The Pontiac Silverdome would have celebrated its 45th Birthday this week
If you go to any Woodward Sports social media pages you will see a picture of the Pontiac Silverdome. We asked fans to list their favorite memories of the, once epic, Sliverdome. We had some amazing responses. I will list them all below.
My Experience at The Pontiac Silverdome
First, I want to share a few memories I have of the Pontiac Silverdome. As a kid who grew up in Detroit. Then to Walled Lake. Then back to Detroit. The Silverdome was a staple for all sporting events growing up in SE Michigan. My very first memory was going to a Detroit Pistons game there in 1988. It felt very weird to see half the Silverdome curtained off. You walked down the ramp to go into the dome, almost getting thrown inside when you go through the revolving doors. The place felt enormous. One trip around it took what seemed like a whole quarter of basketball. The smells of Big Boy nachos coming from the concessions. Stale beer in the recycled air. Ahhhh, nothing like it.
Youth Football
Second, playing Youth Football in the Dome. I played Youth Football for the Livonia Jr Football League form ’89-94. I played for the Walled Lake Braves. Our last game of the season was always at the Sliverdome. Some seasons we had a great team, some seasons, not so much. It was always amazing to walk onto that hard AstroTurf field. I was able to score a TD on the Silverdome field as an 11 year old. It felt amazing to cross the same lines as my favorite Detroit Lions players like Barry Sanders and Chris Speilman.
Blackout Games
Third, Black out games! The Pontiac Silverdome held about 80,000 people. I have no idea why the designer wanted to make a stadium that big. In reference Ford Field holds 65,000. Back then the NFL would black out games in home markets if the game didn’t sell out. Sometimes it would be game day and you’d find out the game want going to be seen on Local TV. Those days I would hop in my car, park on some random curb, walk up to the Dome, pay $10 for a nosebleed ticket, then walk to any available seat int he house. It was a hassle, but some great memories were had on those short notice games.
I honestly could go on and on about memories there. I saw Jay Z in concert at the Dome. Hulk Hogan body slammed Andre The Giant at the Dome. I saw Johnny Morton do the worm after saving a win-less season. Cant forget the Troughs! Were boys became men! So many more we can cover in a podcast on WoodwardSports.com.
What others thought of the Pontiac Silverdome:
Cant forget about Soccer!
The Crazy Fans
The Disappointments
The Tunnel To Get In
What was your favorite memory? Comment below or head to any of our social pages and comment on the picture! RIP Silverdome, you were awesome and awful at the same time.
