TOKYO DOME

Tokyo Dome (東京ドーム Tōkyō Dōmu, TYO: 9681 ) is a 55,000-seat stadium located in Bunkyo Ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is the home field of the Yomiuri Giants baseball team, and has also hosted basketball and American football games, as well as Puroresu (pro-wrestling) matches, Mixed Martial Arts events, K-1 Kickboxing events, and music concerts. Its dome-shaped roof is an air-supported structure, a flexible membrane held up by slightly pressurizing the inside of the stadium.

Tōkyō Dome's original nickname was "The Big Egg." However, this has fallen from use and is rarely heard. It opened for business on March 17, 1988 and was built on the site of its predecessor, Kōrakuen Stadium. Like Kōrakuen, the Dome hosts the Toei Superheroes of the year.


Tokyo Dome and Tokyo Dome City amusement park by Trenchcoatjedi

In addition to being an arena, the Tōkyō Dome also has an amusement park on its grounds. Named Tokyo Dome City, it includes a roller coaster and Ferris wheel as well as some shops and restaurants.

The Chicago Cubs and the New York Mets played a pair of games here to open the 2000 season, the first time American major league baseball teams have played regular-season games in Asia. The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays played two games there in March of 2004 to open that season.

In August 2005, the Atlanta Falcons beat the Indianapolis Colts 27-20 in the first NFL preseason game of the year in the stadium.

The Tōkyō Dome has hosted several championship prizefights, including the heavyweight boxing championship fight on February 10, 1990, where Mike Tyson lost the championship to 42-1 shot James "Buster" Douglas by a tenth-round knockout.

In their song, "The Sounder," the virtual band Gorillaz makes a reference to the Tōkyō Dome, saying: "Gorillaz rock the dome just like the one in Tokyo."

The Tōkyō Dome is the largest concert facility in Japan. A number of famous concerts have been held here, including tour stops by David Bowie, Bon Jovi, The Rolling Stones, Guns N' Roses, Ayumi Hamasaki, Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, Madonna and Mariah Carey, which broke attendance records. Japanese rock band, X Japan performed 5 consecutive New Year's Eve concerts at the Dome from 1993 to 1997, a record they held until 2004 when pop duo, Kinki Kids played a sixth consecutive year. The acclaimed band L'Arc~en~Ciel will play their 15th Anniversary Live at the Tokyo Dome with a setlist influenced by voters on an online poll.

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