The roof at the UNI-Dome deflated for the third time on the 53rd anniversary of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7th, l994. Too much melted snow built up on the top of the roof and this caused the dome to deflate. The snow came from the biggest snowstorm to hit the Cedar Falls area in l994. During the snowstorm the University of Northern Iowa women's basketball team was playing the University of Kansas in the dome. The dome roof started to leak midway through the game, so the officials had to call the game. Fall commencement was suppose to take place in the UNI-Dome, but due to the problems with the roof, commencement was moved to the West Gym. On Monday, December 19th, almost two weeks after the dome deflated, crews finally had the dome back into the Cedar Falls skyline. It took crews close to forty-five minutes to raise the dome back into the sky. There was still a big mess from all of the water that had gushed into the stadium and this took clean up crews a month to clean up. After this storm many university officials felt it was time to get a new roof on top of the stadium. The deflation in 1994 led to the proposal for a new and improved roof that wouldn't deflate. Due to the problems of the roof the university decided to look into a new and improved roof. In 1996 the university went to the State Board of Regents and asked for their permission to replace the dome roof with a roof that could handle the weather conditions better. The roof the university officials had in mind was 83% metal and the remaining part consisted of fabric. The university said the estimated 10.9 million-dollar project would save the university money in the long run. The Iowa Board of Regents decided to approve the eight million dollar request of the university that would provide better lighting inside of the dome and said, "Let there be light in the UNI-Dome."54 The architects for this project, that was projected to start in the spring of 1998, were from Light Structures Designs Consultants of White Plains, N.Y.
In the spring of 1998 the University of Northern Iowa started its plan to replace the roof of the UNI-Dome. The new roof consists of two parts. The new roof has a lower section that contains stainless steel and a middle section that is made of Teflon-coated fiberglass. The UNI -Dome is the first domed stadium to have a hybrid roof of this kind. The University hired the Penn Co. to put up this 11.8 million-dollar structure in the spring and summer of 1998.58 "The new roof is supported by steel arches and bar joists."59 The designers say that this type of roof will also be able to handle snow and high winds. The lighting system inside the dome will also be much better due to the new roof. "The new roof design keeps UNI-Dome at forefront in arena construction."61 The new roof will be nice for all the people and fans who plan to attend events at the dome in the future. This new 11.8 million-dollar roof is a great addition to the UNI-Dome. The university and community shouldn’t have to worry about the roof deflating anymore with this new and hopefully improved roof.
