Pontiac Silverdome

Pontiac Silverdome, 1975-2017, a stadium in Pontiac, Michigan, that hosted major sporting and entertainment events

Opening of the Pontiac Silverdome

1975

The Pontiac Silverdome opened in Pontiac, Michigan, as the Pontiac Metropolitan Stadium. The stadium featured a fiberglass fabric roof held up by air pressure, a first for a major athletic facility. It sat on 199 acres of land and had a seating capacity of over 80,000.

Detroit Lions' first game in Silverdome

1975 Aug 23

The Detroit Lions played their first game in the Silverdome, a preseason contest against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Lions' first regular season game at Silverdome

1975 Oct 6

The Detroit Lions played their first regular season game at the Silverdome, which resulted in a 36–10 defeat by the Dallas Cowboys on ABC Monday Night Football.

Stadium officially named the Silverdome

1977

The Silverdome officially took on the name "Silverdome" due to a silver-like reflection caused by the Sun.

Led Zeppelin sets attendance record at the Silverdome

1977 Apr 30

Led Zeppelin played at the Silverdome in front of 76,229 fans, setting a new world record attendance for a solo indoor attraction, surpassing the attendance of The Who in 1975.

Detroit Pistons' first home game in Silverdome

1978 Oct 13

The Detroit Pistons played their first home game in the Silverdome.

NBA All-Star Game at the Silverdome

1979 Feb 4

The Silverdome hosted the NBA All-Star Game.

Super Bowl XVI at the Silverdome

1982 Jan 24

Super Bowl XVI was held at the Silverdome.

First monster truck car crush inside a stadium

1982 Feb 22

The United States Hot Rod Association held its first monster truck car crush inside a stadium at the Silverdome.

ASA stock car race inside the Silverdome

1983 Feb 27

The American Speed Association (ASA) held an asphalt stock car race inside the Silverdome, marking the start of their National tour season.

Snowstorm damages Silverdome roof

1985 Mar 4

A strong snowstorm caused structural damage to the original Teflon-coated fiberglass roof of the Silverdome. The Detroit Pistons played the remainder of the 1984–85 season at Joe Louis Arena due to the damage.

Silverdome roof repairs completed

1985 May 28

Repairs were completed, and the Silverdome's roof was re-inflated.

WrestleMania III at the Silverdome

1987 Mar 29

WrestleMania III was held at the Silverdome, reportedly establishing a record attendance of 93,173, the largest recorded attendance for a live indoor sporting event in North America at the time.

Pope John Paul II celebrates Mass at Silverdome

1987 Sep 18

Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass at the Silverdome, drawing a crowd of 93,682, setting a Silverdome attendance record.

Detroit Pistons set single game attendance record

1988 Jan 29

The Detroit Pistons set a single-game attendance record of 61,983 against the Boston Celtics.

Lions' first home playoff game victory at the Silverdome

1992 Jan 5

The Detroit Lions achieved their first home playoff game victory at the Silverdome, defeating the Dallas Cowboys with a score of 38–6.

Exhibition game between Germany and England at Silverdome

1993 Jun

In an exhibition game between Germany and England, the indoor venue's lack of weather was criticized, and the lack of air conditioning contributed to extreme heat and humidity.

First World Cup game played indoors

1994 Jun 18

The United States tied 1–1 with Switzerland in the first World Cup game to be played indoors.

Tom Brady's NFL debut at the Silverdome

2000 Nov 23

Tom Brady made his NFL debut in a Lions victory at the Silverdome.

Final Lions game at the Silverdome

2002 Jan 6

The final Lions game was played at the stadium, resulting in a 15–10 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.

Jehovah's Witnesses move conventions from Silverdome

2004

Jehovah's Witnesses opted to travel to The Dow Event Center in Saginaw, and the SeaGate Convention Centre in Toledo, Ohio for their District Conventions, due to talk of renovation in 2004.

Rally for George W. Bush re-election campaign

2004 Oct 27

A rally for the George W. Bush 2004 re-election campaign was held at the Silverdome.

Monster Jam at the Silverdome

2006 Jan 7

Monster Jam was hosted at the Silverdome.

Silverdome to be auctioned with no minimum bid

2009 Oct

The city of Pontiac announced that the Silverdome property would go to auction with no minimum bid, and that zoning regulations would be relaxed for any buyer in order to spark development.

Silverdome sold at auction

2009 Nov

Andreas Apostolopoulos submitted a winning bid of US$550,000 for the Silverdome at auction.

Silverdome re-opens

2010 Apr 17

The Silverdome re-opened with a monster truck event.

Exhibition game at the Silverdome

2010 Aug 6

A.C. Milan and Panathinaikos F.C. played an exhibition game at the Silverdome.

Boxing match at the Silverdome

2011 Jan 29

Professional boxer Timothy Bradley defended his WBO light welterweight title in a unification fight against WBC champion Devon Alexander at the Silverdome.

Silverdome becomes home of Detroit Mechanix

2012

The Silverdome served as the home stadium of the Detroit Mechanix of the American Ultimate Disc League.

Roof collapse leads to closure of the Silverdome

2013

An excessive amount of snow caused a portion of the antiquated roof system to tear, leading to the decision to close the facility for good.

Auctioning of Silverdome contents

2014 Mar

The owners announced that they would be auctioning off the contents of the facility, including seats and fixtures.

Demolition of the Silverdome announced

2017

The Silverdome owner decided to tear down the closed facility.

Implosion of the Silverdome

2017 Dec 4

The upper ring of the stadium, which had supported the roof structure, was imploded after a failed attempt the previous day.

Destruction of the last free standing wall of the Silverdome

2018 Mar

The last free standing wall of the Silverdome was destroyed, leaving a 50 foot (15 m) deep hole where the stadium once stood.

Amazon to develop the Silverdome site

2019 Sep

The City of Pontiac announced that Amazon was going to develop the Silverdome site into both a distribution facility and delivery center.

Opening of the Pontiac Silverdome

Detroit Lions' first game in Silverdome

Lions' first regular season game at Silverdome

Stadium officially named the Silverdome

Led Zeppelin sets attendance record at the Silverdome

Detroit Pistons' first home game in Silverdome

NBA All-Star Game at the Silverdome

Super Bowl XVI at the Silverdome

First monster truck car crush inside a stadium

ASA stock car race inside the Silverdome

Snowstorm damages Silverdome roof

Silverdome roof repairs completed

WrestleMania III at the Silverdome

Pope John Paul II celebrates Mass at Silverdome

Detroit Pistons set single game attendance record

Lions' first home playoff game victory at the Silverdome

Exhibition game between Germany and England at Silverdome

First World Cup game played indoors

Tom Brady's NFL debut at the Silverdome

Final Lions game at the Silverdome

Jehovah's Witnesses move conventions from Silverdome

Rally for George W. Bush re-election campaign

Monster Jam at the Silverdome

Silverdome to be auctioned with no minimum bid

Silverdome sold at auction

Silverdome re-opens

Exhibition game at the Silverdome

Boxing match at the Silverdome

Silverdome becomes home of Detroit Mechanix

Roof collapse leads to closure of the Silverdome

Auctioning of Silverdome contents

Demolition of the Silverdome announced

Implosion of the Silverdome

Destruction of the last free standing wall of the Silverdome

Amazon to develop the Silverdome site

Timeline was auto-generated using Google Gemini AI from Wikipedia content. Please verify with original sources: