UNI-Dome (pronounced "YOU-nih-dome") is a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy th ...

, on the campus of the

University of Northern Iowa The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI offers more than 90 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities, Arts, and Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences and gra ...

, in

Cedar Falls, Iowa Cedar Falls is a city in Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 40,713. It is home to the University of Northern Iowa, a public university. History Cedar Falls was first settled in March 1845 by ...

, United States. It opened in 1976, as the home of the UNI Panthers

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ca ...

teams. The facility's capacity for football is 16,324. For basketball, its official capacity is 16,324; however, it has seated as many as 22,000 for events such as the 1990

Mid-Continent Conference The Summit League, or The Summit, is an NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic conference with its membership mostly located in the Midwestern United States from Illinois on the East of the Mississippi River to the Dakotas and Nebraska on the W ...

men's basketball tournament and the 1997 NCAA Division I National Wrestling Championships. It has been the home of the Iowa State High School football championships, since 1976 and has hosted junior college football bowl games, wrestling, track and field, softball, concerts and conventions.

History

In 1994, the air-supported roof collapsed in a snowstorm. Since this had occurred on numerous occasions before, it was replaced by a more permanent metal roof. Prior to November 18, 2006, the basketball, volleyball and wrestling team used the UNI-Dome, before the construction of the McLeod Center. The McLeod Center is directly south of the UNI-Dome and connected by a covered walkway. The UNI-Dome attendance record for football is 17,190, which was set on October 17, 2009, during a Panthers homecoming game against the Missouri Valley rival

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of the Upland South than the Mi ...

Renovations

The UNI-Dome's roof was most recently renovated in late summer 2010 due to damages during a high wind storm in July 2009. The cost of the renovation was close to $4 million. The storm knocked down trees, power lines and roofs all over Cedar Falls. The University of Northern Iowa campus lost 20% of its 100+-year-old trees that cover the campus. The UNI-Dome received a new HD video board for the start of the 2008 football season. The board replaced an aging, and many times malfunctioning video board. Much of the cost of the new video board was donated by the Iowa High School Athletic Association, which hosts their state football semi-finals and finals in the UNI-Dome each year for all classes
Northern Iowan article
In 2014, the UNI-Dome had a 98' × 26' video board installed at the south end, then the second-largest in FCS football. The existing video board has replaced the north end scoreboard. All this was made possible with a grant from the Black Hawk Gaming Association. A major renovation was also announced in 2014. On April 26, 2017, Northern Iowa University Athletics announced that it would be adding

AstroTurf AstroTurf is an American subsidiary of SportGroup that produces artificial turf for playing surfaces in sports. The original AstroTurf product was a short-pile synthetic turf invented in 1965 by Monsanto. Since the early 2000s, AstroTurf has m ...

to the field of the UNI-Dome. The total cost of the new turf will be approximately $900,000 and will be paid for from previously allocated internal revenue from the university. The AstroTurf installation was completed prior to the 2017 season.

Notable features

At football games, where cold temperatures are frequently an issue for fans, the UNI-Dome announcers have a tradition during pre-game rituals. The announcers will announce the weather in the town where the visiting team is from, and then will say "The temperature in the Dome, no wind, 72°, Welcome to the UNI-DOME!" to emphasize the fact that a domed stadium is not affected as much by the weather. In 2016, the university celebrated 40 years of history inside the Dome. As of December 1, 2019, the Panthers have a home record of 220–56–1, having won nearly 80 percent of their games in the dome.

Other uses

During the academic year, during hours when the athletic teams are not using the Dome, it is open to the public. Many students and others with UNI connections will come to the Dome to run or walk the stairs and the concourse. The UNI-Dome has hosted graduation ceremonies as well. Perhaps the most notable ceremony was in the spring of 2011, when first lady

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...

delivered the headlining address.

Events

The Dome has also hosted

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

events, as well as concerts by bands such as

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, 3 Doors Down,

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and

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in 1983,

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(2015),

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Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the c ...

, and

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their eponym ...

who set the UNI-Dome attendance record when of 25,500 on December 1, 197

References

External links

* {{Coord, 42.51556, N, 92.46727, W, source:placeopedia, display=title Defunct college basketball venues in the United States College football venues Sports venues in Iowa Covered stadiums in the United States Northern Iowa Panthers basketball Northern Iowa Panthers football Basketball venues in Iowa Multi-purpose stadiums in the United States College softball venues in the United States Buildings and structures in Cedar Falls, Iowa Tourist attractions in Black Hawk County, Iowa 1976 establishments in Iowa Sports venues completed in 1976 American football venues in Iowa Defunct volleyball venues College volleyball venues in the United States College wrestling venues in the United States Indoor arenas in Iowa Music venues in Iowa