The Carrier Dome is part of a dying breed: the large, air-supported roof stadium.

On Jan. 18, the roof of the Metrodome — the former home of the Minnesota Vikings —was deflated, and the stadium will be knocked down soon. A year earlier, the roof of the Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich., was deflated and later damaged in a storm, according to a lawsuit the stadium’s owners filed against their insurance company in federal court. And in 2008, the RCA Dome was torn down as the Indianapolis Colts moved into a new stadium with a retractable roof.

With no money in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s 2014-15 executive budget for a proposed 44,000-seat, $495 million downtown stadium near Syracuse Stage, the Dome — at least for now — remains. And, quite possibly, the only other stadium that’s left like it is the Tokyo Dome, about 6,553 miles away from Syracuse, N.Y.

But interviews with employees from companies that inspect or are involved with the Dome indicate that while it may not be on the cutting-edge of technology, the arena is not deteriorating. In fact, with the exception of the roof, some say the Dome does not have a set lifespan if it’s maintained.

“I see a lot of venues,” said David Campbell, principal and CEO of Geiger Engineers who was involved with the original project. “It’s probably arguably one of the best maintained anywhere, and certainly of its age.”

Geiger Berger Associates engineered the Dome. Former employees of the company started Geiger Engineers, Campbell said.

Last year, he said, the company looked at changes that could be made to the stadium to improve it from an “operational,” “spectator” and “athletic” standpoint. Campbell said he couldn’t go into more detail.

Rich Applebaum, president of Klepper, Hahn and Hyatt, an East Syracuse company that inspects the Dome every two years, said only a “minor part” of the stadium ever sees problems.

Applebaum said there have been issues with maintaining the Dome’s ramps in the past because they’re heavily salted. But the time in between repairs has increased, he said.

And life expectancy, he said, has never been discussed.

“I think it’s really more at what point does the usage become obsolete? More than, ‘When is the Dome going to fall down?’” Applebaum said. “Because it really depends on how you maintain the building.”

The Dome’s managing director, Pete Sala, agreed to an interview about two weeks ago. He did not return 16 phone calls and two emails.

In a letter to Syracuse’s mayor dated Jan. 23, SU’s stadium consultant wrote the Dome remains “a quality facility,” but will need significant improvements as it ages. One of those is a new roof.

The university replaced the Dome’s 6.5-acre roof as a precaution in 1999, about 19 years after the stadium opened. The original roof had to be deflated several times because of snow. New York state kicked in more than $4 million toward the $14 million roof replacement project.

The new roof is built with a stronger material and has at least a 30-year lifespan, said Dave Ricci, director of customer service and warranty for Birdair Inc., the company that manufactured the original and replacement roofs. The current roof would be 30 years old in 2029.

Ricci, who was a part of both roof projects, said Birdair inspects the roof of the Dome every few years. He said it’s up to SU to release the latest inspection, but there was “nothing detrimental” in the most recent report. 

When the Dome was built, Ricci said, air-supported roofs were state of the art.  But the drawback is that they are less durable and require “mechanical components,” such as fans, to keep them up.

“So, air-supported stadiums are still viable — a little less expensive — but I would say almost 100 percent of our customers would not go that route,” Ricci said.

Air-supported roofs are an efficient way to cover a large area, but they’re outdated in the public’s perception, said Benjamin Flowers, an associate professor of architecture at the Georgia Institute of Technology who studies stadiums.

“It’s not because they don’t work well,” he said.

“This particular technology, because it has been around, it is not a likely choice for a team that wants to invest, let’s say, $1 billion or three-quarters of $1 billion in a new project,” Flowers added. “They’re going to want something that looks like it costs that kind of money to build, and have that kind of cachet attached to it.”

It’s unclear exactly when serious discussions about a new stadium started.

Kenneth “Buzz” Shaw, SU’s chancellor from 1991-2004, said the topic of a new stadium never came up during his tenure.

A Rutgers-Newark spokesman said late last week he’d check if Nancy Cantor, chancellor from 2004-2013, would be available for an interview. He did not respond to three phone calls this week.

During the 2014 State of the City Address on Jan. 23, Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner announced the creation of a task force to look at the possible effects of a new stadium.

Miner has said she’s not for or against the proposal, but that if a new stadium is worth building, “it is worth doing right.”

Ben Walsh, deputy commissioner of Syracuse’s Department of Neighborhood and Business Development and chair of the task force, said he anticipates it will meet for the first time in the next two to three weeks. Goals and a timeframe for the task force are to be determined, he said. 

City, county and state politicians appear to have mixed opinions about whether a new stadium will be built in the near future.

“It seems as though the opportunity for a multi-venue sports entertainment facility down on Erie Boulevard — probably with state money at this time — has probably come and gone,” said District Councilor Jake Barrett, who had publicly supported the project.

“In a word,” said Councilor At-Large Kathleen Joy, another supporter, “dim.”

Onondaga County Legislature Chairman Ryan McMahon said he didn’t think “the stars would align like this next year or the following year.” The state and county haven’t said anything about coming back into the deal, McMahon said.

Ben Dublin, Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney’s chief of staff, did not return eight calls inquiring about Mahoney’s outlook on the future of the proposal.

Cuomo addressed the issue when asked about the project last week in Solvay, N.Y.

“Next year is another year and we’ll see what happens in the future,” Cuomo said.

A Cuomo spokesman emailed a transcript of the governor’s answer. The Daily Orange did not have a reporter in attendance.

The letter SU’s stadium consultant sent to Miner appeared optimistic.

“We believe the state and county remain interested in creating a structure that would facilitate the implementation of the project vision,” part of it read.

Linda Ervin, the Democratic floor leader of the county legislature who’s involved with the task force, also seemed hopeful about the future of a stadium.

“And if it’s meant to be, and when it’s meant to be, rather,” Ervin said, “It’ll be.”

Published on February 5, 2014 at 1:43 am

Contact Dylan: dmsegelb@syr.edu | @dylan_segelbaum