The Pontiac Silverdome (also known simply as the Silverdome) was a stadium in Pontiac, Michigan. It opened in 1975 and sat on 199 acres (51 ha) of land. When the stadium opened, it featured a fiberglass fabric roof held up by air pressure, the first use of the architectural technique in a major athletic facility. With a seating capacity of 82,666+, it was the largest stadium in the National Football League (NFL) until FedExField in Landover, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. expanded its capacity to over 85,000 in 2000. It was primarily the home of the Detroit Lions of the NFL from 1975 to 2001 and was also home to the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1978 to 1988. In addition, the Silverdome also served as the home venue for the Detroit Express of the North American Soccer League and the Michigan Panthers of the United States Football League, as well as two college bowl games: the Cherry Bowl and the Motor City Bowl. In 2012, the Silverdome served as the home venue of the Detroit Mechanix of the American Ultimate Disc League and hosted the league championship game that season. The stadium was a regular concert venue and hosted a number of athletic and non-athletic events, including the 1979 NBA All-Star Game, Super Bowl XVI, WrestleMania III, early round games of the 1994 FIFA World Cup, and regional games in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. After the opening of Ford Field in 2002, the stadium was left without a permanent tenant. The city of Pontiac was unable to find a good use for the stadium, leaving it empty for 8 years; the city ran out of money, and was forced to sell due to the rising maintenance costs. After multiple attempts to solicit redevelopment plans, the city eventually sold the stadium at auction in 2009 with no reserve for $550,000 (less than 1% of the cost to build the dome) to a Canadian real estate developer. The property had fallen into disrepair brought on by the city's financial crises, and The City of Pontiac's inability to afford to spend the necessary capital investments it required. After a significant financial investment by the new owners, the facility was brought back to its original glory. The millions of dollars invested by the new owners were needed to bring The Silverdome back to a safe