Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, Washington
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| Tacoma Dome | |
| Designer | McGranahan Messenger Architects, Tacoma, Washington, USA |
| Location | Tacoma, Washington, USA |
| Date | 1981 to April 21, 1983 |
| Building Type | Stadium |
| Construction System | glu-lam wood beams |
| Climate | Mild Temperate |
| Context | Suburban |
| Architectural Style | Modern |
| Builder | Tacoma Dome Associates |
| Street Address | 2727 East D Street |
| Notes | largest wooden-dome arena by volume |
Contents |
[edit] Images
[edit] Discussion
| Building Details | |
| Client | City of Tacoma, Public Assembly Facilities Department |
| Cost | $44 Million USD (1983) |
| Area | 220,000 square feet (approx) |
| Height | 154 feet (46 meters) |
| Width | 530 feet (160 meters), diameter |
| Program | capacity up to 23,000. |
| Other Details | shallow geodesic dome |
"The system makes a framework out of triangular units of timber laminated and glued together, called glulams. Each of these prefabricated triangular units weighs 5,000 pounds, and there are 288 of them in the structure. The glulams, made from old growth Douglas fir from Oregon, are connected by steel hubs and held together at the base by a concrete tension ring." – HistoryLink
[edit] Design Team
Tacoma Dome Associates:
- Lead architect: McGranahan Messenger Associates, Tacoma, Washington, USA
- Contractor: Jimmy Zarelli (Merit Company), with Marshall Turner (Western Wood Structures).
[edit] Tacoma Dome at Wikipedia
Tacoma Dome
The Tacoma Dome (constructed by Tacoma Dome Associates, led by McGranahan Messenger Architects, a design build entity) is an indoor arena located in Tacoma, Washington, USA, approximately 30 miles South of Seattle.
History
Upon winning an international design competition, local architects McGranahan and Messenger completed the Tacoma Dome in 1983 for $44 million which opened on April 21, the arena seats 21,000 for basketball. It is the world's largest arena with a wooden dome in terms of total volume and seating capacity (23,000), with a diameter of and a height of Tacoma Dome - History. The Superior Dome in Marquette, MI is larger in diameter at , but is only high and only seats a maximum of 16,000Superior Dome | NMU Recreational Sports. The Superior Dome is also not a geodesic dome; it is a planar radian structure of glue-laminated beams. The first concert in the Tacoma Dome was David Bowie with The Tubes as the opening act.
The arena hosted the Seattle SuperSonics from 1994-1995 while the Seattle Center Coliseum was being renovated into the venue now known as KeyArena as well as various regular season Sonics games during other seasons. It also hosted the Tacoma Rockets Western Hockey League team from 1991 to 1995, the Tacoma Sabercats of the West Coast Hockey League from 1997 to 2002, The Tacoma Stars indoor soccer team of the MISL from 1984 to 1992, gymnastics events during the 1990 Goodwill Games, numerous other minor league ice hockey and indoor soccer teams, and many concerts as well. It additionally hosts wrestling events, such as WCW Spring Stampede 1999.
The Professional Bull Riders have hosted a Built Ford Tough Series bull riding event at the Dome every year since 2003. Jehovah's Witnesses have used the dome for their conventions since it was built.
Past concerts at the Tacoma Dome have included Bon Jovi, Celine Dion, Green Day, U2, Britney Spears, David Bowie, Eric Clapton with Mark Knopfler, The Boston Pops, The Police, Bruce Springsteen, American Idols, AC/DC, and many more. Paul Simon opened his "Born at The Right Time" tour, his longest to date, in the Tacoma dome.
Unlike most other arenas of its size, the arena contains little in the way of fixed seating so as to maximize the flexibility of the seating arrangements and of the shape of the playing field. It can even host American football, albeit with seating reduced to only 10,000.
A wide range of high school athletics is played at the Dome, as the stadium features the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association High School Championships in Football, Wrestling, 4A Basketball, as well as 4A and 3A Volleyball. The venue became home to the State High School Championships in Football in 2000 after the previous home, the Kingdome, was demolished.
The Dome also hosted the NCAA Women's Final Four in back to back years (89-90).
Art
The Tacoma Dome is also known for its controversial neon art. In 1984 the Stephen Antonakos piece displayed inside the dome was the subject of intense debate over public funding of artworks for public works projects.
Monster truck incident
A 6-year-old boy died and a man was injured when a piece from a truck flew into the stands at the Monster Jam monster truck show on January 16, 2009.
Notes & references
External links
[edit] Maps
[edit] References
- Tacoma Dome opens its doors on April 21, 1983. - HistoryLink
[edit] External Links
- Photo of interior wood ceiling at Flickr
- Photo including bridge and dome at Flickr
- Photo exterior overview at Flickr
