Moore, an engineering and consultancy firm in Houston, has been retained to investigate the Metrodome incident, but is not allowed to comment. He says, however, that Geiger—whom Griffis called a "brilliant" engineer—would have agreed that air-pressurized dome technology is outdated. Even though such structures have advantages—particularly, being lightweight, of high strength and low cost—maintaining such facilities is not nearly as attractive as it was a couple decades ago.
The risk of deflation alone has proved problematic, and has occurred several times at inflatable dome facilities, particularly due to snow loads. Griffis also points out that maintenance costs tend to be higher than many owners want to pay; for example, maintaining air pressure can be both laborious and expensive.
Maki says the Minnesota Vikings, who didn't make the NFL play-offs this season, are in serious discussions for a new stadium; whether that means moving to a new location or not is uncertain, but the Metrodome's days as a home for a professional football team could be numbered. Tensegrity structures are supported primarily by high-strength cables whose tension forces are balanced either by air or other support structures, Griffis says.
Griffis adds that air-supported structures such as the Metrodome are a particular class of tensegrity structures supported by differential air pressure. Editor's Note: Scientific American contacted Birdair , the company that manufactures the fabric dome.
After calls were twice referred to their legal department, messages ultimately went unanswered. Already a subscriber? Sign in. Thanks for reading Scientific American. Create your free account or Sign in to continue.
See Subscription Options. Discover World-Changing Science. Get smart. The players all came, there was some joking about what was going on and what could happen next, and they all took it pretty much in-stride. Brett Favre … just wanted some hot dogs when he got to the stadium. He could have cared less about anything else. He got his hot dogs, and he enjoyed them. But Minnesota looked to notch a win over New York without its star quarterback and in front of a makeshift "home-field crowd.
Allen: " I've always played well at Ford Field, so laughs. But the atmosphere was weird. It was odd. Obviously we're not the Lions, so it's just quiet on both [sides]. It's a home game, so you're kind of trying to [generate] some energy from the crowd, and some hype, and it's not there. Honestly, the atmosphere kind of felt like the fourth preseason game where no one really cares — especially the people in the stands.
We were trying to win a game, and it was just a weird dynamic. But both teams had to deal with it, so it is what it is. Greenway: "Calling Ford Field 'home' for a game was bizarre.
It was just black and gray and white, and it was just kind of, nobody really knew who to cheer for, nobody really had a team in the race. There were some Vikings fans who had flown over and were a part of that, but it was just really weird. And I think our team, and the game, and the result reacted sort of the way you'd think we would.
We didn't play well. We lost. We went from having a home game and home-field advantage to having an 'away' game at basically a neutral site, and the Giants were playing a road game regardless. So we did not react as well as you would like.
The open-air venue had been winterized, and 4 feet of snow rested on the field. The playing surface now has a heating system that was installed when the Vikings played at the venue from during construction of U.
Bank Stadium. Piles of powder lined the aisles. Snow shovel brigades were hired, and plows removed snow from the field, preparing for a "bubbling" process of covering it and forcing hot air between the cover and turf. Days started before dawn. After dusk, Davisson would head to Winter Park to provide an update to Spielman or other leaders on the readiness for the Vikings to host the Bears on Monday Night Football as scheduled for Dec.
Davisson: "I just remember how tired I was, and then I'd go back to the stadium. It was tiring. I didn't see my wife for a while.
I slept at the stadium a lot, especially the last two nights because we did bubble the field after we got it all plowed. It groomed off really nice. He essentially squatted at the stadium, relying on nearby fast food.
He slept on the field under the tarp and also made use of a "big bench" in a "nice locker room. His wife delivered food to share with workers one night. Davisson: "It was a weird life. Once we got everything cleared off, we painted it and bubbled it. We had it bubbled for like three days just to get some heat, and on game day, it was 45 degrees in the [turf] fibers. Unfortunately, it was snowing. We pulled the tarps early because Brett wanted to warm up. He didn't practice all week. We pulled the tarps early, and it got cold.
Favre returned to the lineup against the Bears and threw a yard touchdown to Percy Harvin on his second pass of the night. No one knew his storied career only had five attempts remaining. An injury suffered during a sack in the second quarter forced a punt, and Favre was replaced by Joe Webb. The snowy night provided the backdrop for Favre's th touchdown pass, th interception and th sack. Ryan: "The footing was great in some spots on the field but was awful in a lot of other areas, and there just wasn't proper footwear to wear throughout the entire field.
That was a cold night. It rained, it snowed, it sleeted. It was hailing at one point. We seemed to have every brand of weather that was available. Greenway: "I remember seeing the hiring thing online or on TV where they're looking for snow shovelers. And it was about what you'd expect. But you think back, I remember looking up into the stands during the game — it's night, and the lights are on — and I can remember all the snow going up into the air.
All the fans were grabbing snow and throwing it up and kind of making these, not necessarily snowballs, but these snow flurries, and it was a pretty cool sight. The halftime ceremony honored the 50 Greatest Vikings with many of the players and Head Coach Bud Grant returning to the elements in which they starred, 29 years to the date of the last game at Metropolitan Stadium Dec.
Minnesota's final two games of the season involved trips to Philadelphia for a game that was delayed from Sunday to Tuesday because of forecasted snow and a season finale at Detroit. Allen: "It was just a hot mess. I think it was just one of those seasons where you just shake your head and say, 'Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.
It was one of those deals. Birdair combines breakthrough technologies with unparalleled experience to create structures that meet both facility and patron requirements. Skip to main content. News Release facebook linkedin tweet google pinit. August 02, From duluth. After the coming Minnesota Vikings season, the Metrodome will be torn down and a new stadium will rise in its place.
Artifacts will become hot items, the partners hope. But they still had to make a product. Then they tried an industrial tile scrubber. The bag are already for sale at the Duluth Pack website and will be showcased at the Minnesota State Fair next week.
If these products sell well, there may be more original material in the future: the Metrodome is slated to come down early next year to make way for a new Minnesota Vikings stadium.
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