CaptainHook Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 Hundreds of people pressed against office windows, stood on street corners and gathered on the steps of Lucas Oil Stadium today to watch the marshmallow-like roof of the RCA Dome sink from the Indianapolis skyline. Former Mayor Bill Hudnut — during whose administration the dome was constructed 24 years ago — gave the order to turn off the four large fans keeping the roof inflated. During the 35 minutes the roof took to slowly flatten, Hudnut, Mayor Greg Ballard and others recalled highlights from the history of the structure, which has hosted conferences, concerts and ceremonies along with football and basketball games. Advertisement “The dome ... has a wonderful legacy,” Hudnut said before the deflation, adding later, “It will subside into the dustbin of history, but it will never subside in our hearts.” About 300 onlookers counted backwards from 10 before Hudnut radioed project executive Tom Scheele the words: “Let the air out of the Hoosier Dome.” The dome’s eight-acre roof consists of two layers of fabric supported by a series of cables and fans. The 200-foot-high roof sank before coming to rest about 50 feet above the stadium floor. It will take workers a couple of weeks to fully remove the 257-ton roof. Workers will cut easily accessible parts of the roof into 40-by-40-foot squares. Officials hope the material can be reused. The dome is being razed to make room for a $275 million expansion of the Indiana Convention Center, which will be attached to the new Lucas Oil Stadium by an enclosed pedestrian connector. About half of the dome will be dismantled with traditional demolition methods and the remaining upper level seating areas will be imploded in December. Workers will fill 30 to 60 trucks a day with debris. They’ll bring down the superstructure with an implosion sometime in December. In January, as workers continue to haul debris from the south side of the structure, construction on an extension of the Indiana Convention Center will begin on the north side. That project is expected to be complete in 2010. from indystar.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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