Georgia Dome Goes Boom
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ATLANTA (CBSMiami) - Atlanta famed Georgia Dome, one of the nation's largest domed stadiums, was imploded early Monday morning.
Nearly five-thousand pounds of explosives were used for the job.
The dome opened in 1992. It has now been replaced by the one-point-six billion-dollar Mercedes-Benz Stadium next door.
The new stadium is home to the NFL's Atlanta Falcons and Major League Soccer's Atlanta United.
In addition to the retractable roof that opens like a camera lens, Mercedes-Benz Stadium boasts an eleven-hundred-foot "halo board" video display and a giant steel sculpture of a falcon with its 70-foot wingspan at one of the main entrances.
The idea for the Georgia Dome dates to the mid-1980s, when civic leaders recommended a domed football stadium adjoining the city's largest convention center, the Georgia World Congress Center.
The Georgia Dome has been the site of high school football state championships, Peach Bowls, SEC championship games, two Super Bowls, 1996 Olympic basketball, three Final Four NCAA basketball tournaments, concerts, pro wrestling and other events.