Pontiac Silverdome: Difference between revisions

Coordinates: 42°38′45″N 83°15′18″W / 42.64583°N 83.25500°W / 42.64583; -83.25500
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The Silverdome re-opened on April 17, 2010, with a [[monster truck]] event.<ref name="csm"/>
The Silverdome re-opened on April 17, 2010, with a [[monster truck]] event.<ref name="csm"/>
[[File:Silverdomewinds.jpg|thumb|right|The Pontiac Silverdome after visible damage to the roof on January 22, 2013.]]


[[AC Milan]] and [[Panathinaikos FC]] played a [[exhibition game#Association football|friendly]] on August 6, 2010.<ref name="lalas">{{cite web| title=Commentary: Milan-Panathinaikos has real meaning in Detroit| url=http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/commentary-milan-panathinaikos-has-real-meaning-detroit| author=Greg Lalas| date=4 August 2010| publisher=Major League Soccer| accessdate=2012-01-23}}</ref> On January 29, 2011, [[professional boxing|professional boxer]] [[Timothy Bradley]] defended his [[World Boxing Organization|WBO]] [[list of light-welterweight boxing champions|light welterweight title]] in a unification fight against [[World Boxing Council|WBC]] champion [[Devon Alexander]]. The fight was aired live on ''[[HBO World Championship Boxing]]'', with an attendance of about 7,000.{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}}
[[AC Milan]] and [[Panathinaikos FC]] played a [[exhibition game#Association football|friendly]] on August 6, 2010.<ref name="lalas">{{cite web| title=Commentary: Milan-Panathinaikos has real meaning in Detroit| url=http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/commentary-milan-panathinaikos-has-real-meaning-detroit| author=Greg Lalas| date=4 August 2010| publisher=Major League Soccer| accessdate=2012-01-23}}</ref> On January 29, 2011, [[professional boxing|professional boxer]] [[Timothy Bradley]] defended his [[World Boxing Organization|WBO]] [[list of light-welterweight boxing champions|light welterweight title]] in a unification fight against [[World Boxing Council|WBC]] champion [[Devon Alexander]]. The fight was aired live on ''[[HBO World Championship Boxing]]'', with an attendance of about 7,000.{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}}

The owners have indicated that they are pursuing a possible expansion team for [[Major League Soccer]], and may renovate the Silverdome for this purpose.<ref>http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2011/06/08/Franchises/MLS-Detroit.aspx</ref>
The owners have indicated that they are pursuing a possible expansion team for [[Major League Soccer]], and may renovate the Silverdome for this purpose.<ref>http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2011/06/08/Franchises/MLS-Detroit.aspx</ref>


Revision as of 20:17, 22 January 2013

For other uses, see Pontiac Silverdome (disambiguation).
Silverdome
Silverdome logo
Map
Former namesPontiac Metropolitan Stadium (1975)
Pontiac Silverdome
Location1200 Featherstone Road
Pontiac, Michigan 48342
United States
Coordinates42°38′45″N 83°15′18″W / 42.64583°N 83.25500°W / 42.64583; -83.25500
OwnerAndreas Apostolopoulos
Triple Investment Group
OperatorTriple Sports & Entertainment
Capacity82,000[5]
(Football: 80,311
largest crowd: 93,173
for WrestleMania III
SurfaceAstroTurf (1975–2005)
FieldTurf (2005–2006)
Construction
Broke groundSeptember 19, 1973
OpenedAugust 23, 1975[1]
ClosedFebruary 2006
Re-opened April 17, 2010[2]
Construction cost$55.7 million
($315 million in 2024 dollars[3])
ArchitectO'Dell/Hewlett & Luckenbach
Structural engineerGeiger Berger Associates
General contractorBarton Malow[4]
Tenants
Detroit Lions (NFL) (1975–2001)
Detroit Pistons (NBA) (1978–1988)
Michigan Panthers (USFL) (1983–1984)
Detroit Express (NASL) (1978–1980)
Cherry Bowl (NCAA) (1984–1985)
Motor City Bowl (NCAA) (1997–2001)
Michigan Coyotes (SFL) (2011)
Detroit Mechanix (AUDL) (2012–present)

The Silverdome (formerly known as the Pontiac Silverdome) is a domed stadium located in the city of Pontiac, Michigan, USA, which sits on 127 acres (51 ha). It was the largest stadium in the National Football League (NFL) until FedEx Field in suburban Washington, D.C. opened in 1997.

The Silverdome hosted the Detroit Lions of the NFL (1975–2001), the Detroit Pistons of the NBA (1978–1988), the Michigan Panthers of the USFL (1983–1984), the Cherry Bowl, from 1984–1985, the Motor City Bowl, from 1997–2001, the MHSAA football state finals, from 1976–2004 and four first-round games during the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

For the World Cup games, a natural grass surface capable of growing inside the dome was developed and installed by a team from Michigan State University.[6] This grass surface was laid upon wooden pallets atop the artificial turf that is usually used. It was the first time that World Cup games were played indoors.[7] The Silverdome also hosted the 1979 NBA All-Star Game, Super Bowl XVI on January 24, 1982, and the 1988 and 1991 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Midwest Regionals.

On March 29, 1987, the World Wrestling Federation's WrestleMania III established for the record attendance of 93,173, the largest recorded attendance for a live indoor sporting event in North America.[8][9][10] The record stood until February 14, 2010 when the 2010 NBA All-Star Game broke the indoor sporting event record with an attendance of 108,713 at Cowboys Stadium.[11]

In 2012 the Silverdome became the home stadium of the city's professional ultimate team the Detroit Mechanix of the American Ultimate Disc League.[12]

History

Conception / Development

The idea of a major sports complex was part of a dream of C. Don Davidson, a Pontiac, Michigan native and star high school athlete. Davidson, upon graduating from Pontiac Central High School in 1947 and completing active duty with the U.S. Marine Corps, attended North Carolina State University on a football scholarship.[13] After earning a masters degree in urban planning and architecture, Davidson began his career as an architect and was recognized for several government and city projects throughout the south including Florida's Jacksonville International Airport. He returned to Pontiac in 1965 and was shocked to see the deterioration of the city of Pontiac and its lack of a future plan. Davidson embarked upon what would eventually become an obsession for him to see his beloved city succeed. In 1965-66, he was hired as a professor of architecture and urban planning at the University of Detroit under the direction of Bruno Leon, Dean of the school of architecture.[14]

As part of an ongoing, comprehensive study by his architecture class on urban renewal for the city of Pontiac, Davidson met with various city and state authorities including William Clay Ford, owner of the Detroit Lions, to discuss the possibility of a new stadium, made it a college class project to find a suitable site for a new stadium and even started his own weekly newspaper known as The Pontiac Times,[13][15] to help promote his vision. After much controversy and sparring with Detroit city officials, Pontiac was chosen over several other sites including the Michigan Fairgrounds, Walled Lake and the Detroit Riverfront as the best place for construction of what would become known as the Pontiac Silverdome.[16][17] Already having a stadium concept as part of his master plan for the city, Davidson was interviewed and ultimately hired as chief project designer for the stadium project by the architectural firm of O'dell, Hewlett & Luckenbach.[18] Initial designs included a dual stadium complex for both football and baseball that was later scrapped due to high costs. Davidson was pleased to see a part of his vision for the city of Pontiac accomplished in the building of the 80,000-seat sports complex.[19] Completed in 1975 as the Pontiac Metropolitan Stadium, at a cost of $55.7 million, the Silverdome seats 80,311. It contains 102 luxury suites and 7,384 club seats.

Original silver-like roof

The original silver-like roof was built of Teflon-coated fiberglass panels, and supported by air pressure inside the stadium. Although the roof has always been white in color as viewed with the naked eye, the stadium obtained the name "Silverdome" due to a silver-like reflection caused by the sun, mainly noticed from the sky. The roof was replaced by a new canvas fabric, reinforced by steel girders after a strong snowstorm on March 4, 1985, caused structural damage to the old roof.[citation needed] Because of the damage, the Detroit Pistons played the remainder of the 1984–85 season at Joe Louis Arena.[20] The accident, and the delay in repairs, partially prompted the Pistons moving three seasons later 4 miles (6 km) north to their new, privately owned, 20,000-seat sports arena, The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Notable audience attendance numbers

The largest crowd to ever gather at the Silverdome was on March 29, 1987 for WrestleMania III, with a reported attendance of 93,173. Another notable audience attendance record had earlier been broken on April 30, 1977, when the English rock band Led Zeppelin played in front of 76,229 fans at the Silverdome. This was, at the time, a new world record attendance for a solo indoor attraction, beating the 75,962 that The Who attracted there on December 6, 1975.[21] The Detroit Pistons also set numerous NBA attendance records during their time at the Silverdome; Regular Season, 61,983 vs. Boston, January 29, 1988; Playoffs, 41,732, vs. L.A. Lakers, June 16, 1988.[22]

Marching band activities and events

The Silverdome was also the home to many marching band activities and events, including the Michigan Competing Band Association State Marching Band Championships until 2005, the Bands of America Regional championships from 2003 to 2005, and the Bands of America Grand National Championships in 1987 and 1988. Following its reopening, the Silverdome was host to the 2010, 2011 and 2012 Bands of America Pontiac Regional Championship.[23]

Usage after Lions' move to Ford Field

The Lions moved to Ford Field at the beginning of the 2002 NFL season. When the World Hockey Association (WHA) tried to re-introduce itself, the new WHA Detroit team was slated to play its home games at the Silverdome. Plans were also mooted for a Windsor-based Canadian Football League team which could have used the dome for possible playoff games, but that team also did not materialize.

After the Lions relocated, activity in the Silverdome dropped drastically, however it still staged some events. Annually, Jehovah's Witnesses used the Silverdome from the late 1970s to 2004. Due to talk of renovation in 2004, the Witnesses opted to travel to The Dow Event Center in Saginaw, and the SeaGate Convention Centre in Toledo, Ohio for their District Conventions.[24] Between 2003 and 2006, a three-screen drive-in theater operated in the parking lot; this theater reopened in 2010 before closing again on July 13, 2011.[25]

The Silverdome hosted Monster Jam on January 7, 2006 and was used as a practice facility for the AFC Champions Pittsburgh Steelers for Super Bowl XL, with the NFL adding FieldTurf, which was later donated to a local high school.

Sale

After the Lions departure, the city of Pontiac began to experience several years of serious financial problems. Due to the continued high maintenance costs of the structure, it made several unsuccessful attempts to sell the stadium.[26][27] In early 2008, United Assurance Company Ltd. made the highest purchase offer to date, with a bid of $18 million to convert the Silverdome into a Hollywood-style entertainment complex, following an earlier bid of $12 million by an attorney.[28] However, the city announced in October 2009 that the property would go to auction with no minimum bid, and that zoning regulations would be relaxed for any buyer in order to spark development. The city engaged the firm of Williams & Williams to conduct the auction in November 2009.[29]

After reading about the auction in a newspaper, Greek-born Canadian real estate developer Andreas Apostolopoulos, CEO of Toronto-based Triple Properties Inc., submitted a winning bid of US$550,000. Real estate fees of 6% raised the price to US$583,000.[30] The sale of the Silverdome, completed in 1975 at a cost of $55.7 million (approx. $225 million in 2012 dollars), and sold in 2009 for $583,000 was viewed by many as a symbol of the collapse of real estate prices in the Detroit metropolitan area though many local leaders and residents claimed the sale was brought about due to the incompetence of city management and their not having a vision or future plans for the stadium and surrounding area.[31]

Re-opening & Future

In the Detroit Free Press on March 11, 2010, Apostolopoulos vowed "to revive the stadium as a big-event venue by investing millions of dollars".[32]

The Silverdome re-opened on April 17, 2010, with a monster truck event.[5]

File:Silverdomewinds.jpg
The Pontiac Silverdome after visible damage to the roof on January 22, 2013.

AC Milan and Panathinaikos FC played a friendly on August 6, 2010.[33] On January 29, 2011, professional boxer Timothy Bradley defended his WBO light welterweight title in a unification fight against WBC champion Devon Alexander. The fight was aired live on HBO World Championship Boxing, with an attendance of about 7,000.[citation needed] The owners have indicated that they are pursuing a possible expansion team for Major League Soccer, and may renovate the Silverdome for this purpose.[34]

The roof was permanently deflated on Wednesday, January 2, 2013 as an energy saving measure during upcoming renovations. Plans call for a new, permanent, self-supporting roof to be installed topped with solar panels for energy production.[35]

Significant events

1994 FIFA World Cup matches

Date Time (EDT) Team #1 Res. Team #2 Round Spectators
1994-06-18 11.30  United States 1–1   Switzerland Group A 73,425
1994-06-22 16.00  Romania 1–4   Switzerland Group A 61,428
1994-06-24 19.30  Sweden 3–1  Russia Group B 71,528
1994-06-28 13.00  Brazil 1–1  Sweden Group B 77,217

References

  1. ^ Silverdome Fun Facts
  2. ^ "Silverdome plans unveiled". Daily Tribune. Royal Oak. March 12, 2010. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  3. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  4. ^ http://www.bartonmalow.com/culture/heritage/heritage-3
  5. ^ a b Mark Guarino (12 March 2010). "New life for Pontiac Silverdome: First up, monster trucks". Christian Science Monitor. csmonitor.com. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  6. ^ Ron Hall (16 February 2006). "Silverdome, site of MSU turf triumph, closing". Athletic Turf News. Landscape Management. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  7. ^ Sandra McKee (24 March 1992). "Washington gets World Cup games Eight other cities will be hosts in '94". The Baltimore Sun. Baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  8. ^ Powell, John (29 March 1987). "Steamboat - Savage rule WrestleMania 3". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  9. ^ "WrestleMania III Facts and Stats". WWE. 29 March 1987. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  10. ^ Loria, Keith (April 2003). "Mania madness: The top 10 matches from the fabled history of WWE's showcase event". Wrestling Digest. Archived from the original on 2007-10-15. Retrieved 2007-10-14.
  11. ^ Associated Press (14 February 2010). "East wins in front of biggest crowd to watch hoops game". ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  12. ^ "Detroit Mechanix". Detroit Mechanix. 6 June 2012. Retrieved 2012-06-06.
  13. ^ a b "C. Don Davidson 1929-1987". blogspot.com. January 2012. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  14. ^ http://silverdome-architect.blogspot.com/
  15. ^ "The Pontiac-Waterford Times". Retrieved 2012-07-10.
  16. ^ http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1978&dat=19690211&id=1AYuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Z6sFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1448,4178712
  17. ^ http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1978&dat=19710201&id=3zUiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HKsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=960,3019530
  18. ^ "Pontiac Silverdome". Structurae.com. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  19. ^ Herma Snider (5 January 2006). "The Good Times and Bad Times". Hermaland.blogspot. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  20. ^ "Detroit Pistons 1980s". NBA.com. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  21. ^ "Pontiac Silverdome". GoTickets.com. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  22. ^ "Attendance Records". NBA.com. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  23. ^ "Pontiac, MI - October 9, 2010". Music For All. 16 September 2010. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  24. ^ Michael Wayland (31 July 2009). "Third weekend of Jehovah's Witnesses convention in Saginaw adds $1 million more to local economy, experts say". Saginaw News. mlive.com. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  25. ^ "Silverdome Drive-In". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  26. ^ Sandra Svoboda (16 September 2009). "Dome Sweet Dome". Metro Times. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  27. ^ Council approves sale of Silverdome
  28. ^ "Newest Silverdome Bidder Hopes To Bring Sports Back To Stadium". The Detroit News. Sports Business Daily. 20 February 2008. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  29. ^ Aaron Smith (7 October 2009). "Place Your Bids: Silverdome Goes on the Block". Money. CNNMoney.com. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  30. ^ Steve Ladurantaye (23 November 2009). "Toronto developer acquires Pontiac Silverdome". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  31. ^ Bruce Watson (17 November 2009). "Detroit Stadium or New York Studio? The Silverdome sells for $583,000". Daily Finance. Dailyfinance.com. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  32. ^ Tom Walsh (11 March 2010). "New owner's vision for Pontiac Silverdome: Big Events". Detroit Free Press. freep.com. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  33. ^ Greg Lalas (4 August 2010). "Commentary: Milan-Panathinaikos has real meaning in Detroit". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  34. ^ http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2011/06/08/Franchises/MLS-Detroit.aspx
  35. ^ http://www.dailytribune.com/article/20130103/NEWS03/130109841/renovations-start-at-pontiac-s-silverdome-as-roof-is-deflated
  36. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_Tour_%28The_Jacksons_tour%29

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pontiac Silverdome.
Events and tenants
Preceded by Home of
Detroit Lions
1975–2001 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Host of the
NBA All-Star Game
1979 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Host of
Super Bowl XVI
1982 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Home of the
Detroit Pistons
1978–1988 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
first venue
 Home of the
Cherry Bowl
1984–1985 		Succeeded by
last venue
Preceded by Host of
Bands of America
Grand National Championship
1987–1988 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
first stadium
 Host of
Motor City Bowl
1997–2001 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Host of
WrestleMania III
1987 		Succeeded by

Template:Super Bowl venues

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