Kingdome Gets Drop on Mariners, Orioles : Baseball: Large ceiling tiles fall from area of roof where repair work is being done, forcing postponement of game.

Tuesday night’s game between the Baltimore Orioles and Seattle Mariners was postponed after four 15-pound insulating tiles fell from the ceiling of the Kingdome and today’s makeup doubleheader will remain in doubt until the roof can be closely checked.

A 32-by-48-inch tile fell nearly 180 feet into the stands behind home plate about 4:30 p.m. PDT. Three more fell an hour later, two into the third tier of stands and one onto a walkway in the first tier.

No one was injured and players continued taking batting practice until the postponement was announced less than an hour before the scheduled 7:05 p.m. start.

This was the first time a sporting event at the 18-year-old Kingdome has been postponed, said Carol Keaton, a spokeswoman for the King County-owned stadium, although minor delays have occurred at other events.

The gates had not been opened, and no fans were admitted. About 15,000 to 17,000 had been expected to attend the game, Mariner spokesman Dave Aust said.

Today’s doubleheader is the last scheduled meeting of the teams this season, but Aust said no decision will be made on those games until the roof is checked.

“Until they can guarantee it’s secure, we can’t possibly play another game,” Aust said.

Mariner general Manager Woody Woodward said the players had been told to be at the Kingdome at 11 a.m. today ready to play a doubleheader if necessary. The doubleheader was set to begin at 12:35 p.m.

Refunds will be offered to those who bought tickets for the Tuesday night game and to those who paid for parking on Kingdome-operated lots.

The entire exterior of the roof is being overhauled, starting with the area where the tile fell, said Jerry Lytle, project manager for the repair contractor, Pacific Components. Old roofing material is being removed from the concrete dome and is being replaced with new coating.

The dome’s roof is made up of 40 concrete sections and the incident occurred in the section where work began.

The roof has been leaking for some time.