Everything about The Superior Dome totally explained
The
Superior Dome or
Yooper Dome by the locals, which opened as the world’s largest wooden
dome on
September 14,
1991, is a domed
stadium on the campus of
Northern Michigan University in
Marquette, Michigan. It is home to the Northern Michigan Wildcats
football team, as well as a variety of campus and community events.
The Dome stands 14 stories high and encompasses 5.1 acres (21,000 m²) under its roof. Constructed as a
geodesic dome with 781 Douglas Fir Beams and 108.5 miles (175 km) of fir decking, the Dome has a permanent
seating capacity of 8,000, though the building can hold as many as 16,000 people. The facility features a diameter of 163.4 m (536 feet), and has the ability to withstand 60 pounds force per square foot (2.87 kPa) of snow and 80 mile per hour (130 km/h) winds.
Construction of the Dome was completed in two phases. Phase I was finished in August 1991 and included the construction of the domed complex. Phase II, completed in May 1995, added locker rooms, department offices, meeting rooms, concession areas, a retail store and other building amenities. Phase I of the project cost $21.8 million and was funded entirely by the
State of
Michigan. Phase II was completed for $2.1 million, with $800,000 in private donations and $1.3 million in loans. Total cost for the Superior Dome stands at $23.9 million.
During the dome's construction, works crews weather-sealed the wooden structure with rubberized sheets that were rolled down from the dome's top. NMU students and Marquette jokingly gave the structure its
other nickname: "The
Con-dome."
The Dome’s features include a retractable artificial turf carpet, the largest of its kind in the world. When extended, the turf has the ability to accommodate
football,
soccer, and
field hockey. Underneath the carpet is a synthetic playing surface that features three basketball/volleyball courts, two tennis courts and a 200 meter track. Twelve computerized winches extend the carpet over a cushion of air. It takes 30 minutes to retract the artificial turf carpet and approximately two hours for full setup to be completed.
The Wildcat football team was the first to christen the Dome, hosting the first-ever event in the facility on September 14, 1991. Northern defeated
Indianapolis, 31-20, in front of a crowd of 7,942. Later that season, a Superior Dome attendance record was set at 8,432, when Northern defeated
Ferris State, 27-17, on October 5.
The
Superior Dome is also host to a number of campus and community events, including
Michigan High School Athletic Association football regular season and playoff games, trade shows (approximately of space), conventions, conferences, banquets, high school track meets, The Upper Peninsula "Band Day" competition/exhibition,
Special Olympics, and NMU’s Commencement exercises, to name a few. Many famous people have visited and spoken in the dome, including
George W. Bush during the 2004 Presidential campaign.
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