This became even more apparent in late July 1994, when tiles fell from the ceiling 30 minutes before the stadium was set to open for a game against the Baltimore Orioles, forcing the Mariners to play the rest of what would be a shortened season on the road.

[7] With this as the backdrop heading into the strike-shortened 1995 season, the Mariners won their first division title, in part due to a historic collapse from the California Angels.

In May 1990, Cuyahoga County voters approved funding for a new Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex, which included the new ballpark, an adjacent arena for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and two parking garages.

He first struck out Albert Belle, got Eddie Murray on a foul pop-fly, then induced a groundout from Jim Thome thanks to a diving stop by Joey Cora.

With Martinez still pitching in a tie game, the Mariners would take the lead thanks to Luis Sojo's go-ahead double in the bottom half of the seventh.

Wednesday, October 11, 1995, at Kingdome in Seattle, Washington The Indians' second veteran Orel Hershiser was called upon to stem the tide against Tim Belcher.

[18] Friday, October 13, 1995, at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio In Game 3, the starting pitchers were Randy Johnson and Charles Nagy.

The Indians put a run on the board after a leadoff triple by Kenny Lofton and a sac fly by Omar Vizquel in the fourth.

In the bottom of the eighth, Buhner missed a deep fly ball to right; Lofton then singled through the left side to tie the game at two.

Charlton, pitching in relief since the ninth inning, got the win and shut down the Indians in the bottom of the 11th to give Seattle a 2-1 series lead.

Hershiser was looking to continue his excellence, and he got help quickly when the Indians knocked home a run in the first inning thanks to an error by Tino Martinez.

He proceeded to strike out Griffey on a high fastball, then Jay Buhner on a low breaking ball, causing the 40,000 fans in attendance to go wild.

The Mariners could not capitalize on any more opportunities and José Mesa closed the door in the ninth, putting the Indians one game away from the World Series.

Tuesday, October 17, 1995, at Kingdome in Seattle, Washington In a clinch opportunity for the Indians, Dennis Martínez faced Randy Johnson.

Kenny Lofton made a mad dash from second base, sliding in just ahead of the tag from Johnson, and the entire Cleveland dugout ran onto the field to celebrate.

The Indians remained a World Series contender until the early 2000s, which by that time many of their stars, such as Manny Ramirez, Sandy Alomar, and Jim Thome, had moved on to other teams.

[20] By the time of their American League Division Series meeting with the Yankees, Washington Governor Mike Lowry called an emergency session of the legislature in early October with one goal: to hammer out a new funding package for a stadium.

A few weeks after the end of the Mariners postseason run, King County Council voted, 10-3, to enact the stadium funding package that the Washington state legislature approved.

The Mariners broke the all-time wins record for a team in 2001; however, they failed to make the World Series that season, losing to the Yankees 4-1 in the ALCS.