Presented by POOL SCOUTS.
This Day In Sports…January 6, 1986, 40 years ago today:
The first and only “rainout” in NBA history, as a game between the Seattle SuperSonics and the Phoenix Suns is paused after rain leaks through the Seattle Coliseum roof. Ballboys frantically tried to mop up the puddles, but after a 55-minute delay in the second quarter, officials postponed the game as some of the 5,548 fans in attendance opened their umbrellas in the stands. The game resumed the following night, with the Suns winning 114-97.
The Sonics started playing in the Coliseum—originally the Washington State Pavilion at the 1962 World’s Fair—when they debuted in 1966, but the roof was known to be poorly-constructed. It wouldn’t be the last time there was a roof malfunction at a major Seattle sports venue. In 1994, four tiles from the ceiling of the Seattle Kingdome had fallen into the stands, leaving officials to declare the site unsafe and displacing the Mariners for 20 games. The tiles had come loose because of the stadium’s bad roofing system, which had taken on too much water. Each of the Kingdome’s 40,000 tiles were individually replaced.
Meanwhile, the Coliseum became Key Arena in 1995 after a major renovation; then it turned into Climate Pledge Arena in 2021 following a $1.15 billion redevelopment that modernized it for the NHL’s Kraken and WNBA’s Storm, preserving its iconic roof while gutting the interior and digging down deeper for a larger, state-of-the-art venue. Climate Pledge Arena is praised for its stunning 21st century design and acoustics and its commitment to sustainability. The original roof is the only feature that remains from the Coliseum, although this one is heavy-duty sealed.
Seattle is as close as ever to getting the NBA back in the building. The Sonics left in 2008 and became the Oklahoma City Thunder. Although the Thunder technically own the SuperSonics brand, name, logos and colors, but a 2008 legal settlement requires those assets to be transferred to Seattle at no cost if the city gets a new NBA franchise. A decision on expansion is expected this year, and Seattle and Las Vegas are the definitive frontrunners.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
