College, Minor League Sites Likely for Two Seattle Teams

The Seahawks will play at Husky Stadium and the Mariners might head to Tacoma while crews scrape loose ceiling tiles off the Kingdome.

Because of the stadium’s week-old tile problem, the Seahawks said Tuesday they will move their home exhibition opener on Aug. 13 against Tampa Bay to the University of Washington’s stadium.

The Mariners are awaiting complete league and union approval to use Tacoma’s Cheney Stadium for their Aug. 2-10 home stand, which includes three games against the Angels. The Tacoma outdoor stadium, home of the Pacific Coast League’s Tacoma Tigers, seats about 10,000.

On July 19, four 26-pound tiles fell 180 feet into the empty seats behind home plate.

Frank Abe, spokesman for County Executive Gary Locke, said workers hope to have all the tiles removed by Aug. 10.

Abe said experts believe the bare concrete of the dome’s massive roof would reflect so much sound that it might make the public address system useless or the building uncomfortably loud.

Underneath the off-white tiles is a black coating and gray concrete. Without a new covering, light levels in the dome might not be adequate, Abe said.

The county has no estimates on when or how these problems might be solved.

Nor is there an estimate on the cost.