As a fan, it's nice to know the long-term future of the franchise has been cemented into place. As a baseball purist, Hevly has little difficulty highlighting the virtues of the new stadium, which is slated to open in July 1999. Built to resemble the great ballyards of yesteryear, the stadium will feature seating that moves all fans closer to the field. When the retractable roof is needed, it will cover rather than enclose the field and stands. That means all games will be played on real grass in an open air setting.
Baseball is a much different game outdoors on grass than it is indoors on artificial turf.
A lot of people have worked very hard to make the Kingdome a fun place to watch a baseball game, and it is a fun place. But playing indoors fundamentally changes the game. A native of the Seattle area, Hevly played varsity baseball at Roosevelt High School before enrolling at Whitman and playing for coach Max Seachris. He was a third baseman and pitcher who always enjoyed being part of a team. You spend so much time with that group of people, you get pretty close to some of them.