AP-NW–SportsMinute/250 Here is the latest Washington, Oregon and Alaska sports news from The Associated Press
EL PASO, Texas (AP) – The Sun Bowl Association has reached a six-year extension with the Atlantic Coast Conference. Association officials in El Paso yesterday announced the extension that begins in 2014. The association recently announced a similar six-year deal with the Pac-12. Teams from both conferences will face off in the Dec. 31 Sun Bowl on the UTEP campus.
SEATTLE (AP) – What many see as the beginning of the end for the Seattle Kingdome occurred on this date 19 years ago. At 4:35 p.m. on July 19, 1994, Seattle Mariners players getting ready for a game with the Baltimore Orioles looked up to see four 26-pound ceiling tiles fall nearly 180 feet into the stands behind home plate. The building was closed for 3½ months and two men were killed during the repair work, while the Mariners were forced into a 22-day road trip. The Kingdome was demolished in 2000.
SEATTLE (AP) – Crews have been working all week at Safeco Field in Seattle to prepare it for tonight’s Paul McCartney concert. KIRO-FM says it’ll be the first major concert in the baseball stadium since it opened in 1999. A crowd of about 45,000 is expected. Most of the work has gone into laying down a protective surface to protect the field from forklifts and other machinery setting up the stage in center field. After the concert, crews will work through the weekend to prepare for Monday’s Mariners game.
