New Carrier Dome Roof Intends to Let the Light In

Back in 2014, Brando took a stab at trying to figure out what a new and improved Carrier Dome roof might look like. Using a little bit of logic and whole lot of Photoshop, he came up with these rendering ideas.

Brando envisioned a video scoreboard jumbotron hanging down in the middle of roof that not only makes a lot of sense in general but makes it so much easier for fans sitting far away from the action to enjoy the experience.

When you listen to Pete Sala talk about plans for the new and improved Dome, you can't help but hear a lot of similar ideas to the ones Brando proposed.

"All the (amenities) inside the building (are) still being defined," Sala said. "I've lived this place for 33 years. I know what it takes to put an event on, what we lack. You can't hang from the roof so we want to put a system where we can rig from it. We're not going to put a hard roof on here unless we can make it easier for promoters to want to do concerts. Those are the things you're able to work on. What's the best thing for the building?"

It's a good point to remember. The Dome should be an all-purpose arena when it's improved. Not just a home for SU sports.

The one big difference between these ideas and what's coming is the material that's going to make up the roof itself. It sounds like we're looking at something a bit more shiny and modern than just another white roof, though the same idea of bringing more light in is the same.

"The biggest change you'll see is not having the white pillows when you walk in the door," Sala said. "You'll see a steel structural framework that's typical of newer stadiums today. … 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."

"With new LED technology you can do anything," Sala said. "Absolutely. We're not going to do something without an LED lighting package. That's something we talked about from the beginning. I was watching a hockey game the other night and it was crazy how they changed the arena. It was really cool when they introduced the players. We've asked to have lights that you can turn on and off. It'll be LED lighting."

"More glass," Sala said. "We'd like to somehow make it so that when someone walks around they can look into the building and share the space with the outdoors."

Here's what ETFE looks like in action...

Plenty more to come on the topic. What are you hoping to see most as part of the changes?