ATLANTA (AP) – One of the nation’s largest domed stadiums collapsed Monday into a pile of jagged concrete and a vast cloud of dust in a scheduled implosion in downtown Atlanta.
Nearly 5,000 pounds (2,270 kilograms) of explosives were used to blast the Georgia Dome in Atlanta to smithereens at 7:30 a.m. Onlookers gathered at skyscrapers’ windows, at a restaurant atop the city’s tallest hotel, in parking lots and on nearby streets to watch the destruction of the landmark stadium.
The dome opened in 1992, and it was flattened in just about 15 seconds. The Georgia World Congress Center Authority, which includes the 71,250-seat dome, had said it would take 12 seconds for the explosives to go off plus another 3 seconds for sections of grandstands to hit the ground.
The explosives went off in a spiral around the stadium as it collapsed on itself. A vast debris cloud hovered over the site before slowly drifting across downtown.
The Georgia Dome is destroyed in a scheduled implosion next to its replacement the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, left, Monday, Nov. 20, 2017, in Atlanta. The dome was not only the former home of the Atlanta Falcons but also the site of two Super Bowls, 1996 Olympics Games events and NCAA basketball tournaments among other major events. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
The dome has been replaced by the $1.6 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium next door.