Check Out the Planned Demolition of the Georgia Dome

It was less than 30 years old, and the only stadium in the world to host the Olympics, the Super Bowl, and the Final Four. I say "was" because it was taken down (mostly) this morning by about 5000 pounds of explosives. Don't worry, it was on purpose.

Also, I used the word "mostly" to describe the building being demolished because, well, it didn't all fall down.

From CurbedAtlanta:

More than 25 years of history came down in just a few seconds this morning, with the flash of explosives and a huge dust cloud marking the end of the Georgia Dome in downtown Atlanta.

However, some of the stadium’s eastern wall—including two sections of upper deck paneling—and the northwest corner of the structure remained standing when the dust cleared.

Initial reports indicate the walls were supposed to collapse; now, they’ll be brought down mechanically if the explosives within failed to perform. It’s unclear if the charges went off in those areas.

Curbed Atlanta goes on to explain that you're just not going to find really old stadiums in the Atlanta area:

Having stood only 25 years, the Georgia Dome was far from old, but its demise was not unusual for Atlanta. Just a block away, the Omni Coliseum was demolished in 1997 after 25 years of use; it was replaced by Philips Arena, which itself is being overhauled after less than two decades.

Similarly, the old Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium—home to the Falcons before the Georgia Dome was built—was used for just 31 years, before being imploded following the Olympics. Its successor for the Braves, Turner Field, lasted for only two decades as a baseball venue, before this year’s conversion to Georgia State University Stadium.

Now that the Dome has been reduced to dust and debris, the site will be raised and leveled off for the creation of the Home Depot Backyard. Eventually, a new hotel is also slated to rise.

The implosion was the second major demolition event of the year in downtown. Back in March, the old State Archives building was also brought down with a bang.

I know what you're thinking. How old is the BMO Harris Bank Center (or, do you still call it the Metro Centre)? Well, the Metro Centre (now the BMO) opened its doors in January of 1981, so you do the math on that one.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting the implosion of the BMO would be a good idea, unless some major professional sports franchise decided to make Rockford its new home--and they were willing to completely pay for a new downtown arena out of their own pockets.

I don't see that happening any time soon. And, that's fine. We've got things like this to enjoy on video, with none of the associated clean-up costs: