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Metrodome Roof Collapses

This should not come as any real surprise,,,,,,,as it is an INFLATABLE dome roof...............built in the days of the pyramids.
minneapolis-metrodome-015.jpg

Teams may go, but Dome roof is here to stay

A recent inspection found little wrong with the 28-year-old bubble, though it has lasted well past its 20-year life expectancy.

By KEVIN DUCHSCHERE, Star Tribune

Last update: July 16, 2010 - 1:42 AM

The Metrodome is a dinosaur among professional sports stadiums, but its once tear-able roof sure is holding up.

A recent inspection of the 10-acre roof found some holes in the inner liner and some areas on the outer Teflon-coated fabric that need repair.

But, overall, the 28-year-old bubble looks to be in fine shape and should be OK for at least another four years.

"In this climate, with less UV [ultraviolet rays] and less humidity [than other areas], the materials continue to perform well," Metrodome engineer Steve Maki told the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission on Thursday.

Replacing the roof would cost $12 million to $15 million and take about five years to make it happen. By then the Dome's lone remaining tenant -- the Minnesota Vikings -- hopes to be moving into a new facility.

The roof consists of two layers -- the outside Teflon surface, 1/32nd of an inch thick, and the inner liner of woven fiberglass that is 1/64th of an inch thick.

Three fabric samples taken from the outside layer revealed a film of oily grime on the underside, likely a remnant of years of monster truck rallies.

The inspection, performed by roof contractor Birdair Structures, showed fabric strength comparable to original specs although it's past its 20-year life expectancy.

Inflatable stadiums have fallen into disfavor in recent years, and some have been pulled down in favor of open or retractable-roof arenas. Big fans needed to keep the roof inflated cost a lot to operate. In northern climes, snow must be melted to avoid roof collapse.

The Metrodome roof deflated three times shortly after it was built, because of snow. In 1990, the commission sued its builders for alleged defects and won $3.6 million, about a fourth of what it had sought.

Recently workers pulled the plug on fans keeping aloft the fabric bubble in Vancouver's B.C. Place; it will be replaced with a retractable roof. Remaining fabric-domed stadiums include the Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich., and Syracuse University's Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y.

That leaves the Dome, commission executive director Bill Lester said, "on the edge of the oldest fabric roof in existence."
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NitroHonda said:
Just trying to give Favre more time to recover so he can keep his streak.

:turtle:
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I bet there is a video of Favre paying some guy to fly over the rookf in a helicopter an dump snow on it to make it collapse in order to give him more time to recover so that he can continue the streak!!!
 
Doppelganger1 said:
University of Minnesota perhaps?

If Bud Selig was in charge he would move the game to Philadelphia and call it a "home game" for the Vikings!
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At this point I think they'll just move it to New York (sorry, New Jersey) and call it a Viking home game - you know - so they don't feel cheated. Remember New Orleans?
 
The only other remaining NFL teflon inflatable dome roof stadium is the Silverdome. Some of you may not remember, but..........

Silverdome Calamity Is Very Costly Safety Measures Taken At All Domed Stadiums
April 21, 1985|
By Bob LoganChicago Tribune

PONTIAC, MICH. — It takes a mighty big roof to fall in on the Detroit Pistons, the Detroit Lions and Dolly Parton.

The Teflon-coated fiberglass roof of the Pontiac Silverdome accomplished all that in a monumental collapse last month. Buried under tons of icy slush and whipped past the breaking point by 35-mph winds, the roof split wide open. The air that held the roof up rushed out; a mountain of snow poured in.

''My God!'' shouted Pistons' executive director Tom Wilson, an eyewitness to the cave-in from the team's Silverdome office at 11:45 a.m. March 4. ''The roof just came in.''
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Revolution said:
They mentioned that on the NFL Network, but the low Monday night is supposed to be -10F! Ouch. I don't know about that. Call me a wimp...:whip:

A wimp, not a whip!!! :)
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Nobody is preying harder than Palestine, Tx native Adrian Peterson that this game is not played outside in the elements of Minnesota this week.
 
Revolution said:
They mentioned that on the NFL Network, but the low Monday night is supposed to be -10F! Ouch. I don't know about that. Call me a wimp...:whip:

A wimp, not a whip!!! :)
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That will probably translate into around -30 degrees F chill index..........i.e., what it FEELS like.:tiphat:
 
texanhead08 said:
Whoever had the great idea to build a stadium with a nylon roof needs to be shot.
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Whoever had the great idea for WORKERS to be standing on top of that roof with snow shovels needs to be shot. Repeatedly.

Did you see the espn.com video of Ed Werder, standing outside the dome, and in the background you see three guys on top of the roof...shoveling snow?

WTH?!?!?

Uh, what is going on there? Did the same people who thought a student should be on top of a scissor-lift at Notre Dame practice during 60 mph winds also decide it was OK for men to stand on a roof that's tearing under the weight of snow?

I am just amazed at this. If I'm asked to go up there and shovel snow, I'm contacting OSHA. I'm just sayin'....
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
The only other remaining NFL teflon inflatable dome roof stadium is the Silverdome. Some of you may not remember, but..........
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How is the Silverdome the only remaining NFL teflon inflatable dome roof stadium when there hasn't been a game there since 2001?

Anyway, talk is of moving the game to Detroit (Ford Field) or New Orleans.
 
CretorFrigg said:
They're lucky the game got pushed back. This could've injured a lot of people. That's unacceptable.
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Exactly. And yet they have men on the roof. Shoveling snow! LOL.

WHY?!?!?! It's comical, isn't it? Guys on a roof, shoveling snow, because the roof is unsafe. So let's stand on the roof. And shovel snow. Yay!

:facepalm:
 
GP said:
Exactly. And yet they have men on the roof. Shoveling snow! LOL.

WHY?!?!?! It's comical, isn't it? Guys on a roof, shoveling snow, because the roof is unsafe. So let's stand on the roof. And shovel snow. Yay!

:facepalm:
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I think you are over reacting with no knowledge of the facts.

Bill Lester, the executive director of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, said Sunday morning the Metrodome suffered damage to two of its triangle-shaped Teflon panels. Lester said a crew that had been working to clear snow off the roof was pulled off late Saturday night due to safety concerns.
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On Sunday morning, six workers could be seen on the concrete rim of the stadium, shoveling off snow. The roof, a white bubble criss-crossed with cables holding it in place, could no longer be seen from the street.
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Link

I doubt if there was much danger of the concrete rim collapsing.
 
I would seem The Vikings just got a new bargaining chip to add to the new stadium discussion.

- OR - The likelyhood of a Southern California home just went up.
 
Imagine if that woulda been during a game? THAT woulda been some halftime entertainment.
 
Speedy said:
How is the Silverdome the only remaining NFL teflon inflatable dome roof stadium when there hasn't been a game there since 2001?

Anyway, talk is of moving the game to Detroit (Ford Field) or New Orleans.
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You're absolutely correct. What I should have said was the only NFL-constructed teflon inflatable dome roof stadium still standing (actually reopened just this year).................but, come to think of it, I would still have been wrong, since when the Silverdome roof was reconstructed, it was done with canvas fabric supported by steel girders without need for air pressure to hold it up.
 
Well this aint going to look good one step closer till LA takes the Vikes Away........... and re names them the LA Kings or something
 
JB said:
I think you are over reacting with no knowledge of the facts.
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If I were asked to go up on a roof that was unsafe...to shovel snow...I'm not going.

You can go right ahead and climb that roof, JB. Would you?

There are some things in life that are easy to dodge, due to the risk and reward tied to them. That's one of those things.

Oh well. I'm also not a guy who wants to go sky-diving or any other extreme activity. I understand it's an adrenaline junkie thing, but this guy would just rather drink 7 or 8 energy drinks and hang my head out of the car window while driving 90.
 
GP said:
If I were asked to go up on a roof that was unsafe...to shovel snow...I'm not going.

You can go right ahead and climb that roof, JB. Would you?

There are some things in life that are easy to dodge, due to the risk and reward tied to them. That's one of those things.

Oh well. I'm also not a guy who wants to go sky-diving or any other extreme activity. I understand it's an adrenaline junkie thing, but this guy would just rather drink 7 or 8 energy drinks and hang my head out of the car window while driving 90.
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A guy who has a job shoveling snow probably doesn't have too many options. I've done some really dangerous work because I needed to put food in my family's belly. Whatever it takes when times are hard.
 
GP said:
If I were asked to go up on a roof that was unsafe...to shovel snow...I'm not going.

You can go right ahead and climb that roof, JB. Would you?

There are some things in life that are easy to dodge, due to the risk and reward tied to them. That's one of those things.

Oh well. I'm also not a guy who wants to go sky-diving or any other extreme activity. I understand it's an adrenaline junkie thing, but this guy would just rather drink 7 or 8 energy drinks and hang my head out of the car window while driving 90.
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But they were not asked to go up on a known unsafe roof.
 
NitroHonda said:
A guy who has a job shoveling snow probably doesn't have too many options. I've done some really dangerous work because I needed to put food in my family's belly. Whatever it takes when times are hard.
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Oh, I am not discounting that at all. I should have clarified.

Plus, for all I know, these guys might be hazard workers making hazard pay. Or they are regular maintenance workers getting hazard pay. Or they are regualr workers doing their job for the same pay. It's their choice, for sure.

I'm just the type of person who can't reconcile a job like that with my mind. My mind says "No way, Jose."

So to me, seeing those guys up there during the Werder piece on espn.com was like "WOW! Uh, holy smokes. They're up on the roof. I barely get the nerve to shovel the drive, let alone on top of a football stadium."
 
I'm pretty sure that those workers had safety harnesses on them. I remember seeing some of that type of gear in that video.
 
Showtime100 said:
The gang that apparently named themselves after LA's hockey team?
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o the hockey team was there before the gang i think its the Latin kings which started on the east coast but im sure there is a gang in LA called the Kings how many gangs does LA have like 5,000 :kitten:
 
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