Kingdome History Month: Rebuild, pt. 2

It is time that the city and the state take the Kingdome Rebuild option seriously. The current structure, Qwest Field, is not viable in the long term. How many more major events (monster truck and motocross rallies, boat shows, religious conventions, rock concerts, NBA playoffs, etc., etc.) will pass Seattle by before we wake up to the fact that a single-use facility designed in the 1990s is no longer suitable? It now stands as a relic of late-20th century wasteful design. The clock is ticking.

Some people, because of a nostalgic attachment to Qwest Field, have come up with many creative ways to defend an open-air stadium in a rainy city for an autumn/winter sport. A giant venue that sits empty except for about ten days a year. But these proponents of the Do-Nothing option let sentimentalism cloud their judgement. The question we must ask ourselves as a community is, would we build the same structure in 2006 that we built in 2000? The answer is a firm "no."

It is time to open up the city to more impressive views of a domed facility, give SODO back to the people, and get rid of the "Big Ugly" (as Qwest Field is colloquially known). For both aesthetic and financial reasons, the sooner Qwest Field is torn down, the better. We have a golden opportunity in Seattle to reassess our values and needs as a growing city. Enough stalling! Rebuild the Kingdome on its original foundations, and return the graceful white swales to the skyline once again.