BC PLACE STADIUM DOME COLLAPSE

BC Place Stadium, the fantastic landmark in Vancouver had to be evacuated a few hours ago. The world's largest air supported domed stadium roof has collapsed.

The dome which was opened in 1983 and can seat more than 60,000 visitors has a fibreglass woven fabric roof covering ten acres. This special fabric roof is 1/30 inches thick and consists of two layers with a gap between these layers of four foot. It is in this four foot gap that hot air is pumped by sixteen fans to keep the roof up. The roof has no extra support from steel or beams and therefore relies entirely on the air from the fans for support.

It takes just an hour to inflate this huge domed roof and anywhere between 4 to 6 hours to deflate the roof. It was therefore a huge shock to see the dome deflate in a matter of minutes a few hours ago. It has not yet been confirmed what was the cause of the collapse and speculation has only gone as far as the awful weather we have been experiencing since the early hours this morning. We have seen hours of constant rain and snow and it can only be assumed at this point that this has had some bearing on the collapse today.

Reports so far are stating that thankfully there have been no injuries. Luckily there was no event on at the time and staff were evacuated effectively. The roads around the stadium have been closed for the moment until the stadium is deemed safe.

For up to date reports on the collapse of the BC Place Stadium Dome, please see there official site here.