Metrodome roof collapses from heavy snow

[Pale Blue Dot]

Source: USA Today

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minneapolis Metrodome, where the Minnesota Vikings football team plays, has collapsed during a snowstorm.

The Metrodome is operated by the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission. Its executive director, Bill Lester, said Sunday morning the damage is being assessed and the agency will issue a statement later. He says he has no details yet on what happened.

Minneapolis and much of the upper Midwest have been hit by a blizzard that has dumped up to 20 inches of snow in some areas.

The Vikings' Sunday National Football League game against the New York Giants had already been pushed to Monday. It is not clear what will happen to the schedule now.

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/weather/storms/winter/2010-12-12-metrodome-roof-collapses_N.htm

[Warren Stupidity]

1. First Brett Farve's Penis, now this!

[notesdev]

2. Wait

they built a dome in Minnesota and didn't have a way to keep the snow from piling up on it?

[MineralMan]

3. This was an exceptional storm - a blizzard, in fact.

The winds were the real culprit. The dome normally holds up just fine in the winter.

[notesdev]

9. You'd think there'd be heaters or something

just as insurance in case of a blizzard... they've got to me many times less expensive than repairing the whole dome.

[MineralMan]

11. The dome is held up by air pressure, like most domes.

One panel got ripped, due to the snow and wind. When that happens the dome deflates. They'll fix that panel, turn the blowers back on, and it will re-inflate. The Metrodome IS heated. As I said, this was an exceptional storm. They'll fix it for a lot less than it would cost to put enough heat into the place to melt almost 20" of snow, I guarantee.

[Dr.Phool]

14. Take the dome off.

You don't here Bowns, Steelers, Packers, or Bills fans whining about the cold!

It's football.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

20. there you go.

futbol was meant to be played in the snow, ice, mud, rain, and sun. This pampered soulless hi-tech take over of this game has worsened it.

[glinda]

32. brrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!! Are you kidding?

[Dr.Phool]

36. I remember when the Vikes used to play outdoors.

And I've sat in Cleveland Stadium (Jan '81) when the temp was -17 degrees, and the wind chill was -56 degrees.

Now that's football weather.

[onenote]

38. says the poster who lives in Florida!

[glinda]

56. Except if you are my 80 yr. old father.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

70. yup. look how well chicago plays in . . . . never mind.

[Raster]

80. If the Packers can do it, the Vikings can do it!

There is no crying in football! There are, however, cases of frostbite.

[AlbertCat]

62. futbol was meant to be played in the snow, ice, mud, rain, and sun.

Yeah.... and get rid of all that padding and helmets and stuff... You can't even tell who the player is unless you read their number! Play naked!

[titaniumsalute]

68. I get your point...

but I wouldn't call the Metrodome high tech. It is, let's say, old.

[mikekohr]

47. Or Bears Fans

[pasto76]

25. doh

[snappyturtle]

18. Both of my kids live in a western Minneapolis suburb....the snow plows

were pulled..visibility and the rate of the snowfall was so great that I doubt IF they could keep snow off the dome; they couldn't have gotten the equipment and men there. My son's condo backs up on a meadow that he said had 'waves' of snow across it like white caps on a lake. The wind had ripped across this meadow for hours. I talked with them several times yesterday and they kept me posted with 'little' markers....picnic table completely under snow, drifting, visibility distances, etc. Having lived in MN during the '91 and '97 blizzards, this one too was a doozie. I guess sometimes nature just has to run it's course and then clean up begins. Now the extreme cold is settling in! I'm thankful they didn't lose power.

[BrklynLiberal]

69. I was wondering the same thing. They didn't expect a lot of snow in MINNEAPOLIS????

[dennis4868]

4. Correct me if I am wrong....

but wasn't it in Minnesota that had a bridge collapse a few years back?

[Myrina]

8. yes but that wasn't due to weather ...

...well, it was old age and i believe worn components. the weather may have contributed to the wear, long term, but it wasn't something sudden like this.

[iamjoy]

23. God Is Expressing His Displeasure

with Minnesota electing Pawlenty as governor and Michelle Bachman to Congress.

:eyes:

[MineralMan]

30. We just elected Mark Dayton, you know.

[CreekDog]

66. yeah but it was close

:evilgrin:

[MineralMan]

67. Not really. Certainly not close enough for Emmer.

:rofl:

[Myrina]

5. good thing they cancelled the game already ...

nobody was there to get hurt ... but now they're going to have to find someplace to play tomorrow night ... U of M??

[glinda]

29. Uh ha. 20-30 below zero. Nice!

[Myrina]

40. Yeah and? I'm from Green Bay - that's football weather.

Suck it up!

[glinda]

58. Why that is so sweet of you to say.

[Renew Deal]

78. Can you imagine the stampede if there was a game going on?

And I mean stampede in the worst way.

[dennis4868]

6. Wow....

Obama has not been blamed for this yet here at DU?

[OKNancy]

17. maybe not but wait for the snobs to come out

"How dare you care about sports or football"

[MineralMan]

34. Here I am. Why should taxpayers play for professional sports

stadia? Let the team owners pay for that stuff. And no, I don't care about adults playing boy's ball games.

[Dreamer Tatum]

43. Well, you're in a miniscule minority. Enjoy youe quiet, boring Sunday. nt

[MineralMan]

61. No, not really. Not the minority at all. What percentage of the

population of the Minneapolis St. Paul metro area do you suppose has ever attended a Vikings game? Think hard. It's a very small percentage. It's too damned expensive for most people, so they watch it on TV. For them, it doesn't matter where the game is played, frankly. Only a small minority of the population even follows NFL football. You've got it just backwards.

[Love Bug]

72. I attended once because the tickets were free

I was invited by a vendor I had worked with to see a game in their private box. I went for the food, frankly, because I don't care about football. I think the Vikings lost that game. I don't even remember who they played, but the canapes were good! :evilgrin:

But yeah, I can't afford those tickets. Hell, I can't even afford the parking!

[Hansel]

65. I know I'm tired of paying for the Metro-bowl and the Twins Stadium

I never go to either.

But what most repulses me is that there are so many people in Minnesota (especially in Bachman's district and the like) who don't mind that low income people in Hennepin Co (Minneapolis) pay for the stadiums that they aren't taxed for but insist on being built, but who whine incessantly about paying taxes that might go to low income people in Minneapolis.

Some how low income people can pay for their playgrounds, but it's just too much for them to return the favor by helping them out in ANY way.

[Love Bug]

73. Don't. Get. Me. Started...

I'm sure the Vikings will use this collapse as more evidence as to why they need a new stadium. With the recent shift in power in the state legislature from DFL to R, they will probably get it because the Rs have never met a rich man's project they didn't like. :sarcasm:

[jwirr]

52. That was the first thing I thought about.

[jmowreader]

81. I'm going to hijack your thread a little...

Public funding of private businesses--in this case football and baseball arenas--is one of the reasons I love auto racing. Most of the tracks on the NASCAR circuit don't have a nickel of public money in them.

Besides, NASCAR is proof liberalism works: every time a NASCAR driver goes right, disaster happens.

[Lasher]

7. He has no details yet on what happened? Uh, there was a shitload of snow and the roof caved in.

Sometimes I think there's a standard book of statements that people read from. If you can't clam up due to ongoing legal action, say you don't want to second guess your own internal investigation. If that won't work, say you don't know anything.

[Occulus]

22. "we don't have enough facts" is a standard and very, very old apologist and rightwing dodge.

I always suspect the motives of people who use that line.

Always.

[Dreamer Tatum]

42. I suspect you're right...they're HIDING something.

:eyes:

Ever hear of something called INSURANCE? Would you go popping your mouth off in a way that might harm your claim?

[AtheistCrusader]

41. The implicaiton is

they don't know if the dome was designed to withstand this incident, and perhaps failed when it shouldn't have.

Which might imply liability.

[Joanne98]

10. The owners will want the taxpayers to fix it!

[tabasco]

12. Who could have expected a blizzard

in Minnesota?????????

[MineralMan]

13. Well, the last blizzard of this magnitude happened in 1991, so

they're not all that common here. The 1991 blizzard was worse, of course, but it happened over 3 days, not in 24 hours like this one.

[tabasco]

15. Then they need to play outside.

Problem solved.

[Bluenorthwest]

16. Yesterday you stated flatly that the game would go on today

and even posted a little 'laughing emoticon' to stab at those who were concerned about the blizzard. And yet the roof fell in.

[snappyturtle]

19. I didn't read MM's reply yesterday however, in his defense, this storm

came so fast and was so powerful that even the extraordinary resilient Minnesotans had to sit back and just let it happen.

[MineralMan]

27. That's what the news said. I was just repeating that.

And yes, I'm laughing at the blizzard. In about an hour, I'll have my snow clearing done, along with my neighbor's. Later today, all the streets will be plowed. Monday will go as it always does in a Minnesota winter. So, yes, I laugh at blizzards. It helps me get through all the hard work of cleaning up after one. At 65, snow clearing is a big deal. I just finished shoveling a foot of snow off my front sidewalk, and now I'm taking a break to let my heart rate return to normal.

Sometimes, people laugh at things like this. It helps them get through it.

The dome will be repaired. Boy's games will continue, I'm quite certain. I could give a crap about that. Nobody was hurt. Insignificant.

[Thor_MN]

53. The only lasting effect will be the pissed off school kids.

"Why waste a perfectly good snow day storm on a Saturday? It's not fair!!!"

[MineralMan]

59. That is most certainly true.

[wellst0nev0ter]

63. Well, It Certainly Got Me Out Of Grad School Classes

Just saying.

[dixiegrrrrl]

21. So game canceled, Giants still stuck at Kansas City?

The Giants were scheduled to fly into Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport yesterday, but the blizzard forced the team's plane to be diverted to kansas City. According to the Daily News, "They were stranded there Saturday night, and are scheduled to depart at 11 a.m. CST Sunday, weather permitting."

A Metrodome's sports facility spokesman said, "We weren't getting rid of it fast enough, and since we were hamstrung by the wind, we just said we might as well come back Monday morning. My belief is everything will be fine for Monday night."

http://gothamist.com/2010/12/12/giants_game_rescheduled_to_tomorrow.php

[Nikia]

24. I don't know much about the inflatable roof that they use

But it doesn't sound very durable. I hope that it isn't very expensive.

[MineralMan]

28. It's very durable, and very expensive. It's been working for many,

many years. It got damaged in a storm. It happens.

[Nikia]

35. Couldn't thet use something else or reinforced it ?

Yes, there was a storm. Even though blizzards like that don't happpen every winter, I think that a couple might be expected within the lifetime of the building.

[MineralMan]

37. It's a costs/benefits equation.

The dome has collapsed four times in the 24 years the stadium has been around. They repair it and it's back up. The cost of some other type of covered stadium would have been far higher. Just think of the dome as a big bag. They pump air into the stadium and the roof goes up. If part of that bag rips, they fix that part, then reinflate the bag. It's not like it's a huge disaster. The dome was empty. Nobody was hurt.

[annm4peace]

26. funny how it collaspes after the Vikings have failed to get a new stadium

through the legislature. They aren't letting any of the media in "due to safety".

I wouldn't be surprised if some funny business is going on.

Let the top 1% of Minnesota pay for the new stadium.

I'm not looking forward to listening to our local news go on and on about the Viking Stadium drama, while there are thousands of homeless in MN trying to survive the cold.

[glinda]

31. This is the second time this has happened. On topic, this Dome is a piece of crap. It is also

dangerous.

[MineralMan]

33. I just heard on WCCO that it's the fourth time. When was the

Dome built? 1986, I think. So that's four times in 24 years. Not too bad. Systems wear and break down. Still, it's a lot of money for a boy's ball game, it seems to me. The Vikings should move to Los Angeles, and the Minnesota fans can watch them on the TV in their warm house. :shrug:

[Nikia]

39. If a normal business lost its roof 4 times in 24 years

It would have either moved or had engineers come in and figure out what could be done to prevent it from happening again. I work at a food processing company with a flat roof in Wisconsin and that has been at that location a little longer and the roof has never collapsed. I'm just saying.

[Dreamer Tatum]

44. Do 70,000 people work at your place, 8 days a year?nt

[glinda]

57. I live in MN.

[sofa king]

60. I believe that maneuver is called the "Lew Alcindor."

[24601]

46. Looking again at what you just proposed...."Let the top 1% of

Minnesota pay for the new stadium."

Yeah, right. But let me guess, you want the other 99% to enjoy it. A few other ways to sum it up - with light editing on my part:

From each according to her income, to each according to what some asshat always wants to do with other peoples' money.
The government that steals from Peter to pay Paul can always count on Paul's vote.
The problem with redistribution of wealth is that eventually you run out of everybody else's money.

It's all BS, let the stadium be paid for by those who actually use it and leave the rest alone. Do that with Bonds paid back by stadium fees,

[LuckyLib]

64. You are so right. And Vikings management, itching for taxpayers to build them a new stadium

are going to make hay with the collapse. They have been threatening to leave town if they don't get a stadium. Don't let the door . . .

[NYMdaveNYI]

45. Their damn fault for

having a bounce house for a stadium.

[Frisbee]

48. This was actually the work of...

Brett Favre, so he can extend his starting streak.

[MrScorpio]

49. Just saw the footage on the Pregame show

Damn, it looked dramtatic

[Love Bug]

74. Yeah, I'm seeing that footage everywhere

I suppose it's more interesting than the umpteenth video of snowplows and drivers spinning out on the highway.

[JonLP24]

50. Vikings “host” Giants at Ford Field (Detroit)

For the first time ever, Monday Night Football is coming to Ford Field. But the Detroit Lions are not invited.

The game between the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings, which was first scheduled for Sunday afternoon in Minnesota and then scheduled for Monday night in Minnesota, will instead be played on Monday night in Detroit, with kickoff at 7:20 p.m. Eastern. The news was confirmed this morning on NFL Network.

Heavy snow re-routed the Giants’ team plane to Kansas City, where the team is still working out travel arrangements to Detroit. Now the Vikings will also need to make travel plans.

Damage to the Metrodome made it impossible for the game to be played on the Vikings’ home field, and the league has determined that an outdoor game at the University of Minnesota’s football stadium wasn’t feasible. So Detroit was considered the next-best option.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/12/12/vikings-host-giants-at-ford-field/

[felix_numinous]

51. Wow what a monster storm

http://www.weather.gov/sat_loop.php?image=ir&hours=24

[Odin2005]

54. Oh no!

[krispos42]

55. Well, they wanted a new. open-air stadium...

...Nature just saved Minnesota taxpayers a half-billion bucks

[KurtNYC]

71. the local taxpayers will be thrilled to buy a new one

especially people who couldn't give less of a crap about 13 fat guys bumping bellies 9 Sunday a year... and it will only cost $160 million. Bon appetite !

[MineralMan]

75. Local taxpayers are fed to the teeth with the Vikings.

Whiny crybabies, they are. Wilf can afford to build his own damn new stadium, if he wants to. Few others are interested in it, I guarantee. It's a real hot-button issue right now, and the taxpayers aren't in the mood, especially after seeing the property tax increases this year.

[USA_1]

76. FAR More Snow In 1991 & Roof Did NOT Collapse

As some folks are saying here in Minnesota, no doubt Sid Hartman and others have conspired to get the politicians to use tax dollars to pay for a new stadium. By destroying the Dome they can lobby more effectively for a new stadium.

[ProudDad]

77. Very Cool Video here...

http://msn.foxsports.com/video/shows/nfl-on-fox?vid=ca15cffb-3b66-49a0-84ca-20ed0a175567

But Catastrophic Global Climate Destabilization is a myth, right?

[Terry in Austin]

79. More like "Metrodome canopy ruptures"

Your proper "roof collapse" involves piles of rubble, shattered walls, twisted I-beams, dust everywhere, squads of rescue workers, and interviews with grieving relatives.

Misleading, but in a good way...