As loud as they were, those World Series crowds never quite managed to blow the roof off the Metrodome. Now the deed’s been done by a contractor.
A Super Bowl Sunday explosion brought down the cables that had supported the Dome’s Teflon-coated fiberglass for more than three decades.
Of course, the roof disappeared from view on January 18, when those puffy white panels came down in a 35-minute deflation.
As Minnesota Public Radio reports, since then the demolition crew had focused on tearing down the loading dock, grandstands, and other interior areas of the stadium. But Sunday the remaining support structure came down, turning what’s left of the Dome into an open-air stadium.
The Star Tribune says a dozen or so charges were simultaneously detonated to sever the support cables, which came crashing down. Nearby streets were closed for a few hours but the newspaper says some neighbors who didn’t know what was going on called police to report the sound of the explosion.
But the Associated Press says Mortenson Construction tried to put the noise in perspective, pointing out that the decibel level was quieter than the pyrotechnics used when the Vikings score a touchdown.
A video posted to YouTube shows the explosion about 45 seconds in.
And in case you missed it, here’s a time lapse of last month’s deflation
