massive blizzard, the roof of Mall of America Field (still commonly referred to as the Metrodome) deflated and collapsed under intense pressure and ultimately forced the postponement and rescheduling of the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings football game.

The game’s playability had already been under close watch, as the Giants were stuck in Kansas City Saturday night after their charter plane was rerouted away from Minneapolis once the airport was closed. but since the Metrodome gave way Sunday morning, the game was moved to Detroit’s Ford Field, to be played tonight with free admission. The video below offers one of the most surreal glimpses to how Mother Nature can affect large-scale structures, even those are relatively young. (The Metrodome only opened 28 years ago, at an initial cost of less than $70 million, and this is the fourth such deflation on record.)

Thankfully, no one was hurt, but that doesn’t make this footage seem any less out of a big-budget disaster movie:

Stadiums today are prepared for all sorts of weather- and environment-related catastrophes. The Louisiana Superdome was used as a shelter during Hurricane Katrina. And Cal’s Memorial Stadium is undergoing a mammoth $321 million renovation project that should help maintain the structure’s overall integrity in the event of a (pretty much inevitable) monster quake that seems likely to strike along the Hayward Fault some time in the next few decades.

Still, you’d think that being in Minneapolis, the Vikings would make sure their home field could withstand nearly anything snow-related, but the imposing (and unpredictable) weather fronts from up north most definitely won this matchup.

And don’t be surprised if those years-long rumors about the Vikings packing up and moving to Los Angeles don’t start up again in earnest.

Images: Jim Gehrz (top) and Carlos Gonzalez (bottom), Star Tribune

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See Also:

• Video: Time-Lapse Shows Yankee Stadium Switcheroo
• Sneak Peek Inside London's 2012 Olympic Stadium
• Meet Mexico's Volcano-Inspired Soccer Stadium

Authors: Erik Malinowski

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