Ever since the XFL host locations were announced back in late 2018, The St. Louis BattleHawks were a fan favorite. A Big part of this was due to the recent move of the St. Louis Rams back to Los Angeles and needless to say, this left the citizens of St. Louis hungrier than ever for a solid football franchise. Regardless of the team, there was always a constant; The Dome.
The Dome at America’s Center has not gone through a major renovation since 2011. Some Saint Louis city leaders have been pushing to get it renovated and upgraded soon, and they will definitely need renovating if they want the XFL to host the ‘bubble’ in Saint Louis whenever the league does return.
In today’s article we’ll go through the renovations that The Dome could go through if they want to compete for that ‘bubble’ location. Some of these suggestions are more reasonable than others, but that’s the fun of coming up with concepts like these. Join us as we look at the possibilities.
Turf and Lower Bowl
One of the most important things about a football stadium is its turf, it’s what the players will be using a lot over time in the bubble. The current turf at The Dome is not great, previously used by the Rams up until their departure the turf was never good, even ending an NFL player’s career. This current turf would not be able to handle 4 games in two days. So, they need to roll out new turf. Give the dome a refreshing look and make it look more presentable. Also needed to make the Dome look more presentable and have a comfortable fan experience is giving the lower bowl a new look. The new look should include new seats. The current seats are very blocky and small, it would be more than ideal to replace them. If they do replace the lower bowl seats, they should also make the lower bowl more oval. Football stadiums with a more oval or circular bowl look better and could open the opportunity for more seats and a better fan experience. The Dome needs these renovations especially for when fans come back.
Lighting
One complaint I have heard in the past about the Dome is lighting. The Dome needs to upgrade their lighting system, the product on TV will look better as well as the experience in The Dome itself. If they get the right lights, they might be able to do some sort of a lightshow pregame similar to how some baseball stadiums use their lights after a homerun is hit. The benefits of having better lights will show on TV and when fans reach their seats.
Jumbotron
A major part in the last Dome renovation was upgrading their two LED video boards. The Dome should get rid of those and put up a jumbotron so that the fans have easy access to replays and highlights no matter where their seats are located. A jumbotron also has more opportunity for ad space, and can be used for other events like concerts, conventions, monster jam, etc. If The Dome does implement a jumbotron they would need to tear out the two old video boards, which could be a benefit because more seats would be able to go up in those areas.
Conclusion
The Dome needs renovation. However with the current events and the money that would need to be put into this project, it’s just a dream that might not come true. With all the amenities that the city of St. Louis and The Dome have to offer, it may just be worth it to spend the money. Only time will tell and these are just my suggestions, but we’d love to hear yours!
Do you have an idea for a possible Dome Renovation? Let us know down in the comments below, join the conversation on Discord or Tweet at us your thoughts!
