Metrodome roof collapses.

Metrodome roof collapses from heavy snow




MINNEAPOLIS (USATODAY.com) — The teflon roof covering the Metrodome's Mall of America field has collapsed due to heavy amounts of snow early Sunday morning.
Around 5 a.m. Sunday the roof of the stadium caved in far enough to where it was not visible from ground level according to a KARE 11-TV in Minneapolis.

CNN was showing images of the collapsed roof.

The Metrodome was scheduled to be the site of a Sunday football game between the Minnesota Vikings and the New York Giants until the NFL offices rescheduled the game to Monday night.

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Metrodome will not be available for Monday night's game between the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings after the stadium's inflatable Teflon roof collapsed under the weight of snow from a heavy storm that passed through Saturday.

"We are currently exploring alternatives to play the game Monday night at the University of Minnesota stadium or another domed NFL stadium," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in a statement. "We will continue to provide information as it becomes available."

The game had already been postponed from Sunday after the Giants' flight was diverted Saturday to Kansas City as Minnesota air travel was shut down.


Bill Lester, the executive director of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, said Sunday morning the dome suffered damage to two of its triangle-shaped Teflon panels and that his crew was assessing the situation.

A leak on the roof had formed Saturday as snow accumulated, ESPN's Ed Werder reported.


"There were no injuries, which we're thankful for," Lester said.

The outdoor TCF Bank Stadium opened on the Minnesota campus in 2009, and the Gophers have played two seasons there. It seats 50,000, down from the Metrodome's capacity of 64,000.

Forecasts called for a high of 4 degrees in Minneapolis on Monday, and it would likely be much colder at kickoff.

Minneapolis got 17.1 inches of snow during the storm that started Friday night and ended around 10 p.m. Saturday, said James McQuirter, a National Weather Service meteorologist. He said the storm was one of the five largest to hit the Twin Cities. Some surrounding communities got more than 21 inches of snow, he said.

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.

The Giants (8-4) and Vikings (5-7) were originally scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m. ET Sunday, but the game was postponed until 8 p.m. ET Monday. FOX was to have regional coverage of the game in both Minnesota and New York and the game will be available nationally for NFL Sunday Ticket subscribers on DirecTV.

The change gave Brett Favre another 31 hours for his injured shoulder to recuperate. The Vikings quarterback, who didn't throw during Saturday's walk-through, has started an NFL-record 297 consecutive games.

Information from The Associated Press and ESPNNewYork.com's Ohm Youngmisuk was used in this report.