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For Super Bowl XVI, the NFL decided to do something different,
move the game to a cold weather city, to the Pontiac Silverdome,
home of the Detroit Lions. Prior to moving into
the Silverdome, the Detroit Lions had played at Tiger Stadium
since 1938, that was also the home of the Detroit Tigers (MLB).
Tiger Stadium was primarily a baseball stadium, but served as the
home to the Lions for more than 30 years. In the late 1960s, the
team wanted a new football only stadium. After several
bonds were passed allowing the team to build a stadium, the
Lions bought land in nearby Pontiac, MI.
Because of the area's cold winter weather, the team decided to
build a domed stadium. Construction on the stadium, named
the Pontiac Silverdome, began on September 19, 1973 and was
completed in 23 months.
Opening day
for the Lions at the Silverdome was on October 6, 1975. The
Silverdome became the largest stadium in the NFL with a capacity
of 80,311. Three tiers of blue seats circled the entire Astroturf
playing field. The roof at the Silverdome consisted of
Teflon-coated fiberglass panels. In 1985 after a heavy snowstorm
the roof was structurally damaged. However over the next several
months a new canvas and steel-girder reinforced roof was added to
prevent the problem from occurring again.
The Silverdome had several amenities that included 93 executive
suites and a club restaurant. Other than hosting football games, the Silverdome hosted many other events including tractor pulls,
soccer and basketball games, and concerts. The first Super Bowl
played in a northern city, Super Bowl XVI between the Cincinnati
Bengals and San Francisco 49ers, was played at the Silverdome. In
the mid 1990s, the Lions became dissatisfied with the Silverdome.
By 1997, bonds were passed allowing construction of a new domed
stadium in downtown Detroit. The Lions played their final game at
the Silverdome on January 6, 2002. The team moved into Ford Field
in August 2002. In 2009 the facility was bought by an investor who
plans to use the facility for a variety of events including
concerts, monster truck rallies, soccer game and wrestling events.
A permanent, self-supporting roof is to be installed in 2013.
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