The Pontiac Silverdome is a domed stadium in Pontiac, Michigan, a satellite city of Detroit. It hosted the Detroit Lions of the NFL from 1975-2001, the Detroit Pistons of the NBA from 1978-1988, the Michigan Panthers of the USFL from 1983-1984, the college football Cherry Bowl in 1984 and 1985 and Motor City Bowl from 1997 until 2001, the MHSAA football state finals from 1976 - 2004, and four first-round games during the 1994 World Cup. For the World Cup games, a natural grass surface capable of growing inside the dome was developed and installed by a team from Michigan State University. This grass surface was laid upon wooden pallets atop the artificial turf that is usually used. It was the first time that World Cup games were played indoors. The Silverdome also hosted the 1979 NBA All-Star Game, Super Bowl XVI on January 28, 1982, and the 1988 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship Midwest Regionals. In 1987, Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass (liturgy) there.

The decision to build a domed stadium in Pontiac took place after a late-season football game at Tiger Stadium resulted in a half-dozen pairs of shoes being lost beneath the muddy surface and not recovered until the next spring. Completed in 1975 (as the Pontiac Metropolitan Stadium, or PonMet Stadium for short) at a cost of $55.7 million, the Silverdome seated 80,311. It contained 102 luxury suites and 7,384 club seats.

The original silver roof was built of Teflon-coated fiberglass panels, and supported by air pressure inside the stadium (anyone who has attended an event at the Silverdome is familiar with the ear-popping “wind tunnel” effect at the entrances). The roof was replaced by a new canvas fabric reinforced by steel girders after a freak spring snowstorm on March 4, 1985 caused structural damage to the old roof. Because of the damage, the Detroit Pistons played the remainder of the 1984-85 season at Joe Louis Arena. The Detroit Pistons won the last game they ever played in the Silverdome, which was Game 5 of the 1988 NBA Finals where they took a 3-2 lead over the LA Lakers before losing in seven games. Being one of the largest stadiums in the NFL and also a domed stadium, the Silverdome was known for the extremely loud noise that the fans were capable of producing when the stands were filled.

The largest crowd to ever gather at the Silverdome for an event was on March 29, 1987 for WrestleMania III, with a reported attendance of 93,173. Another notable audience attendance record had earlier been broken on April 30, 1977, when English rock band Led Zeppelin played in front of 76,229 fans at the Silverdome. This was at the time a new world record attendance for a solo indoor attraction, beating the 75,962 that The Who attracted there in December 1975.

The Silverdome was also the home to many marching band activities and events, including the Michigan Competing Band Association State Marching Band Championships until 2005, the Bands of America Regional championships from 2003 to 2005, and the Bands of America Grand National Championships in 1987 and 1988.

The Lions moved to the new Ford Field at the beginning of the 2002 season. When the WHA tried to re-introduce itself, the new WHA Detroit team was slated to play their home games at the Silverdome. Plans were also mooted for a Windsor-based Canadian Football League team which could have used the dome for possible playoff games, but that team also did not materialize.

After the Detroit Lions relocated, activity in the Silverdome dropped drastically. However some usage was still present. Annually, Jehovah’s Witnesses used the Silverdome from the late 80’s to 2004. Due to talk of renovation in 2004, the Witnesses opted to travel to The Dow Event Center in Saginaw, and the SeaGate Convention Centre in Toledo, Ohio for their District Conventions.

The city of Pontiac recently awarded a purchase bid of the Silverdome to InspireVision for $30,000,000. The faith-based group plans to use the Silverdome as a “family entertainment center”. Agreements have not been finalized as of November 9th, 2007; however, the deal is expected to go through.

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