Memories of the Pontiac Silverdome

The last panel is waiting to be installed in the Silverdome roof on October 2, 1975. With a seating capacity of 82,000, it was the largest stadium in the National football League. Its signature feature was a fiberglass fabric roof, held up by air pressure.

Detroit rocker Bob Seger performs at the Silverdome on June 27, 1976. For decades it was the largest performance venue in Metro Detroit.

Led Zeppelin, with lead singer Robert Palmer, perform at the Silverdome on April 30, 1977.

Billy Sims, star running back for the Detroit Lions from 1980-84, makes an appearance in uniform outside the Pontiac Silverdome.

A roof camera shows the football field during a Lions game on Nov. 7, 1981.

The Silverdome is packed for a Rolling Stones concert on November 30, 1981.

On January 24, 1982, the Silverdome hosted Super Bowl XVI, between the San Francisco 49ers and the Cincinnati Bengals.

Cincinnati Bengals fans live it up in the stands for Super Bowl XVI.

San Francisco 49ers coach Bill Walsh is carried off the field by his players after his team wins Super Bowl XVI, the first of the 49ers' five championships, on January 24, 1982 at the Silverdome.

Then Vice-President George Bush holds a football after 49ers beat the Bengals in Super Bowl XVI. His motorcade and bad weather contributed to the massive traffic jam leading to the Silverdome on January 24, 1982.

Trash is pushed to the aisles as the clean-up crew gets to work after Super Bowl XVI on January 25, 1982.

The Pistons played at the Silverdome from 1978 to 1988. They hosted the Celtics on Jan. 29, 1985, setting a new record for the largest crowd to watch a regular NBA game: 61,983.

The roof of the 10-year-old Silverdome collapsed under the weight of an overnight snowfall on March 5,1985. It's seen here a week later.

At least seven holes were torn in the fiberglass-and-Teflon roof, warping the wooden basketball floor and sending concrete from the upper deck smashing into several plastic seats.

Three Lions players -- James Jones, Gary Danielson and Eric Hipple -- were practicing when wet snow tore through the roof. No injuries were reported.

A new roof was in place by May 30, 1985. Bill Boaschenstein, president and CEO of Owens-Corning Fiberglas, signs a vent cap as workers and wives watch.

Workers hoist a flag atop the new Silverdome roof on May 30, 1985.

Andre the Giant charges Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania III on Sunday, March 29, 1987, at the Silverdome. It's considered one of the most famous wrestling matches of all time.

Bill Jack Haynes gives Hercules Hernandez a lift at the Silverdome during WrestleMania III on March 29, 1987.

Motown legend Aretha Franklin sings the national anthem at the beginning of WrestleMania III. Traffic was so bad getting to the Silverdome, she arrived just on time, with no time for a sound check. Aretha Franklin headlined a celebrity roster that also included Bob Uecker and Mary Hart.

Madonna brings the Who's That Girl World Tour to the Silverdome, August 7, 1987.

The faithful fill the Silverdome on September 19, 1987, for the visit of Pope John Paul II.

Chalices cover a table during the pope's mass in 1987. Nearly 400 priests and deacons took them into the stands to distribute communion.

A choir sings during the pope's appearance at the Silverdome on September 20, 1987.

Pope John Paul II delivers his homily at the "Mass for the Faithful of Detroit" at the Silverdome on September 19, 1987.

During the NFL players strike in 1987, quarterback Chuck Long and other Detroit Lions picketed as replacement players practiced inside.

There were plenty of empty seats at the Detroit Lions' game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on October 4, 1987.

Mick Jagger, left, and Keith Richards perform as the Rolling Stones make a tour stop at the Silverdome on December 8, 1989.

It's a pileup of Supercross bikes and racers at the Silverdome, date unknown.

The Pontiac Silverdome is seen from above in 1990.

Roof washers work atop the Silverdome on Oct. 23, 1991.

Blocks of artificial grass are brought in for a World Cup soccer match in June 1993.

Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders tries to outrun Minnesota Vikings defenders Corey Fuller, Ed McDaniel and Dixon Edwards during an October 25, 1998 game at the Silverdome. The Vikings beat the Lions 34-13.

The Lions play a Monday Night Football game against the St. Louis Rams at the Pontiac Silverdome on Oct. 8, 2001. The Lions' last game in the Silverdome was the following year. After the Lions moved to Ford Field, the Silverdome struggled to stay viable.

President George W. Bush greets supporters at the Silverdome during a re-election campaign stop on November 3, 2004.

A line of speed skaters skirts the inside wall during the Roll in the Silverdome event on January 22, 2004.

On October 5, 2005, a giant inflatable monster truck advertises a monster truck event happening at the Silverdome.

The last major event at the Pontiac Silverdome was the Snooper Bowl on February 4, 2006, featuring the Snoop Dogg All-Stars, a youth football team from California coached by Rapper Snoop Dogg, playing an all-star team from the Detroit Police Athletic League.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger throws passes to kids before the start of Snooper Bowl II at the Silverdome on February 4, 2006. The Silverdome would close in 2006, was sold in 2009, reopened for a few events in 2010 and close again in 2013.

Moviegoers sit in their vehicles and watch the movie "How To Train Your Dragon" during opening night at the Sliverdome Drive-In, April 23, 2010 in Pontiac.

Chris Hamm, left, and Shayne Taylor of Vidosh North LLC move sod into place on the floor of the Silverdome for the upcoming soccer game between AC Milan and Panathinaikos on July 17, 2010.

Viscount Pools, Spas, Billiards partner Kevin Zacharski of Shelby Twp. talks to visitors at the Michigan Home & Garden Show at the Silverdome on March 12, 2011 about the Vienna 90, a seven-person hot tub.

The ISOC Amsoil Championship Snowcross Series comes to the Silverdome on February 10, 2012.

NFL Hall of Fame Detroit Lions super fan Ron "Crackman" Crachiola overlooks the littered and flooded field at the Pontiac Silverdome on May 12, 2014, prior to RJM Auctions' sale of the contents. A winter storm destroyed the roof again in 2013.

On May 24, 2014, the Pontiac Silverdome's ramp from the field to the area under the stands is flooded and debris from the roof litters the stadium.