (where
the retractable-roof sections are essentially on top of an indoor arena),
Safeco Field provides somewhat of an open-air feel -- even when the roof
panels are fully covering the playing field. That's because the area
beyond the left field bleachers remains open to the great outdoors.
And, yes, that's the top of the now-imploded Kingdome in the background of the photo.
This shot, by the way, is from the Webcam on the Mariners' site.
-
Unique (when compared to the Kingdome)? Grass instead of Astroturf!
Sky instead of raining ceiling tiles! A view of something other than
the interior of a tomb!
-
The panels which can be moved over the field weigh (collectively) 11,000
tons. Not pounds, tons! And even though over half a
billion dollars went into this park, a few bucks for caulk would have been
nice, since the first time a game was played while it was raining outside,
the gaps between the panels allowed water to pour down on the field of
play in two different spots.
-
One of the concession stands which features Oriental food is called,
of course, The Intentional Wok.
-
There are over 1,800 seats which cost only $5. They are in the
bleachers in center field below the scoreboard (see the photo).
-
The playing field is actually two feet below sea level.
-
The deepest part of the park is not in center field, but to the left-field
side of center. The wall there is 405 feet from home.
Oscar Palacios of STATS, Inc. was kind enough to provide this diagram which
compares Safeco's dimensions (the numbers in the gray boxes) with those
of the Kingdome (the numbers in the black boxes). With the heavier
"sea air" and the slightly longer dimensions, the new park is serving up fewer home
runs than the Kingdome.
-
The All Star Game was played here in 2001.
-
The cost! It looks like the final price tag is $517 million, making
it (by far) the most expensive baseball facility now in use. By the
way, that's $100 million more than it was supposed to cost. The Mariners,
of course, had promised to pay for any cost over-runs -- but now they are
balking, wanting public funds to cover this paltry shortfall instead.
-
And the most important aspect of new Safeco Field? Anything
beats that "tomb" of a stadium that it is replacing!
See what a visitor to BASEBALLPARKS.COM had to say about his visit to
Safeco. It is a great critique of this new ballpark! Click
here for it.
Return to 2000 Ballpark Changes
|
