Longtime Seattle Mariners Broadcaster Rick Rizzs Re-Lives Team's Tenure at the Kingdome

Rizzs recently appeared on MLB Network to talk about the team's time at the Kingdome, the move to T-Mobile Park in 1999 and much more.

A view of a Seattle Mariners batting helmet and logo during the game between the Texas Rangers and the Seattle Mariners at Globe Life Field on June 5. / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Earlier this week, the popular MLB Network debuted a new series on YouTube called "Hidden Classics." In the series, the network is chronicling hidden gem games from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.

Up first? A game from June 27, 1999 featuring the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers. It was the final game ever for the Mariners at the Kingdome, as the M's moved into Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in July of that same season.

Longtime Mariners broadcaster Rick Rizzs (39 years) joined the MLB Network crew to talk about that game, the Kingdome experience and the move to T-Mobile Park. You can watch his full comments below:

In the video, Rizzs talked about how the Kingdome was never truly the M's ballpark, as it housed many other things, but that the 1995 season in which the M's made the playoffs made it feel like it was their ballpark. As a result of that season, and that connection, Rizzs said he got emotional when the building was eventually torn down.

The Mariners played in the Kingdome from their inception in 1977 until the middle of that 1999 season. The M's have now played longer in T-Mobile Park than they did at the old dome.

.@Mariners radio play-by-play man Rick Rizzs joined #MLBNHotStove to recall some memories from the Kingdome in celebration of the "Hidden Classics" series on the @MLB YouTube channel. pic.twitter.com/rbaYfdHGC4

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 17, 2024

Though the Mariners weren't particularly good during the Kingdome Era, Rizzs is right to point out that there's a lot of great history in that building. From a young Ken Griffey Jr. to a young Edgar Martinez, Alex Rodriguez and Randy Johnson, several huge pieces of M's history got their starts there.

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