No football around here

[BobSch]

Makes me SO glad I don't live/work in Minneapolis/Saint Paul anymore. A lack of off-street parking leads to days/weeks of misery dealing with snow removal...

I'm glad I retired last year. No more driving from a western suburb, through downtown Minneapolis to St. Paul in stuff like this. Blowing out two driveways was enough work!

[Stytooner]

I just didn't understand how it was designed. I was thinking inflatable, as in a pontoon design. Self supporting more or less. A simple membrane design like this sounds is domed, errr doomed to fail with a snow load.
It's incredibly fortunate that no one was inside. I also didn't realize it has been built so long ago.
I'm sure a better design would have been used now.

[Kristofor]

The Metrodome works/worked like a balloon. As long as you can keep air in it the roof stays up. However, also like a balloon once the envelope is compromised all bets are off. The dome tore/deflated several times in its early life, but on the flip side it also stayed up for the '91 Halloween storm which dumpped almost twice as much snow (in inches, more in water/weight content). Of course, the material is ~8 years over it's originally estimated lifespan as well...

There are quite a few air supported domes around here for things like athletic clubs, high school football practice fields, and ice arenas, but they are much smaller, and generally more steeply sloped...

[Stytooner]

I've often wondered how well the domes in Atlanta and New Orleans would do carrying a snow load. We may know soon enough. It's down right cold down here. It's all due to that north wind. Get a little southern air flow out of the Gulf, and it's business as usual.

[BobSch]

Get a little southern air flow out of the Gulf, and it's business as usual.

Just don't send any of the nice humid air up here. More snow we don't need!

[Cochese]

The Dome took damage from the March '08 twister that blew half the windows out of the Westin. The SEC basketball tourney was going on and they had to move the rest of the games to Georgia Tech.

And of course there was Katrina for the Superdome.

[garymuto]

It is kinda nice to have professional football back in Detroit.

Good one, wish I thought of it.

[gerti]

It's incredibly fortunate that no one was inside.

Actually if you look closely on the video that is circulating you can see someone run as the roof is coming down!