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Tearing into the Metrodome:

Are Other Air-Pressurized
Stadiums Unsafe and
Outmoded?
Conventional air-pressurized stadiums such as the Metrodome, whose
inflatable roof collapsed under the weight of snow in December, are rare in
the U.S.--and may be accidents waiting to happen
By Laurie Wiegler | January 20, 2011 | 5
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With a roof made of fabric similar to that
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used in trampolines, it's not hard to envision
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why 43 centimeters of snow tore through
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Minneapolis's Hubert H. Humphrey
Metrodome last month. What is perhaps
harder to imagine is why anyone would Latest Headlines
consider keeping in place an inflatable
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antiquated. Forensic investigators and
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engineers are still studying the December 12 American
Metrodome in Minneapolis after the December
accident, although it is unclear whether any 11-12 snowstorm. Features | 3 hours ago | 0
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Under pressure, few inflatable stadiums Show Most Read

Most stadiums either have a truss-supported roof or lack one altogether. Inflatable Show Most Commented
roofs are usually dome-shaped, because that provides the optimum amount of volume
for the pressurized air to maintain shape.

The roof fabric is pliable, usually made of tensile fiberglass or polyester,

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hemispherical, and attached at the foundation with heavy weights. Inflation fans,
no obligation to continue the subscription. If I like it, I will
located just under the roof, keep the dome inflated and blow into a common duct that be billed for the one-year subscription.
circumnavigates the building. The air is then funneled into the interior arena from

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Tearing into the Metrodome: Are Other Air-Pressurized Stadiu... http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=tearing-metr...

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that duct. Inflatable dome-roofed structures remain stable as long as the stadium's
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internal air pressure equals or exceeds outside forces such as those exerted by wind, Name
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snow or even earthquakes. All such systems rely on twoSpecial typesAdofSections
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ground level and a revolving door that can be used to help moderate pressure.
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Pete Sala, managing director of the 2.7-hectare CarrierPress

Dome at Syracuse University
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City
in New York State, says theirs is one of only three permanent, inflatable football
stadiums in the country—the third is the Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich. State

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And the Metrodome is currently the only active air-pressurized stadium in the Continue
National Football League. The former residents of the Silverdome, the Detroit Lions,
have played at Ford Field since that facility opened in 2002. The Silverdome is now
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used for music and various sports events.
Postdoc fellow in Bone Marrow Stem Cell Biology
and Neuroscience
The University of Northern Iowa (U.N.I.) in Cedar Falls replaced its air-pressurized LSU Health Sciences Center
Shreveport LA, USA
system in 1994 after its roof collapsed numerous times during snowstorms. The
pressurized RCA Dome (formerly called the Hoosier Dome and home to the NFL's Postdoc fellow in Neuroscience (Stroke)
LSU Health Sciences Center
Indianapolis Colts), no longer exists either. Another air dome, Vancouver's BC Place, Shreveport LA, USA
where the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics were held, is being
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replaced with a retractable fabric roof. Sala says the stadium was built about the same Carnegie Institution for Science, Dep Plant Biology,
time as the Carrier, which opened in September 1980. Stanford, CA, USA
260 Panama Street, Stanford, CA 94305

U.N.I. also got rid of the air-supported part of the roof—and [although it] still has a Postdoc in Neuroscience and Stem Cell Research
University of California - San Francisco
fabric center, it is not held up with air anymore," Sala says. "U.N.I. Dome was part of UCSF Parnassus, San Francisco, California, 94143,
our generation—it's part hybrid now," he notes. USA

Post-doctoral Fellow Neuroscience

University of Arizona - College of Medicine, Phoenix
But the Carrier Dome is here to stay. It's always been properly inspected and
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
maintained, Sala says, pointing out that Syracuse gets more snow than Minneapolis.
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Further, the Carrier roof has held up even with as much as 1.2 meters of snow falling
in a day and half, and the two meters that have already dropped on the area this ADVERTISEMENT
winter. "Our typical routine when snow is predicted is we go through a series of
checks and balances and protocol…to keep snow off the roof," he says.

What worked in 1970

The technology behind air-pressurized domes was popularized by the late architect
and engineer David Geiger, who designed the U.S. Pavilion for Expo 70 in Osaka,
Japan; but inflatable domes predate Geiger. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
shows images for a filing in April of 1958 by Woldemar A. Bary for an inflatable
structure.

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1. dbtinc It's an obvious engineering problem now and should have
04:18 PM 1/20/11 been recognized as one then.

Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

2. Steven Brown

2 of 3 1/21/11 12:30 PM
Tearing into the Metrodome: Are Other Air-Pressurized Stadiu... http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=tearing-metr...

05:07 PM 1/20/11
A tall inverted cone configuration of the roof would have
prevented snow accumulation. On the horizon, it would
resemble a giant tepee.

Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

3. lamorpa That circumnavigating duct has to be the difficult part, what

05:23 PM 1/20/11 with all the moving around and such. Also, thanks for telling
about the 'inflation fans' 'located just under the roof' That
could have been a difficult one to conceive of without the
wordy description. Glad to know the air is 'then funneled' into
the 'interior' (of the?) arena, and the the interior pressure has
to be able to withstand the forces of an earthquake (who
knew?) I'm also hoping a future article details 'All such
systems'' reliance on two (undescribed) 'types of exit doors'
('on the ground level'!) and a revolving door (one?) that 'can be
used to help' 'moderate' (maintain?) pressure.

Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

4. lauriewiegler Ironically, exit doors were a huge part of the discussion.

05:34 PM 1/20/11 Thanks for the comment.

Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

5. lamorpa Just poking fun a little too hard after a long week. Sorry. My
in reply to lauriewiegler bad. Good article.
09:05 PM 1/20/11 Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

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