The History of the Tacoma Dome
The Tacoma Dome is a concert and event venue located in Tacoma, Washington. Easily viewable and accessed from I-5, the major highway in Washington state, it is known for its distinctive and beautiful blue diamond-pattern roof. It is one of the largest structures built from wood in the world, at 530 feet in diameter and 152 feet tall. It is a popular venue due to the fact that 65 percent of its seating is mobile. It is located just 30 miles south of Seattle.
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Construction
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Ground breaking for the construction of the Tacoma Dome began on July 1, 1981. Over one and a half million feet of lumber was used, as well as enough concrete to build a continuous sidewalk reaching 70 miles. The cost to build the Tacoma Dome was around 44 million dollars. The Dome was built using something called the Varax system, which was invented by Hollis Scott and Marshall Tuner. The system features a frame made up of triangular shaped pieces fastened together. Each triangle was made of wood sheets that had been laminated and glued into one heavy structure weighing close to 5,000 pounds. The Tacoma Dome features 288 of these triangular structures, and they are connected to one another by steel hubs.
Grand Opening
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Less than two years after construction started, the Tacoma Dome was completed. The Dome opened its doors on April 21, 1983. Just eight days later, it hosted it's first event, the World's Toughest Rodeo. Four months later, the Dome held its first concert, with David Bowie singing. Bowie loved the venue. Shortly thereafter many singers made it a point to perform at the Tacoma Dome, including Prince, Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen and Neil Diamond.
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Sporting Event History
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The Tacoma Dome has had a long history of hosting sporting events. The late 1980s and early 1990s featured the arrival of several big events, including the 1987 U.S. World Figure Skating Championships and the NCAA Woman's Final Four in 1988 and 1989. In 1990, the Tacoma Dome was the site of the first ever Goodwill Games gymnastics competitions. In addition to the annual HS football, volleyball and soccer championships, the Tacoma Dome has also hosted professional franchises. The first was the Tacoma Stars Soccer Team, which played in the Tacoma Dome for eight years, from 1984 to 1992. In 1990, the city of Tacoma had its own football team, the Express, who only played for one year in the Dome. The next year, the Tacoma Rockets Hockey team began playing its games in the Dome, lasting until 1995. Another team that lasted only one year, the Seattle Sounders Soccer team, played there during 1994. The Seattle Sonics spent one season playing in the Tacoma Dome (1994-1995) while repairs were being made on their arena, and the Tacoma Sabercats hockey team played at the Dome from 1997-2002.
Other Event History
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In April of 2000, Bruce Springsteen performed at the Tacoma Dome. His concert garnered the largest amount of reserved seating tickets in the history of the Dome, numbering over 23,000. That same year, tickets for the WWF Smackdown show sold out in 27 minutes, a new record for a non-concert sellout. In 2007, the Tacoma Dome hosted a tour called, "Walking With Dinosaurs", which ended up being the top grossing event ever held in the Tacoma Dome as of this writing (May 2009). The event grossed over $2.34 million dollars. The largest concert crowds ever seen in the Tacoma Dome all equaled the maximum 30,000 fans, and they came to see The Police, Scorpions and Motley Crue. In 2008, the Tacoma Dome experienced its fastest sellout for a concert, with tickets to an AC/DC concert selling out in less than 35 minutes.
Growth and Tragedy
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The popularity of the Tacoma Dome continued to grow after the implosion of the Kingdome in Seattle in March of 2000. The demolishing of the Kingdome resulted in the Tacoma Dome becoming the largest such venue in the state of Washington. Still, the Dome has suffered its share of controversy. In January 2009, a 6-year old boy was killed in the Tacoma Dome when debris from a portion of the show flew over the safety barrier and struck him in the head. Controversy ensued as to whether or not there were enough safety measures taken by the Tacoma Dome to avoid the death. In addition, security officials working the event were criticized for not responding quickly and for allowing the rally to continue even while spectators were trying to leave the arena and another spectator was injured.
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Resources
- Photo Credit www.alliancerealestate.us
