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Jints/Vikes; Metrodome Roof Collapses


Bugg

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Anybody hurt?

doubt it. doesnt sound like anyone was there

http://kstp.com/article/stories/s1878695.shtml

The snow and wind has proved too much for the Metrodome roof.

Roy Terwilliger, Chairman of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, tells 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS the panels of the Metrodome roof started giving way around 5 a.m. and deflating.

Terwilliger says there is currently snow on the Metrodome field and the already delay Vikings game is now in question once again. He say Dome officials will be holding a conference call at 8 a.m. with the NFL and the teams to discuss how to move forward.

Terwilliger says this has only happened three other times in the Metrodome history, and the last time was in 1983.

It is unclear when repairs will begin. Officials say workers were being kept out of the Metrodome for safety reasons Sunday morning.

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It's been nasty around here. We lost power a few times throughout the day. We had to rely on auxiliary power/heat. I have never seen weather like that before in my life, but I also grew up in LI. Today is just cold, but at least the wind died out. The plow trucks were going by every 20 minutes. Those guys rock!

Now it's time for cleanup, and temps below zero. Fun!

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How does this happen? At my Alma Mater (Syracuse), they keep the dome inflated by blowing really hot air towards the roof before and during a snowstorm (approx 160 deg farenheit). This prevents snow and ice from weighing down on the inflatable roof. Seems kind of odd that you build a dome that isnt prepared to deal with the elements...

From SUathletics website:

Roofing

The current teflon-coated, fiberglass fabric for the Carrier Dome’s 64 roof panels is 6.5 acres - 287,000 square feet - worth of SHEERFILL I and an inner liner of FABRASORB. The roof is held together by a latticework of cables. The 14 bridge cables - some as long as 700 feet and weighing seven tons - not only hold the roof panels together, but also support the Carrier Dome’s massive lighting and sound systems.

Sixteen five-foot diameter fans located in mechanical rooms on the north and south sides of the building are used to keep the Carrier Dome’s 220-ton roof inflated. Each fan has the capacity to generate 95,000 cubic feet of air movement per minute, giving the total operation a capacity of moving well over one million cubic feet of air per minute. Air is directed upward through the Carrier Dome’s 36 main columns and under the Dome’s roof. Each of the 36 concrete columns stands 60 feet high and weighs 40 tons.

Prior to the start of any snow storm, air heated to 160 degrees is pumped into the dead air space between the two layers of the Carrier Dome’s roof, melting the snow before it can accumulate. Runoff is caught in the Dome’s compression ring where 36 drain pipes direct it down through the Dome’s walls and into the city’s sewer system.

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How does this happen? At my Alma Mater (Syracuse), they keep the dome inflated by blowing really hot air towards the roof before and during a snowstorm (approx 160 deg farenheit). This prevents snow and ice from weighing down on the inflatable roof. Seems kind of odd that you build a dome that isnt prepared to deal with the elements...

From SUathletics website:

Those are inflated bubble roofs, not really a dome or hard roof. Cheaper but more prone to failure.

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The metrodome is only 30 years old. what a poorly designed piece of crap plastic bubble that place is. I just saw pics from inside of it. it looks like the roof actually is a hefty bag.

No wonder the Vikes have been lobbying for a new stadium. What a POS that place is. Looks like its made out of tent cloth.

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How does this happen? At my Alma Mater (Syracuse), they keep the dome inflated by blowing really hot air towards the roof before and during a snowstorm (approx 160 deg farenheit). This prevents snow and ice from weighing down on the inflatable roof. Seems kind of odd that you build a dome that isnt prepared to deal with the elements...

From SUathletics website:

The Carrier Dome collapsed, too. 1993, I think. Admittedly they replaced the roof after that and there have been no problems since.

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The Carrier Dome collapsed, too. 1993, I think. Admittedly they replaced the roof after that and there have been no problems since.

That would be false. The Carrier Dome has never actually collapsed. In its first 9 years of existence (1980-1989), the Dome was deflated in aniticipation of heavy snowfall to prevent it from collapsing...But renovations to the roof between 1989-1990 fixed that problem and the dome has never been deflated since. I believe what you are referring to is a tragic accident that occured during those renovations as a worker tragically fell and died while installing one of the massive cables that hold up the domes tiles. It wasnt an actual collapse due to bad weather though.

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Can you imagine the utter chaos that wouldve been caused if this happenned during the game!? Even better if it happened as both teams were in the huddle underneath it!! It wouldve been better than the earthquake in the World Series!! I can just imagine the announcers going ape-sh*t! And if concluded that yes the players would be saved b/c of helmets and pads but at least 1 referee (not ed hochule, his musclular frame would protect him) would perish

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