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The Loud House
The Carrier Dome has been a part of the Syracuse city skyline since 1980
Background
The Carrier Dome is a 49,262-seat sports stadium located on the campus of Syracuse University. Since its opening on September 20, 1980, the facility has hosted a wide variety of events. The facility serves as the home of the SU Orange in football, men’s basketball, and men’s and women’s lacrosse. Furthermore, the Dome has hosted numerous rounds of NCAA and BIG EAST championships in basketball, lacrosse and track and field; hosts regional and state scholastic competitions in football, soccer and field hockey; and scheduled NBA pre-season games.
In addition to sporting events, the Dome has staged Olympic ice skating shows, as well as concerts by stars such as Frank Sinatra, Billy Joel, Rod Stewart, U2, Genesis, the Rolling Stones, Garth Brooks, The Who, Pink Floyd and many other rock and country performers. SU’s annual Commencement ceremony and various academic convocations take place in the Dome. The Billy Graham Crusade visited Syracuse and the Carrier Dome in 1989. Moreover, the annual celebration honoring the life of Martin Luther King Jr. is hosted in the Dome every January.
Design and Construction
During the summer of 2003 two Daktronics LED?video boards were installed in the Dome. The cost of the project was in excess of $1 million dollars, in addition to significant annual operating costs. The boards feature Daktronics’ Prostar VideoPlus LED (light emitting diode) video display technology. The video system can display live video, instant replay, graphics, animation, player statistics, and out-of-town scores in trillions of shades of color.
An athletics department display area is located in the Ernie Davis Room, named for the 1961 winner of the Heisman Trophy. It is changed each season to highlight achievements for each Syracuse University sport.
Floor Surface
The playing surface is covered in Rubaturf and Tartan, providing space for a basketball floor and an eight lane, 200-meter running track. For football and other field events, the floor is covered with 82,000 square feet of 5/8 inch Astro Turf over a 5/8 inch foam pad. The 26 rolls of Astro Turf (each 15 feet wide) are installed by a machine called a grasshopper and are held together by zippers. For basketball, a 60 by 112-foot portable court made of northern hard maple is set up.
Seating
The full Dome seats 18,404 on the lower level, 5,901 on the mezzanine, and 24,142 on the upper level. Thirty-eight private boxes provide another 912 seats, for a total seating capacity of 49,262. Seating capacity for basketball is 33,000 and for concerts about 40,000, including as many as 7,000 temporary seats on the floor. Seating for the disabled is available at all Dome events.
Meeting Space and Other Facilities
The Carrier Dome’s only meeting space is the recently renovated Orange Pack Room located on the east end of the first-level concourse. Approximately 4,400 square feet of meeting space is available and can be divided into three separate rooms. The Carrier Dome has 14 entranceways, consisting of 32 revolving doors and 62 pressure-balanced doors. In addition to the Orange Pack Room, often used for meetings, luncheons, and dinners, there are 14 concession stands, 16 rest rooms, 16 water fountains, 16 public telephones, and a first-aid room. Facilities not open to the public include five locker rooms and an extensive media operations facility, which seats up to 126 writers. Radio, television, and dark room facilities are also available to the media.
The Carrier Dome opened its doors on September 20, 1980.
It’s one of the first things you notice about the city of Syracuse as you drive in from almost any direction. It’s one of the most recognizable landmarks in Syracuse. The MONY Tower may catch your eye first, but the attention is quickly given to the huge white bubble hovering on the skyline. That structure you see is Syracuse University’s Carrier Dome. It’s a thing of beauty, not just in appearance, but because of what it means to the University and the community of Syracuse, as a whole.
The city’s love affair with the Carrier Dome began as it officially opened for business on September 20, 1980. The SU football team defeated Miami (OH), 36-24 in front of 50,564 fans.
"It was hot and uncomfortable," said SU athletic director Jake Crouthamel, "but no one cared."
The new home of the Orange was the culmination of the ideas and efforts of SU’s administration, including former Chancellor Melvin Eggers, past Vice President Cliff Winters and Crouthamel. It’s one of a kind. No other college has a domed stadium on its campus. It’s also the only domed stadium in the Northeast.
"It was the recruiting tool the school needed," Crouthamel said. "It led us in the direction of being able to support a major sports program."
Since then, countless games, concerts, meetings, ceremonies and events have taken place under the 6.5-acre, 220-ton teflon roof. Both Crouthamel and Managing Director of the Carrier Dome Pat Campbell recall the Nebraska football game in 1984 as one of the most memorable moments in the 20-year history of The Dome. SU, the heavy under-dog, defeated the thought-to-be unstoppable Cornhuskers, 17-9. "That win put us on the map for college football," Campbell said.
For a building intended to rejuvenate a slumping football program, the Carrier Dome has been much more than that.
In recent years, The Rolling Stones, Billy Joel, Eric Clapton, and Bruce Springsteen, as well as many other groups and organizations have called the Dome its home for at least a night.
"Do you think any of them would have come to Syracuse if it wasn’t for the Dome?" Campbell said. "The Dome can host so many functions and events, it has great flexibility."
According to recent studies, the Carrier Dome, which cost about $27 million to build, generates between $10-12 million a year for the Syracuse community. Big events bring significant revenue into the city. The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball East Regional Championship in March of 2002 is the most recent example.
The football team isn’t the only SU athletic program to prosper in the Dome. The boys on the hardwood have been very successful, attracting record crowds to watch basketball. SU led college basketball in average attendance for 11 years in a row, from 1984-85 to 1994-95, including an NCAA-record average of 29,919 in 1989-90. The game against the rival Georgetown Hoyas is usually the contest that attracts the biggest crowd each season. On March 3, 1991, an amazing 33,048 fans lined the walls to watch the rivals clash. Campbell includes these games when mentioning his favorite Dome moments.
"There were such great players on each team," he said. "No matter what happened that year, you always remembered beating Georgetown,"
In February, 2002, SU’s game against Georgetown was secondary to the dedication of Jim Boeheim Court. The hardwood was named in honor of the man who has served as head coach since 1976-77. In March, 2003 SU?broke its own NCAA?on-campus attendance record when 33,071 fans cheered for the Orange in a victory against Rutgers.
The lacrosse team has also dominated during the Dome era. In that span, the Orange has won nine national championships and posted a staggering 145-14 record since 1981, their first season in the Dome.
The Carrier Dome sits high above the city, almost larger than life. It promotes camaraderie, bringing people together to root the Orange to victory. It helps the area economically. It’s become a symbol of the city. It’s the Carrier Dome. Could you imagine Syracuse without it?
