Back in Our House
9/23/2020 2:12:00 PM | Football
Forty years ago this week, a structure that would serve as a centerpiece of the Central New York skyline and house countless memorable moments for the Syracuse community officially opened its doors and hosted the first Syracuse football game.
Under the iconic white inflatable roof for the first time, Joe Morris scampered for 170 yards and three touchdowns as Syracuse defeated Miami Ohio 36-24, on Sept. 20, 1980, ushering a new era of Syracuse Athletics. As Saturday approaches, another first is coming. Syracuse vs. Georgia Tech will serve as the debut of $118 million in renovations, including a new roof, lighting and sound improvements, a center-hung scoreboard, new turf and improved accessibility.
Head coach Dino Babers and the Orange are hoping for a similar success to christen the upgraded facility.
"I've always enjoyed playing in the Dome more than any other venue," said All-American safety Andre Cisco. "I'm excited to get in there and get my feet wet on the turf and see the new things they added. I'm excited to just be back in that atmosphere."
Since its opening, the venue has played host to more than 38 million fans at Syracuse athletic events. Moments such as Syracuse football's unbeaten season in 1987. It has been the home venue for 12 of Syracuse's NCAA Championship teams between men's basketball and men's lacrosse. The entirety of the top-10 largest NCAA men's basketball on-campus crowds in history have been in the building, as well as multiple NCAA Tournament regionals, NFL and NBA exhibition contests, an AHL regular-season game and even Major League Baseball spring training. It is also home to Syracuse University Commencement, annually hosts Monster Jam and has held concerts for numerous national acts including Paul McCartney, Prince, Bon Jovi, Elton John, U2, The Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra, Kanye West, Drake and more.
The audio-visual upgrades to the building will continue to make it a great viewing experience for any event. The center-hung scoreboard is 7,022 square feet, making it the second-largest indoor center-hung system in the United States. It's the third-largest indoor center-hung system in North America.
Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and maintaining the health and safety of Syracuse's student-athletes, the campus community and those in Central New York, fans are not permitted to attend the home opener.
"it's such a place where you can get a bunch of people on top of each other and it feels like there's 100,000 people in there because of the acoustics," Babers said. "I can't wait until 2021 or maybe later in 2020 when we can have our fans com experience it. We miss our fans, we're going to miss our home-field advantage, and we're looking forward to when we get that opportunity again."
Even with no fans in attendance, Syracuse has an option for people who want to be part of the action through 'Cuse on the Couch. A virtual second-screen experience on Cuse.com hopes to bring the in-game experience home to fans' living rooms.
Airing thirty minutes prior to each of the Orange six home games this season. Join host Brian Higgins, live from Club 44 inside the Dome for exclusive content, in-depth analysis, special guest interviews, fan giveaways and more!
The program is accessible through both Cuse.com and the Cuse app.
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Under the iconic white inflatable roof for the first time, Joe Morris scampered for 170 yards and three touchdowns as Syracuse defeated Miami Ohio 36-24, on Sept. 20, 1980, ushering a new era of Syracuse Athletics. As Saturday approaches, another first is coming. Syracuse vs. Georgia Tech will serve as the debut of $118 million in renovations, including a new roof, lighting and sound improvements, a center-hung scoreboard, new turf and improved accessibility.
Head coach Dino Babers and the Orange are hoping for a similar success to christen the upgraded facility.
"I've always enjoyed playing in the Dome more than any other venue," said All-American safety Andre Cisco. "I'm excited to get in there and get my feet wet on the turf and see the new things they added. I'm excited to just be back in that atmosphere."
Since its opening, the venue has played host to more than 38 million fans at Syracuse athletic events. Moments such as Syracuse football's unbeaten season in 1987. It has been the home venue for 12 of Syracuse's NCAA Championship teams between men's basketball and men's lacrosse. The entirety of the top-10 largest NCAA men's basketball on-campus crowds in history have been in the building, as well as multiple NCAA Tournament regionals, NFL and NBA exhibition contests, an AHL regular-season game and even Major League Baseball spring training. It is also home to Syracuse University Commencement, annually hosts Monster Jam and has held concerts for numerous national acts including Paul McCartney, Prince, Bon Jovi, Elton John, U2, The Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra, Kanye West, Drake and more.
The audio-visual upgrades to the building will continue to make it a great viewing experience for any event. The center-hung scoreboard is 7,022 square feet, making it the second-largest indoor center-hung system in the United States. It's the third-largest indoor center-hung system in North America.
Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and maintaining the health and safety of Syracuse's student-athletes, the campus community and those in Central New York, fans are not permitted to attend the home opener.
"it's such a place where you can get a bunch of people on top of each other and it feels like there's 100,000 people in there because of the acoustics," Babers said. "I can't wait until 2021 or maybe later in 2020 when we can have our fans com experience it. We miss our fans, we're going to miss our home-field advantage, and we're looking forward to when we get that opportunity again."
Even with no fans in attendance, Syracuse has an option for people who want to be part of the action through 'Cuse on the Couch. A virtual second-screen experience on Cuse.com hopes to bring the in-game experience home to fans' living rooms.
Airing thirty minutes prior to each of the Orange six home games this season. Join host Brian Higgins, live from Club 44 inside the Dome for exclusive content, in-depth analysis, special guest interviews, fan giveaways and more!
The program is accessible through both Cuse.com and the Cuse app.
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Players Mentioned
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