Quote:
Originally Posted by dangerousdave
I would assume that the black fabric hanging below the outer white colored roof of the GA Dome, was done to allow First to control the lighting and make for a more intimate setting, if that can be done in a 71,000 seat stadium. You could not see upper deck rows above about row 10. I don't believe that the tarp had anything at all to do with any storm damage as the dome suffered very little roof damage.
This year was not the first time the black tarp was used at the GA Dome for the Championship's. It was also used in 2005.
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The black tarp is installed in the Georgia Dome every spring. It stays up throughout the summer, and is usually removed just before the start of football season. The primary reason for the tarp is to keep sunlight filtering through the translucent fabric of the roof from completely overwhelming the air conditioning system and heating the Dome to the point of being uninhabitable. The tarp is usually installed a few weeks after the FIRST Championship, but it may be installed earlier if other Dome clients request it. This year the Arbonne Cosmetics show, which preceded the FIRST Championship in the Dome, paid a hefty sum (you don't want to know how much) to have the tarp installed early to create the right "lighting mood" for their show.

From above, the tarp looks like this (taken while I was crawling around the catwalks above the tarp). You can also see the top rows of seats that are currently being replaced. They were scheduled for replacement prior to the tornado, and are not being replaced due to tornado damage.
-dave
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