Pontiac Silverdome
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The Pontiac Silverdome is a domed stadium in Pontiac, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. It hosted the Detroit Lions of the NFL from 1975-2001, the Detroit Pistons of the NBA from 1978-1988, the Michigan Panthers of the USFL from 1983-1984, the college football Cherry Bowl in 1984 and 1985 and Motor City Bowl from 1998 until 2001, the MHSAA football state finals from 1976 - 2004, and four first-round games during the 1994 World Cup. For the World Cup games, a grass surface was laid upon wooden pallets atop the artificial turf that is usually used. It was the first time that World Cup games were played indoors. The Silverdome also hosted the 1979 NBA All-Star Game, Super Bowl XVI on January 28, 1982, and in 1987, Pope John Paul II held mass there.
The decision to build a domed stadium in Pontiac took place after a late-season football game at Tiger Stadium resulted in a half-dozen pairs of shoes being lost beneath the muddy surface and not recovered until the next spring. Completed in 1975 (as the Pontiac Metropolitan Stadium, or PonMet Stadium for short) at a cost of $55.7 million, the Silverdome seated 80,311. It contained 102 luxury suites and 7,384 club seats.
The original silver roof was built of Teflon-coated fiberglass panels, and supported by air pressure inside the stadium (anyone who has attended an event at the Silverdome is familiar with the ear-popping "wind tunnel" effect at the entrances). The roof was replaced by a new canvas fabric reinforced by steel girders after a freak spring snowstorm on March 4, 1985 caused structural damage to the old roof. Because of the damage, the Detroit Pistons played the remainder of the 1984-85 season at Joe Louis Arena. Being one of the largest stadiums in the NFL and also a domed stadium, the Silverdome was known for the extremely loud noise that the fans were capable of producing when the stands were filled.
The largest crowd to ever gather there for a sporting event was on March 29, 1987 for WrestleMania III, when a disputed record setting 93,173 fans attended to see Hulk Hogan take on André the Giant. The Silverdome was used for Monster Jam on January 7, 2006. It was also used as a practice facility for the AFC Champions Pittsburgh Steelers for Super Bowl XL, with the NFL adding FieldTurf, which was later donated to a local high school. There was also a celebrity flag football game that Saturday which served as the last event ever at the Silverdome. The stadium is now closed and will eventually be torn down or significantly modified as part of the redevelopment of the property. The developer for this has yet to be selected by the City of Pontiac.
The Lions moved to the new Ford Field at the beginning of the 2002 season. When the WHA tried to re-introduce itself, the new WHA Detroit team was slated to play their home games at the Silverdome. Plans have been mooted for a Windsor-based Canadian Football League team that might use the Silverdome for playoff games.
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