Explosion to kick off Pontiac Silverdome demolition

Oct. 14--The Pontiac Silverdome will have an explosive start to its final chapter.

The empty stadium's long-awaited demolition could start before year's end and kick off with a celebration featuring a minor implosion, Pontiac Mayor Deirdre Waterman said Friday.

"There is going to be an implosion -- a small implosion," Waterman said.

The implosion won't take down the entire structure, the mayor said, and the bulk of the demolition would be done with hydraulic excavators over several months. The demolition crews will take down the structure "from the inside out," she said.

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The city is planning to mark the start of demolition with a special event that could feature former Detroit Lions players. The highlight of the event could be someone pressing a button to set off the explosives.

"We may call it a farewell to the Silverdome," Waterman said. "We might even have an auction on who wants to push the button."

Detroit-based contractor Adamo Group has been under private contract for the demolition work with the Silverdome's owner, Triple Investment Group. A company representative could not be reached Friday.

Demolition of the Detroit Lions' former home was mandated earlier this year by a judgment in 50th District Court in a nuisance-abatement case brought by the city against Triple Investment.

Waterman said the implosion will have to wait until Adamo finishes blowing up the Georgia Dome, former home of the Atlanta Falcons, in an implosion set for Nov. 20. The mayor is hopeful the Silverdome explosion can happen before year's end.

"We need to wait for them to do that," she said.

The Silverdome opened in 1975 and has been used only sporadically since 2002, when the Lions moved to Ford Field in Detroit. The stadium's inflatable roof was damaged in a winter storm several years ago, exposing everything inside and speeding its physical decay.

Triple Investment bought the stadium from the city in a 2009 auction for $583,000. After failing to find a buyer for the site, the firm announced a possible spring 2016 demolition, but that date slipped.

Most recently, the parking lot around the Silverdome has been used to store nearly 9,000 Volkswagens that were recalled as part of the German automaker's diesel-emissions scandal. At least 69 of the vehicles were stolen from the property last summer.

Waterman said the 127-acre property will be easier to market for redevelopment once the Silverdome is gone. It is one of six sites that Oakland County offered up to help Detroit in its regional bid to land Amazon's second headquarters.

Contact JC Reindl: 313-222-6631 or jcreindl@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JCReindl.

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