Carrier Dome
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Carrier Dome | |
|---|---|
| "The Loud House" | |
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| Location | 900 Irving Ave Syracuse, NY 13210 |
| Broke ground | 1979 |
| Opened | September 20, 1980 |
| Owner | Syracuse University |
| Operator | Syracuse University |
| Surface | FieldTurf |
| Construction cost | $28 million USD |
| Tenants | Syracuse Orange (NCAA) (1980-Present) |
| Capacity | 50,000(Football) 33,000 (Basketball) |
The Carrier Dome is a 50,000-seat [1] domed sports stadium located on the campus of Syracuse University in the University Hill neighborhood of Syracuse, New York, USA. It is home to the Syracuse Orange football, basketball, and lacrosse teams. High school football championships are also held in "The Dome," as are occasional concerts. New York's high school indoor track and field championships have also been held at the Carrier Dome.
The Dome is served by CENTRO buses. Shuttle buses transport fans to and from remote parking lots.
Despite carrying the name Carrier, there is no air conditioning in the dome. The need for it is low, as the facility is primarily used during the academic year (August-May), during most of which the outside temperatures never go far above room temperature.
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[edit] Notability
The Carrier Dome is the largest domed stadium on a college campus and the largest domed stadium in the Northeastern United States. Also, it is the largest on-campus basketball arena, with a listed capacity of 33,000, but this limit has been easily exceeded several times. Consequently, Syracuse University's Men's Basketball attendance per game and for a single season are usually the second highest in the nation behind the University of Kentucky. Lacrosse crowds are not as large, but the venue allows Syracuse's teams to play home games throughout the February-May regular season.
On March 5, 2006, a new on-campus basketball attendance record was set, at 33,633, in the last regular-season game ever for Orange guard Gerry McNamara versus Villanova University.
On March 19, 2007, a new National Invitation Tournament (NIT) attendance record was set, at 26,752, in the second-round men's basketball game against the San Diego State University Aztecs.
Some notable concerts in The Dome's past have been by Bruce Springsteen, The Police, Prince, Elton John,Duran Duran, Foreigner, Billy Idol, Rush, Frank Sinatra, Billy Joel, The Grateful Dead, Rod Stewart, U2, Genesis, the Rolling Stones, Garth Brooks, The Who, Neil Diamond,ZZ Top, and Pink Floyd. Each October, the dome hosts the New York State Field Band Conference marching band championships. It also hosts the New York State High School Football Championships each November.
Billy Joel played a special sold-out concert on March 25, 2006 to help mark the Carrier Dome's 25th anniversary. All tickets were sold for $39.50, the same price as his last solo appearance in Syracuse during 1998.
[edit] History
Toward the end of the 1970s, Syracuse University was under pressure to improve its football facilities in order to remain a Division I-A football school. Its small concrete stadium, Archbold Stadium, was seventy years old and not up to the standards of other schools. The stadium could not be expanded; it had been reduced from 40,000 seats to 26,000 due to the fire codes. Therefore Syracuse University decided to build a new stadium, which, appropriately for Syracuse's often cold weather was to have a domed Teflon-coated, fiberglass inflatable roof. It would also serve as the home for the men's basketball team, as a replacement for Manley Field House. The Carrier Dome was constructed between April, 1979 and September, 1980. The total construction cost was $26.85 million, including a $2.75 million naming gift from the Carrier Corporation[2]. Hueber, Hunt and Nichols, Inc. was the general contractor.
It was speculated at the time that political considerations helped this project advance. The State of New York provided a $15 million grant in 1978 for the Dome's construction. At the time Democratic incumbent Governor Hugh Carey was thought to have trouble in his re-election campaign with upstate voters. He visited the site of the old Archbold stadium and was sold by local officials and SU brass on the utility of a Dome[3] Carey won re-election to a second term following the approval of state funds, although the extent to which it helped him may never be known.
The Dome has been upgraded several times throughout the past 25 years. Most recently the University installed a LED video display system with 2 video boards (15' x 25') that are located on the east end and northwest corners of the 3rd level, along with 58 color TVs for the back rows of the 2nd and 1st levels. The inflatable roof was also replaced in 1999 at a cost of $14 million.
The Dome has also been the site of a tragic accident. In June of 1999 worker Bryan Bowman was killed when he fell through the Dome roof to the bleachers 60 feet below. He had been working with a crew from Birdair, Incorporated to replace the roof. The next month an electrician fell down a 50-foot shaft while installing cables for a new speaker system. He survived with injuries to his leg, arm, back and ribs.
FieldTurf was installed at the beginning of the 2005 football season, replacing the outdated AstroTurf. Additionally, the Dome also received orange paint and banners between its decks, and its corridors were lined with historic photographs.
In 2006-07, the women's basketball team began playing home games in the Dome.
The 1981 Big East Conference men's basketball tournament was held there, as were the 1988 and 1991 Division I NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championships. In 1997, and 2005 the East Regional games of the 1997 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, and the 2005 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament were held there.
[edit] References
- ^ History of the Carrier Dome from suathletics.com. Syracuse University Athletics. Retrieved on 2007-12-27.
- ^ Carrier 100th Anniversary: Dome Sweet Dome. Carrier (2002-11-25). Retrieved on 2007-12-27.
- ^ Marc, David (Fall 2005). "The Carrier Dome Legacy: Dome Sweet Dome". Syracuse University Magazine 22 (3). Syracuse University.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Archbold Stadium |
Home Syracuse Orange football 1980 – present |
Succeeded by current |
| Preceded by Manley Field House |
Home Syracuse Orange basketball 1980 – present |
Succeeded by current |
| Preceded by Rutgers Stadium I |
Home of the NCAA Lacrosse Final Four 1988 |
Succeeded by Byrd Stadium |
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