A snapped metal support cable helped cause the pressurized dome at the Subway Soccer Centre to deflate, officials said this morning.
No one was hurt when the fabric dome collapsed Monday morning, and there was no damage to the soccer centre’s main building at 7000 48th St. S.E.
The facility’s general manager said today that one of the 35 cables holding the dome in place gave way.
In itself, a compromised cable wouldn’t collapse the dome – but when it snapped, it took a heavy metal anchor with it.
"It tore the bubble as it came up," said Perry Logan.
Officials are still awaiting an engineer’s report to determine why the cable failed.
It was the second time the 75,000 square foot dome has collapsed since 2008, when an older version caved in under a buildup of snow and ice.
The 2008 event raised safety concerns in the soccer community and prompted musings about whether it was better to build a fixed structure instead of another inflatable dome.
In the short term, the soccer centre plans to erect another bubble. Logan said Monday it’s time to seriously examine a permanent addition.
"I guarantee you it will reopen the discussion – I’m starting it," said Perry Logan.
"The goal has to be to be able to build a real permanent structure."
Because of the collapse in 2008, Logan said it’s his habit to look for any excess snow or ice in the mornings – and didn’t see anything troublesome when he arrived for work at 8:30 a.m.
Employees at the soccer centre also perform daily inspections of the dome and the equipment that keeps it inflated.
Operations manager Elden Grover had just finished a walkabout inside the bubble and left moments before it collapsed, Logan said.
It took about six weeks to replace the dome and fix water-damaged turf at a total cost of nearly $1 million in 2008, Logan said.
As was the case then, financial reserves and insurance will cover the job this time around, added Logan.
Although the centre is focused on putting up another dome, Logan stressed it won’t open the replacement until officials are satisfied the structure will be safe.
"Our primary goal is to determine what happened, address that, and then get it up and running," he said.
In the meantime, the soccer centre will shift events originally scheduled in the bubble to the four fields in the main building and to other facilities, such as the Calgary West Soccer Centre.
The Calgary United Soccer Association was busy Monday redrawing schedules for 197 men’s teams and 100 coed teams playing indoor soccer.
Executive director Pearl Doupe said the league has about 50 bookings a week in the bubble, which has three full-sized pitches and two mini fields.
"Unfortunately, it hasn’t been that long since we’ve been through this before, so we have a game plan," she said.
Although the league had to postpone matches in 2008, Doupe said it was ultimately able to reschedule them all by adding earlier and later kickoff times.
But Doupe said the bigger issue is a lack of capacity across the city.
"How much field time can you pick up by extending the day?" she asked.
The soccer centre is owned and operated by the non-profit Calgary Soccer Federation, an umbrella group for the city’s men’s, women’s and minor soccer leagues.
There is no way the federation can afford to build a permanent expansion without outside funding, Logan said.
But with the city facing a $47 million budget shortfall, one alderman said there’s no municipal money for the job.
"The possibility of us coming up with any money in the near future is slim and none," said Ald. Andre Chabot.
A recent survey counted 100,000 registered soccer players in Calgary and ranked it as the city’s top participation sport.
Chabot said he agrees there’s a need for more soccer facilities, and said public-private partnerships might be a way of getting them built.
"I’d be more than happy to initiate those discussions," he said. "I think there’s a greater need for indoor soccer than for ice hockey facilities."
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