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Detroit tries to implode Silverdome, fails (Video)

By Matt Verderame

PONTIAC, MICHIGAN � DECEMBER 21: Fred P. Leeb, Emergency Financial Manager for the City of Pontiac, gives a tour of the vacant Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan, on Tuesday, December 21, 2009. The stadium has been mostly unused since the Detroit Lions played their last game in the building in 2001. (Photo by Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
PONTIAC, MICHIGAN � DECEMBER 21: Fred P. Leeb, Emergency Financial Manager for the City of Pontiac, gives a tour of the vacant Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan, on Tuesday, December 21, 2009. The stadium has been mostly unused since the Detroit Lions played their last game in the building in 2001. (Photo by Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post via Getty Images) /
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The City of Detroit readied to say farewell to the Pontiac Silverdome, and then the implosion happened, and then Detroit happened.

In 1975, Detroit opened up the Silverdome. It was one of the premier venues at the time for American sports, housing both the NFL’s Detroit Lions and NBA’s Detroit Pistons. The Silverdome even hosted the Super Bowl in Jan. 1982, along with the NBA Finals in 1988.

On Sunday, all of that history was going to be a memory as the Silverdome was brought to its knees. The dynamite was placed. The charges were set. The plunger was pushed. The explosions went off on every support beam. People snapped their photos.

Then, the Silverdome decided that it would like to hang around a bit more. Incredibly, the stadium didn’t fall, and now just sits in the middle of a parking lot as a dangerous structure. If there has ever been something that screams Detroit more than this, please let us know.

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All kidding aside, Detroit has been cleaning up nicely in recent years. Ford Field and Comerica Park are beautiful, and the new Little Caesars Arena has been drawing rave reviews. The Motor City has done a quality job in razing some of the older buildings, moving on from Tiger Stadium and now, the Pontiac Silverdome (kind of).

The next attempt at demoing the stadium is still unknown. Maybe the stadium will see Christmas once more, a nice way to send out the old barn. Or, maybe, the Silverdome will eventually collapse before any more dynamite has to be detonated.

As it turns out, the Silverdome put up more of a fight than the Lions this holiday season.