Safeco Field
Address- 1250 First Avenue South
Seattle, WA 98104
Team- Seattle Mariners
Year Opened- 1999
Capacity- 47,116
Surface- Natural
On July 17, 1999, the Seattle Mariners hosted the San Diego Padres in the opening game at Safeco Field, a more than 47,000-seat ballpark just south of their previous quarters at The Kingdome.
The game marked the first time that an interleague game inaugurated a big-league park as well as the first time a Major League team moved from an indoor stadium to an outdoor playing field. The stadium will sometimes be covered by baseball's first linear unidirectional rolling roof, a three-piece, nine-acre, 265-foot-high, 25-million-pound behemoth that dwarfs the field and grandstands below.
The design of the park follows the neo-traditional pattern originated in Baltimore in 1992: angular, straight-lined, and supported by structural steel rather than concrete.
Like Camden Yards and its offspring, Safeco is clad in brick. The exposed steelwork on the other walls, however, is visually impressive and strikes many architects as more authentic and adventurous than the brick portion.
The stadium also contains $1.2 million of public art, far more than any other American sports facility.
The playing field is a bit smaller than the Kingdome in foul territory, and slightly larger in the outfield.
Source- The Idea Logical Company
