Hopefully we've all had a chance to relatively recover from the worst snowstorm in almost 20 years. And, the biggest casualty of the storm seems to be the Metrodome and the Teflon-coated fiberglass roof.
This has happened before. A lot. The dome deflated shortly after crews inflated it for the first time while the stadium was under construction. In 1982, a snowstorm took the dome down again. In 1986, a severe thunder/wind storm tore a hole in the roof, leaking rain and wind on to fans watching a Twins game (I remember the news reports from that day).
Oddly enough, the roof never caved in under the 28 inches of snow left by the Halloween blizzard of 1991. Of course, back then, the Dome wasn't even ten years old. Now, almost to its 30th birthday, it might be time to do something about it. And, this may have been the motivation needed for the Legislature to finally push a bill through.
Click the title of this post to go to an article I wrote (in fun, of course) about what could be done about the Dome.
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It sounds to me like the dome roof fabric is shot. Wonder what the cost to replace that will be and how cost effective considering only one year remaining on the contract with the Vikes. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteHi Tom, thanks for reading. I had heard years ago that the lifespan of the roof fabric technically expired about 8 years ago, but because of the relentless stadium fight of the Vikes, the Sports Commission probably thought it'd be a waste to do anything about the roof.
ReplyDeleteApparently, they're taking some fabric from the old dome in Pontiac, MI to patch up the Metrodome roof. Funny thing is, the Pontiac Silverdome is seven years older than the Metrodome (opened 1975). Who's to say the roof fabric on their dome is in any better condition than ours? And, the Silverdome has sat dormant for at least three years, with virtually zero maintenance done on the stadium.
With one year left on the lease, I say just take the dome off and call it the "Metro" for a year.