The 'Lambeau Dome'

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74_75_78_79_
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The 'Lambeau Dome'

Post by 74_75_78_79_ »

I remember hearing this rumor in the '80s and Thank GOD it never happened!! More-than-bad-enough it happened with the Lions & Vikings!

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Citizen
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Re: The 'Lambeau Dome'

Post by Citizen »

This idea has been floated in Green Bay many times, going back to the 1940s. Cliff Christl:

"the first time I'm aware of anyone connected to the Packers talking about a dome was Curly Lambeau. Just goes to show what a visionary he was. In 1943, believe it or not, Lambeau told Jack Cuddy, a United Press sportswriter, that within five years once the war ended he expected pro football owners to begin building roofs over their stadiums to eliminate the hazards of weather.

The next Packers official to broach the subject of domes, as far as I know, was Vince Lombardi. In August 1966, he admitted consideration was being given to building a dome over Lambeau Field. He said it was architecturally feasible, as long as the ends of the stadium remained open. That was a little more than a year after Houston's Astrodome, the first all-purpose domed stadium, opened. Lombardi said it would take two years to build a roof over Lambeau, but emphasized "it's just in the talking stage."

Nothing came of those talks, but the subject didn't die as more domes were built and the schedule called for the Packers to play more late-season games at home. Then in the early 1980s, the Packers had another study done to determine if it was feasible to put a dome over Lambeau.

In fact, while I was still writing for the Green Bay Press-Gazette in October 1981, I reported that David Geiger had been approached by members of the Packers organization about doing the study and that members of the Packers executive committee had recently toured the Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich., to gain a better understanding of what would be involved if the Packers built a dome."
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