Dome 35: The Legend and Future of a Syracuse Institution

How has Syracuse University’s Carrier Dome, with its white-concrete walls and white-bubble roof, become one of the best-known collegiate stadiums in the country?

Dome 35 is a multimedia look at Syracuse University’s iconic Carrier Dome as it reaches its 35th year of operating. One of the nation’s last domed stadiums, and among the largest indoor on-campus sports complexes in the country, the Dome’s unique attributes have made it — and Syracuse in general — famous. Those same qualities, though, have forced the university to wrestle with whether to replace or repair the Dome, a decision the Board of Trustees is expected to make this year.

Explore Dome 35 for an extensive and entertaining look at the Carrier Dome's legacy for Syracuse sports, concerts and 35 years of memories.

Our team of 25 students used traditional and innovative journalistic techniques to explore the Dome’s past, present and future, with a focus on the people and the moments that have made the Dome truly special.

Sports

Brittney Sykes, Carmelo Anthony, Donovan McNabb, Mike Powell: There’s a long list of Orange legends that have treated fans to dominating performances and thrilling victories.

People

Meet the people who squeeze through its vacuum-pack doors to scream from the rafters for the Orange, to sing along with Billy Joel, to peddle beer and hot dogs, and to make sure that famous roof stays aloft.

The Building

Events

From monster trucks to marching bands to the biggest names in music, the Dome hosts a lot more than just sports. We’ve compiled an interactive timeline of every concert staged at the Dome, examine how ticket prices have changed over the years and look at the Dome’s strengths and weaknesses as a performance venue.

Community

Local leaders and business owners emphasize the crucial role the Dome plays in bringing people and dollars to the region, and fret about Central New York’s less-than-stellar track record when making big decisions about its stadiums.

The student journalists were all Syracuse University juniors, seniors and graduate students enrolled in the Newhouse School‘s Web Journalism & Innovation class. Some of the techniques explored in the class and reflected in the project include 360-degree video, time-lapse video, social-media engagement, and data scraping, analysis and visualization.