New Deal (Hopefully) Will Allow Pontiac Silverdome Demolition To Begin

PONTIAC (WWJ) - A deal has been reached between the City of Pontiac and owners of the Silverdome, which is expected to clear the way for demolition of the run-down arena to begin.

Pontiac City Attorney Travis Mihelick says Silverdome owners Triple Investment Group have agreed to dig a deeper hole at the site and then add 25 feet of clean fill dirt to the site, which is required under a city ordinance.

There's also a development in connection with another hangup, centered on what can be used to fill the massive hole that will be created by the project. Plans to use crushed concrete from the stadium were nixed by the city, as an ordinance does not allow that to prevent settling of the ground that could impact future sale of the property.

To address that concern, Mihelick said, a professional survey will be included with the deed so future property owners know that concrete is buried under the dirt.

Demolition is expected to begin any day now and be complete by the end of the year.

The Silverdome was the home of the Detroit Lions from 1975 and the Detroit Pistons from 1978 to 1988. The Lions left the Silverdome in 2001 for Ford Field, the venue closed in 2006, and Pontiac sold the stadium at auction in 2009. It reopened in 2010 and hosted several events, but closed again three years later, with initial demolition plans announced in 2015.

More recently, the dilapidated dome has appeared in the trailer for the upcoming film "Transformers: The Last Knight." It has also served as a parking lot for hundreds repurchased Volkswagen diesel vehicles amid the carmaker's emissions cheating scandal, although the city said property owners did not have the proper permits to store cars there.