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The Mahaney dome was being re-inflated at press time Wednesday after a large gash was discovered Saturday, March 17, causing the facility to deflate. Officials hope to have the dome fully re-inflated so the interior can be repaired by Thursday.
“We’re in the process of repairing it right now,” said Claude Junkins, director of engineering support services for Facilities Management. Representatives from the manufacturer arrived Wednesday and under their supervision Facilities Management is patching the tears in the fabric using a heat weld system.
“They actually melt the patches together, kind of like a tire patch,” Junkins said. He added that the newly patched fabric will be stronger than it was prior to patching.
The Mahaney Dome, an air-supported indoor practice facility for many of UMaine’s sports teams, was deflated after a large gash formed in the outer fabric covering the facility. The gash was first noticed sometime in the afternoon on Saturday, March 17.
“Worst case, we’ll be back in operation by the weekend after next,” said associate athletic director for Internal Operations William Biberstein.
The dome was put up only 14 months ago, and has since been “an asset to the athletics as well as the campus community and the outlying community,” according to Biberstein. The dome is normally used by the baseball, softball, soccer and football teams for practicing, conditioning and, on occasion, for games. For the time being, the teams that use the facility have had to relocate their practices to either the Field House or the Memorial Gym.
The tear in the dome’s fabric was noticed by people outside the building. The gash in the fabric was between 16 and 20 feet long, located near the southwest door. A second tear in the fabric was found in approximately the same area. Initially, officials tried to remedy the situation by sandwiching a plywood patch around the fabric, but the gash was too long and the building could not maintain pressurization. Officials were able to remove the equipment from the inside the dome and do a controlled deflation.
“We were able to get the equipment out of the dome and get all the light poles down, and basically do a controlled deflation of the dome,” Biberstein said. “Basically we just turned the blowers off.”
There is still some repair work inside the dome that will need to be done, Junkins said. “We haven’t really assessed the other damage inside,” he said.
After the deflation, the dome had to be cleared of all the snow and ice which had accumulated on top of it before it froze over, a process which took until around 8 p.m. Saturday night.
The heavy snow and rainfall on Friday and Saturday was thought to be the primary cause of the tear.
“Our suspicion is that a large chunk of slushy wet snow or ice came down in just the right spot so that it hit the exit door frame,” Junkins said.
Normally in periods of inclement winter weather, the temperature in the dome is increased, to help melt the snow on top of the dome, and the internal pressure is raised to help stabilize the dome against the added weight and wind. The dome is normally kept at a temperature between fifty and sixty degrees. “Especially with the snow, we keep it warmer,” Biberstein said.
The dome is also equipped with a snow and wind sensor, which monitors the temperature of the building and the pressure being maintained on the outside fabric of the dome. When the temperature inside the building is changed, the sensor will slow down the blowers to balance out the pressure. Alternatively, during periods of heavy winds, the sensor can increase the pressure in the dome to stabilize it.
There have been rumors that increases or decreases of temperature inside the dome may have caused the tear. In particular, the temperature in the dome was allegedly raised to 90 degrees Fahrenheit several times before the men’s baseball team traveled to Arizona, to acclimate the players to southern weather.
Both Biberstein and men’s baseball coach Steve Trimper denied this rumor. “As far as I know we’ve never done any stress testing to the baseball team,” Biberstein said.
Coach Steve Trimper verified that the heat in the dome had been increased to around 85 or 90 degrees, but only for purposes of removing snow, ice and water from the top of the dome.
“We had a sagging problem about a month ago,” he said, explaining that sometimes water and ice collects at a low point on the dome creating a depression, which can bring the entire structure down. By increasing the heat and pressure, the dome can “pop back up.”
Bangor Daily News