Doomed Dome Still Breathing - Barely ; Seahawk Playoff Game Would Be Stadium's Last Gasp

Too soon a memory. Too few the memories.

The Kingdome, that gray mushroom that has been a landmark or - as some people might view it, an architectural blight on the Seattle skyline for 24 years - received a stay of execution yesterday when the Seahawks beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 23-14.

The victory set up the possibility the Seahawks could reach the playoffs, depending on what happens next weekend, and play host to a playoff game in two weeks.

That game, if it happens, would be their third playoff home game in nearly a quarter of a century of football. The Hawks have played 186 games at the Dome. The two playoff games represent about one percent of all the regular-season and playoff games at the Kingdome. If you have a 15-year-old, he or she has never seen an NFL playoff game in Seattle.

The Oakland Raiders won three Super Bowls in the same time span. Denver has been to six Super Bowls in 24 years, winning the past two. Even Kansas City has been to the playoffs seven times in those 24 years.

(As bad as that is, the other major tenant, the Mariners, were even worse. They played 1,743 baseball games at the Kingdome and only eight playoff games there for 0.5 percent of their total home games.)

The Seahawks have had an uneven winning tradition in this building, which was reflected in the team's greatest memory, as voted by fans. It was not a crucial victory, drive, catch, kick, run or pass. It was a tackle.

Visitors to the Seahawk website voted wide receiver Steve Largent's stinging hit Dec. 11, 1988, on Denver Bronco defensive back Mike Harden, after an interception by Harden, as the No. 1 Dome memory.

Throughout its life, this stadium has been renowned for its noise - approaching 120 decibels at times. It forced NFL officials to institute fan noise rules.

Yet in retrospect, what good did it do the Seahawks?

They've had 10 seasons in which they won four or fewer games and have never gone through a home season unbeaten.

"I'm not at all sad," said Jim Zorn, the former Seahawk quarterback who was among dozens of former players, coaches and team personnel who returned yesterday for the final regular-season game. "I have a tremendous amount of memories, but like a lot of NFL cities, it's time to update and create a new path."

That path will take the Seahawks to Husky Stadium for a couple of years while a new, roofless stadium is built on the Kingdome site. The new stadium should be ready for the 2002 season.

"It's not a human being," Zorn said of the Kingdome. "It's a building with a shorter history than most. I'm not sure we should enshrine this as an historical site. We're using the space wisely."

But as Largent pointed out yesterday in his postgame speech, players, coaches and even stadiums come and go.

"But the fans have been consistent," said Largent, a Hall of Famer. "They can destroy this building, but they can never damage the relationship between the players and the fans."

Perhaps the most lasting memory for the fans - one that may never turn cold - will be the comfort level inside. Gone will be November/December games that fans can watch in shirtsleeves.

"You liked the fact that it was always 70 degrees and a nice, dry field," said former Seahawk defensive back Dave Brown, one of six members in the team's Ring of Honor. "You didn't even think about your footing. I think (the winter weather) will be a challenge for the fans (at the new stadium). It may be wet or cold. But I think they'll be able to adjust."

That's been the hallmark of this multifunctional stadium, built on the cheap in 1976 for $67 million. There have been 3,300 major events and countless minor ones there.

In 1976, 74,000 prayerful pilgrims came out for a Rev. Billy Graham Crusade meeting. Five years later, nearly that many showed up to hear the Rolling Stones play "Sympathy for the Devil."

Evel Knievel tried to jump his motorcycle over 20 buses at the Dome in 1976. He cleared 18, but survived to hype again.

Alcoholics Anonymous, which tries to keep its members incognito, had a huge public Kingdome gathering in 1990. But the Dome has also played host to wine tastings and winery benefits, and it has featured "Bill the Beerman" and "Rick the Peanut Man."

The Promise Keepers, a religious group for men, met at the Dome four times, and the promise-breakers moved to Safeco Field in June this year.

Washington's football team never played at the Dome, but Washington State did, on Oct. 9, 1976. They demonstrated that they could Coug it outside or inside, losing to USC.

The Kingdome has also featured the unusual and bizarre.

In 1988, a mini-hydroplane race was held, presumably with a miniature Chip Hanauer. There was a Barney Sing-Along, the Washington State Patrol riot practices (you never know when practice might come in handy) and the World Peace Event.

A sexual harassment workshop for county employees was followed by a Sea-Gals practice in 1993. In June 1994, the periodic maintenance safety committee met. Then, 34 days later, on July 19, a soggy ceiling tile fell three hours before a Mariner game. That prompted an emergency ceiling renovation project, which cost $70 million - $3 million more than the stadium's original cost.

The Dome has played host to championship games of all ilk: three Final Fours, one Pro Bowl, NBA and Major League All-Star Games, Bacon Bowl (cops vs. cops), Apple Bowl (NAIA), Challenge Bowl (Pac-10 vs. Big 10), the NASL title game and college soccer championships.

There will be 55 full-time Kingdome employees displaced when the stadium is demolished next year. One of the longest-serving employees is head groundskeeper Wilbur Loo. He has supervised the conversions from baseball to football and everything in between.

Loo said he never collected autographs or souvenirs in thousands of Kingdome games he has seen.

"I'm just taking away the memories, good and bad," he said.

One bad one - and the building's most notorious one - came in 1980 when Maury Wills, then the Mariner manager, ordered Loo to extend the front of the batter's box so Tom Paciorek could take a longer stride.

"I was in charge, so I have to take the fall for that," Loo said. "They were the tenants; you give them what they want. Extending it in the front threw things completely out of line."

Asked if he thought he'd be fired, Loo said, "No, I've learned to cover my butt pretty good."

After the final game - if there is another one - the Kingdome staff will have 16 days to prepare the stadium for the Public Stadium Authority to take control. That panel will then hand it over to the Seahawks and the deconstruction people to set the timetable for implosion.

If there is not another game, yesterday's was the final public appearance for the Dome. It will be all over. Even the shouting.

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Top five moments

The Seahawks' top five moments at the Kingdome, which may have hosted its final game yesterday:

1. Dec. 11, 1988: The Seahawks beat the Denver Broncos 42-17. The victory took on secondary importance, because the day's highlight belonged to Steve Largent. Denver safety Mike Hardin had knocked Largent silly in the season opener, and now he had a chance for revenge. Hardin, having intercepted a pass, was running upfield when Largent, seemingly out of rarefied air, scrambled Hardin's senses with hard, clean tackle.

2. Oct. 6, 1986: Largent breaks NFL record for consecutive games with a pass reception. Largent, a Hall of Famer, catches a pass in his 128th straight game as the Seahawks pound the San Diego Chargers 33-7 on "Monday Night Football."

3. Dec. 22, 1984: Dan Doornink's running (126 yards on 29 carries) and a relentless Seahawk defense knock the Los Angeles Raiders, the defending Super Bowl champions, out of the playoffs, 13-7.

4. Dec. 24, 1983: Quarterback Dave Krieg pitches as close to a perfect game as any quarterback ever has. He is 12 of 13, and his three TD passes lead the Seahawks, in front of 64,875 fans, to their first playoff victory, 31-7 over the Broncos.

5. Nov. 30, 1992: In a pregame ceremony, the Seahawks induct ailing broadcaster Pete Gross into their "Ring of Honor." They then go out and defeat the Broncos 16-13 in overtime. The victory snaps an eight-game losing streak.

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. Dome sweet dome .

. Yesterday's game may have been the Seahawks' last at the Kingdome, where they posted a 101-83 regular-season record in 24 seasons compared with a 71-113 road record. Their home and road records each season:

. Season Home Road . 1976: 1-6 1-6 . 1977: 3-4 2-5 . 1978: 5-3 4-4 . 1979: 5-3 4-4 . 1980: 0-8 4-4 . 1981: 5-3 1-7 . 1982: 3-2 1-3 . 1983: 5-3 4-4 . 1984: 7-1 5-3 . 1985: 5-3 3-5 . 1986: 7-1 3-5 . 1987: 6-2 3-4 . 1988: 5-3 4-4 . 1989: 3-5 4-4 . 1990: 5-3 4-4 . 1991: 5-3 2-6 . 1992: 1-7 1-7 . 1993: 4-4 2-6 . 1994: 2-3 3-5 .

1-2 # - . 1995: 5-3 3-5 . 1996: 4-4 3-5 . 1997: 4-4 4-4 . 1998: 6-2 2-6 . 1999: 5-3 4-3 . Overall: 101-83 71-113 .

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# Three games played at Husky Stadium.