The owners of the Pontiac Silverdome, the former home of the Detroit Lions, have decided to demolish 40-year old stadium next year, according to a report from the Detroit Free Press.
The private owners, the Triple Investment Group, shifted their strategy from selling the property with the Silverdome in it to believing that the site would be more marketable without the 80,000-seat stadium.
The Detroit Free Press adds that about a dozen potential buyers have toured the Silverdome since June, but no sale was made.
The high costs of renovating the stadium have proven to be the major obstacle for any potential buyer to strike a deal with the owners.
The Detroit Press adds that the inflatable roof of the Silverdome, which was damaged in 2013, is now completely gone.
The canvas lies across the ground and the stadium's seats.
Kristine King, a broker with CBRE, the company marketing the Silverdome for the owners, told the Detroit Press that the stadium is going down.
"We will probably start the demolition process in the spring," she said.
The Detroit Press said that Robert Mihelich, the first vice president at CBRE, adds that the stadium roof coming down was the turning point.
"Once the roof came down and the elements got to it, it just deteriorated too rapidly," he said.
Sports Illustrated adds that the Lions has left the stadium in 2002 when the Ford Field opened in downtown Detroit.
The building was sold at auction in 2009 for $550,000 plus real estate fees.
The Silverdome was used sparingly until the city of Pontiac closed it down in 2006, according to Sports Illustrated.
The stadium opened in 2010 and hosted a few events before it was abandoned in 2013 as winds and snow destroyed the roof.
The Detroit Press adds that the goal for the demolition of the Silverdome is to make the land more attractive for future redevelopment, purchase or lease.
The owners will present a conceptual plan to the Pontiac City Council, showing the commercial, industrial, retail and residential potential of the land.
Mihelich told the Detroit Press that Triple Investment will shoulder the costs of the demolition.
The razing will likely take four to six months.
