April 1, 1999 1:34 PM EST

By Anthony Mormile SportsTicker Staff Writer

JERSEY CITY, New Jersey (Ticker) -- If you build it, they will come.

In search of ways to generate revenues, baseball teams are following that creed and are building new ballparks. Five teams are on the verge of trading in their current venues, each in an attempt to spark profit and compete in baseball's tilted economic structure.

"You have to build new stadiums because you have to have the revenue to be able to compete," Milwaukee Brewers general manager Sal Bando said.

The Seattle Mariners will move into a new stadium this season and the Brewers, Detroit Tigers, San Francisco Giants and Houston Astros will have new homes in 2000. All five teams can expect a final season filled with ceremony, pomp and circumstance as stadiums close their doors.

The Mariners are set to move into their new ballpark, Safeco Field, on July 15. The new ballpark will feature a retractable roof and touches of the modern and traditional. Brick and iron work will adorn the outside of the stadium while unimpeded sight lines and extra wide concourses will highlight the inside.

Few teams in baseball needed a new venue more than the Mariners, who have been forced to play in the dilapidated Kingdome since their inception in 1977.

The Kingdome not only is maligned, it can be dangerous. On July 19, 1994, four ceiling tiles fell prior to a game with the Baltimore Orioles. The disaster forced the Mariners to play the remainder of their games that season on the road, a problem that would have been more glaring if not for the strike.

Most baseball fans will not shed any tears for the Kingdome, which has been known as "The Tomb" and will leave as its legacy hanging speakers. The building is steep in tradition of fair and foul balls hitting speakers and bouncing in unpredictable directions.

On April 11, 1985 Dave Kingman of the Oakland Athletics ripped a home run considered one of the longest ever hit at the stadium. But the ball ricocheted off a speaker and was caught in deep left field. Two years later, Ken Phelps saw a tape measure home run go astray after hitting a speaker and bouncing foul.

"We look forward to starting the season in the Kingdome but at the same time we look forward to moving into our new park on the 15th," Mariners manager Lou Piniella said. "It will be a beautiful facility, the nicest of its kind in North America."

The most famous of the parks set to endure a farewell tour this year is Tiger Stadium. Opened in 1912 along with Fenway Park in Boston, Tiger Stadium may be adored but has been decaying for years. Players will have just one year left to complain about everything from cold showers to tiny locker rooms.

Tiger Stadium was the personal playpen of Hall of Famer Ty Cobb. As a player Cobb would have the grounds crew drench the area in front of home plate to keep bunts fair. When Cobb became manager, he took advantage of the stadium's lengthy dimensions by having temporary seating inserted and removed depending on the power of the team the Tigers were facing.

Tiger Stadium has the majesty of sluggers reaching the roof. Few will forget Reggie Jackson's blast off a speaker in the 1971 All-Star Game or Mark McGwire's April 1997 blast -- one of just five to travel over the left-field roof. Another famous homer was Kirk Gibson's blast in a series-clinching Game Five win over San Diego in the 1984 World Series.

"I have a lot of great memories," said Hall of Fame outfielder Al Kaline, who spent all of his 22 seasons with the Tigers. "The first day I walked out there and saw all those green seats and the green grass. It was the prettiest place I saw in my life.

"I've spent every one of my summers there since I was 18 and it's going to be a sad day for me when it closes."

Current players, however, rarely hide their disdain for the antiquated facilities.

"I'm not going to bash Tiger Stadium, it is a true landmark. But it needs to be updated," pitcher Justin Thompson said. "Fans see Tiger Stadium from the seats. We see it from the dugouts and the clubhouse. When we go to other parks and come back we say 'Hey, we need a new stadium.'"

The same can be said of San Francisco. When the Giants came west in 1958, they spent two seasons at Seals Stadium before moving to Candlestick Park, where they have been ever since. Few stadiums have ever been less suited for baseball due to the fickle weather, specifically the swirling winds.

Candlestick/3-Com Park will be forever known as the site of one of baseball's scariest moments. Just prior to the start of Game Three of the 1989 World Series against Bay Area rival Oakland, an earthquake rocked the stadium, causing a six-inch crack in section 53 of the upper deck in right field. Amazingly, no one was injured.

On the lighter side, the stadium also will be remembered as the site of the 1961 All-Star game when Giants pitcher Stu Miller was blown off the mound by the wind. The wind could blow so fiercely in the ballpark that any television shot from behind home plate was sure to feature swirling hot dog wrappers and other debris.

Candlestick, which will remain as the home of the NFL's 49ers for the time being, also was the scene of the last public concert by the Beatles on August 29, 1966.

The new ballpark -- Pacific Bell Park -- is scheduled to open next April. It is inspired by Wrigley Field and Fenway Park but modeled after Camden Yards, Jacobs Field and Coors Field. The stadium, nestled in the China Basin, is the first privately financed major league ballpark in 35 years.

"When I first came up it was a big thrill to play here," said Giants manager Dusty Baker. "Following Bobby Bonds and guys like Gary Maddox and Gary Mathews ... not to mention Willie Mays and Willie McCovey. There were some great times and great rivalries. I just can't see us leaving the old park without a championship. That's our goal."

The Astros are another team that is planning a move following the 1999 season. This year will be their last in the Astrodome, the first of the domed stadiums.

Looking at it now, it's hard to believe that was once one of the most innovative facilities in the world. Opened on April 9, 1965, the Astrodome was the world's first all-weather, multi-purposed dome. The first homer was hit by Mickey Mantle in an exhibition game between the Astros and New York Yankees.

Like any invention, the Astrodome was subject to growing pains. Like in 1965 when clear panes of glass in the roof caused such a glare that players could not find pop ups. The answer was to paint the ceiling tiles -- which promptly killed the grass. The result was baseball on artificial turf.

Despite serving as host to many, many bad baseball teams and never having hosted a World Series game, the Astrodome is not without its anecdotes.

On June 10, 1974, Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt hit a speaker 117 feet up and 329 feet away from home plate, costing him one of the longest home runs ever. He was awarded a single. Nearly two years later to the day, one of baseball trivia's most common questions was derived when a game scheduled to be played indoors was rained out due to flooding in the streets.

One novelty to the Astrodome was a huge scoreboard that featured an exploding bull any time a Houston player hit a home run. The scoreboard, however, was eventually dismantled to allow for more seats.

The Astros will take the field at The Ballpark at Union Station sometime during the 2000 season and the 42,000 seat facility will feature a retractable roof. The stadium will also feature throwback characteristics like a flag pole in play and grass behind the warning track.

Three guys who can't wait for the facility to open are Jeff Bagwell, Moises Alou and Derek Bell. The left field wall is just 315 feet away with a 21-foot scoreboard.

Bagwell and current closer Billy Wagner will not be holding any vigils for the enclosed ballpark.

"The Astrodome really doesn't carry that much history," Bagwell said. "I'm not going to be sad to see it go."

"It's not the best place, but it's not the worst," Wagner added.

Even current manager Larry Dierker, who spent decades at the facility as both a player and broadcaster, isn't upset to see the Astrodome close its doors.

"I loved it when it opened and I liked it just fine until they tore down the scoreboard to put in more seats. It wasn't what we wanted to do," Dierker said. "They put it in for the Oilers and they left town anyway. Now it just looks like any of the multi-purpose stadiums. I'll be happy to leave there."

In Milwaukee, more than 15,000 fans showed up for the groundbreaking on Miller Park, which will seat 43,000 fans when it opens. The four-tiered structure will accentuate one of the city's finest traditions -- a brew pub.

Miller Park will also rely on a removable roof that will be able to open or close in a 10-minute span. There will also be removable panels beyond the outfield wall that will provide a skyline view of the city.

But while all the luxuries of modern architecture are nice, where does Bernie Brewer fit into all this? Bernie Brewer is baseball's most unique mascot who slides down a chute and into a beer stein following every Milwaukee homer in the current Brewers' home at County Stadium.

County Stadium is also the only ballpark in the majors where you can buy a ticket and sit next to a chimney. Ask for section 21, row 35, seat 1 and you'll have old smokey right beside you.

"I think the atmosphere in County Stadium is what makes it special," Bando said, "People in Milwaukee enjoy there summers and enjoy having a good time and use the ballpark as a venue to have a good time. Where as you go to other parks, for example Fenway Park, and they are fans of baseball. They come to watch baseball and understand the game of baseball. In Milwaukee, they come to have a good time."

Bando's fondest memory of County Stadium was when he came to the park as a young infielder with the Athletics and crossed paths with home run king Hank Aaron, who was finishing his career with the Brewers.

"I was playing second base and Hank Aaron hit a double. I walked over to him and said 'Mr. Aaron it sure is a pleasure to be on the same field with you,'" Bando said. "He said 'you can call me Hank son, you are in the major leagues too.' I was awestruck."

County Stadium was home to the Braves before the franchise relocated to Atlanta. The Braves played World Series there in 1957 and 1958 and the Brewers played their lone World Series there in 1982.

One of the more famous games in baseball history took place at County Stadium on May 26, 1959 when Harvey Haddix of Pittsburgh pitched 12 perfect innings before losing the game in the 13th.

Veteran Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell, who has seen many of the stadiums come and go, may have been speaking for his colleagues when asked what he plans to say during his final broadcast.

"Whatever I say, it will be brief. By then everybody will have said everything to be said. There won't be anything left to say but 'goodbye, folks.'"

And goodbye tradition.

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