As part of $255 million in renovations, the dome’s iconic teflon-pillow roof will be replaced by a permanent structure made of ETFE, the same lightweight, clear plastic material used to build retractable roofs for new NFL stadiums in Minneapolis and Atlanta.
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At Syracuse, though, there will be no operable parts to the roof. It will be a fixed roof after the upgrades are completed, according to school officials. The roof portion itself is estimated to cost $105 million.
“The biggest change you’ll see is not having the white pillows when you walk in the door,” Pete Sala, Syracuse’s vice president and chief facilities officer told syracuse.com.
“You’ll see a steel structural framework that’s typical of newer stadiums today,” he said. “The new roof is much higher than the existing roof. I don’t want to give too much away but we’re going to work with a product called ETFE. You’ll see the product in Minnesota. That’s a really good example of what we’ll do here. It’s clear. You can make it darker. It almost looks like glass. It’s going to bring a lot more light into the building.”
That’s the case at U.S. Bank Stadium, the Vikings’ $1.1 billion facility opening in July with a fixed roof. Using ETFE, a material originally by DuPont 40 years ago, the material will form the largest clear roof in North America. ETFE creates the experience of being outdoors without feeling the full effect of the elements, which comes in handy during upper Midwest winters. The same can be said of Syracuse and upper New York State.
In Atlanta, ETFE is being used as well to help build a retractable roof at Mercedes Benz Stadium, the Falcons’ $1.4 billion venue opening in June 2017. For that project, the Falcons’ stadium development team has taken the extra step of attaching a single layer of ETFE to form an outer wall on the facility’s east side. Spanning 160,000 square feet, the single skin ETFE provides a clearer view of the Atlanta skyline from inside the stadium compared with bulky steel beams supporting panes of glass.
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At Syracuse, the decision to build a new permanent roof atop the Carrier Dome eliminates the need to replace a teflon-style roof every 20 years, and removes the risk of having to move football and basketball games in the event the teflon roof deflates.
The ETFE roof also enables Syracuse to get creative by forming colorful new light patterns through the use of LED sports lighting that can be seen outside the building. In Minnesota, the Vikings are currently testing a variety of color patterns radiating from their new stadium.
In general, LED sports lighting provides a tremendous cost savings over traditional lighting systems. Arenas and stadiums across the country are making the transition as a green measure as well gaining more flexibliity with the newer technology..
“With LED technology you can do anything … that’s something we’ve talked about since the beginning,” Sala said.
