Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 14, 1993 TAG: 9303140041
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRIS STEUART STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
STORM DEFLATES ARENA'S ROOF
For the first time since it was inflated in the summer of 1981, the air-supported roof at Radford University's $8.5-million Dedmon Center athletic complex collapsed Saturday morning.The cause of the collapse was undetermined Saturday, but officials speculated it could have been caused by the weight of snow or by a blower-system malfunction.
Maintenance workers were in the building when the roof came down, but no one was injured. The roof was raised again around 2 p.m.
"The roof is designed to collapse," said Dave Armstrong, Radford's physical plant director. "Then we are supposed to be able to raise it back up. That was difficult today because we were working against high winds."
At 4 p.m., 11 people with snow shovels - and a swimming pool sweeper - in hand worked in gusty winds and blowing snow to move mounds of snow from the roof's west side. The outer layer of the roof is one-eighth-inch thick Teflon coated fiberglass canvas, and the inner is a one-sixteenth inch layer of the same mesh.
"Right now we don't know exactly what happened," said Ron Downs, the facility's director and one of those out shoveling. "We are getting the snow off as a precautionary measure."
The deflation could have been caused by a system malfunction or the weight of the snow, although the roof is designed to handle five feet of snow, Armstrong said.
Another possibility, Downs said, was that Saturday's blizzard might have caused the barometric pressure to drop suddenly, which in turn might cause sensors to activate fans and force more air into the facility.
Before the air pressure could be stabilized, the roof sank to 15 feet above the arena floor. The roof's inner liner suffered two foot-long tears when it snagged the shot clocks on the basketball goals at both ends of the court.
Downs said the weight of the snow-filled liner bowed the basketball court at each end. It also bent the shot clocks.
The ceiling is normally about 52 feet above the floor and is supported by nine parallel 1.5-inch steel cables.
The roof's collapse caused the final of the Big South Conference women's basketball tournament, between Radford and UNC-Greensboro, to be postponed from Saturday night until tonight, at the earliest.
Radford Coach Lubomyr Lichonczak said he would meet this morning with conference officials and athletic directors of both schools to decide when the game will be played. "My main concern is for the safety of all those involved," the coach said.
Although the center has two backup generators, Downs' main concern Saturday night was that a power outage would cause the roof to deflate again, which might cause a tear and let water and snow pour into the arena.
"All we are doing is trying to maintain the roof," Armstrong said. "We will have people standing by to make sure everything is operating."