Upon winning an international design competition, local architects McGranahan and Messenger completed the Tacoma Dome for $44 million; it opened on April 21, 1983. The arena seats 20,722 for basketball; in diameter and in height, it is able to seat 23,000, and is the largest arena with a wooden dome in the world by volume. The Superior Dome in Marquette, Michigan, is a larger-diameter geodesic dome at, but is high and seats a maximum of 16,000. The wood used to make the roof came from trees that were downed in the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. 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 host American football, albeit with seating reduced to 10,000. The dome's first event was a concert by British musician David Bowie as part of his Serious Moonlight Tour on August 11, 1983. It was Seattle SuperSonics' home floor for the 1994–95 season while the Seattle Center Coliseum was renovated into KeyArena, as well as various regular-season Sonics games during other seasons. It also hosted the Tacoma Rockets from 1991 to 1995, the Tacoma Sabercats from 1997 to 2002, the Tacoma Starsindoor soccer team of the MISL from 1983 to 1992, gymnastics and figure skating events during the 1990 Goodwill Games, and numerous other minor-league ice hockey and indoor soccer teams. The dome also hosted the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship in back-to-back years. It was the site of the NCAA Division I-AA football championship game in 1985 and 1986. The Tacoma Dome hosted National Hockey League preseason exhibition games in 1983, 1984, 1988, 1992, and 1996. Mötley Crüe performed at the Tacoma Dome on October 15, 1987, as part of their Girls, Girls, Girls Tour. During this performance, drummer Tommy Lee realized his dream of playing a drum solo upside down in a 360-degree rotating cage. Michael Jackson was scheduled to perform three concerts on October 31 and November 1 and 2, 1988, during his Bad Tour. Although all the shows sold out, the concerts were cancelled because of the performer's serious health problems. Also in the dome's first year, Billy Graham hosted one of his crusades. He returned to the Tacoma Dome in 1991. In both crusades, Graham averaged 30,000 spectators every night. The Professional Bull Riders hosted a Built Ford Tough Seriesbull-riding event at the dome annually between 2003 and 2009. World Championship Wrestling held their Spring Stampedepay-per-view at the dome on April 11, 1999. Diamond Dallas Page defeated WCW World Heavyweight ChampionRic Flair, Hollywood Hogan and Sting in a Four Corners match to win the title. During a Monster Jam event at the Tacoma Dome in January 2009, a piece of debris from a truck flew into the stands during a freestyle performance, killing a six-year-old spectator and injuring another spectator. This is so far the only fatality to occur at a Monster Jam event. On February 2, 2016, the Tacoma Dome started new security procedures for entering the venue at the sold-out AC/DC concert. The new enhancements included metal detector wands at each entrance, a bag size restriction, the prohibition of backpacks, and the search of all bags before entry. In November 2016, the City of Tacoma approved a two-year, $21.3 million renovation project. The renovations took place over the summer of 2018, with the cost rising to $30 million. The renovations were completed on October 8, 2018. The venue hosted WWE's Stomping Grounds pay-per-view event on Sunday, June 23, 2019, the first professional wrestlingpay per view since Spring Stampede 20 years earlier. In addition, the eleventh season of American Ninja Warrior qualifiers took place at that venue.
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.
