Planned demolition of the Pontiac Silverdome's upper ring (apparently) unsuccessful as charges go off but the metal beams do not come down. Details @WWJ950 pic.twitter.com/B8Vsn8Vuq5
— Jon Hewett (@JonHewettWWJ) December 3, 2017
Charges went off. Smoke went up.
But the Pontiac Silverdome didn't come down.
The aging structure in Michigan — the former home of the Detroit Lions, and at one time the largest NFL stadium — was slated for demolition on Sunday, but the explosion was a failure.
Executives with Adamo Group, the company in charge of the demolition, say a wiring problem caused 10 percent of the charges to fail to go off, the Detroit Free Press reports.
The #Silverdome before, during and after the detonation.
— Detroit Free Press (@freep) December 3, 2017
Kind of says it all.
(Photos by @junfuphoto) pic.twitter.com/DuselR0cWi
The building hasbeen weakened, however, and could fall at any time, the Free Press reports. The newspaper spoke to Adamo Group executive vice president Rick] Cuppetilli.
"Excavators will be used this week to take out the structure unless gravity causes it to fall on its own before then, Cuppetilli said," theFree Press writes. "So far there are no plans for a second explosion attempt."
Does Twitter have jokes?
Of course, Twitter has jokes — mostly venting frustrations with the historical performance of the Detroit Lions.
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The Pontiac Silverdome did not implode this morning. I guess the building is not used to implosion on a Sunday until 1 pm.
— Terry Foster (@TerryFoster971) December 3, 2017
My league people are telling me that the reason the Pontiac Silverdome did not fall this morning is because Barry Sanders is holding up the steel beams
— Terry Foster (@TerryFoster971) December 3, 2017
Once again angry people leave the Silverdome after a disappointing ending pic.twitter.com/6zvEXU8lGz
— The Drew & Mike Show (@DrewMikePodcast) December 3, 2017
We're 10 minutes post-explosion & the #Silverdome is still standing. The place must be waiting until the 4th quarter to actually implode.
— Jeremy Klumpp (@Klumpp13) December 3, 2017
After attempting to implode the Pontiac Silverdome, the Lions now still have as many successful Stadium implosions as they do Super Bowl trophies pic.twitter.com/4v8KZVIz4f
— Someone's An Idiot (@SomeonesAnIdiot) December 3, 2017