Metrodome Roof Deflates, Vikes Head To Detroit
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The weight of all the snow that fell Saturday has caused the roof of the Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis to partially collapse.
At least three of the panels on the roof are down.
Because of the collapse, the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants will play at 6:20 p.m. Monday at Ford Field in Detroit.
The game will be broadcast in the New York City, Minneapolis, Rochester and Mankato markets. It will also be available to Sunday Ticket subscribers on DirecTV.
The team says any ticket holders for the original game will be admitted and given preference seating along the 50-yard line. Free general admission tickets to the game will be available at the Ford Field box office, starting at 8 a.m. Monday.
Refunds will be given to all original ticket holders.
Roy Terwilliger, president of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, said extensive repairs are needed to fix the Dome's roof and the repair technicians that are needed are not in town.
Luckily, no one was injured when the Dome collapsed.
Metrodome officials say they have no details yet on what happened. They say workers needed to be pulled off the roof late Saturday night due to safety concerns. Around 5 a.m. Sunday, the roof collapsed.
The Minnesota Vikings and the NFL met for hours Sunday morning to determine what to do about the game against the New York Giants. The team ruled out the possibility of playing at TCF Bank Stadium, stating it would take several days to prepare the field for an NFL game.
Other options included flying to nearby indoor stadiums in Indianapolis or St. Louis. The NFL said the best option was for the teams to play in Detroit.
The game, which was originally scheduled for Sunday at noon, had earlier been moved to Monday evening because of the snow.
The New York Giants were stranded in Kansas City after the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was forced to close because of the heavy snowstorm.
Because there is no Vikings game on Sunday, WCCO-TV will air a doubleheader, starting at noon, beginning with the Pittsburgh Steelers taking on the Cincinnati Bengals.
Minneapolis and much of the upper Midwest have been hit by a blizzard that has dumped up to 20 inches of snow in some areas.
The Metrodome roof has failed three times before. It deflated in 1981, 1982 and 1983, each time due to tears caused by heavy snow. The April 14, 1983, collapse forced the postponement of the Twins' game with California, which had been the only postponement. A slight tear also delayed a Twins game briefly in 1986.
