Implosion of the Day: RCA Dome in Indianapolis

More video here. Details on the demolition -- it was a Loizeaux "Controlled Demolition" job:

21/2 miles of fuse wound through the dome. About 9:35 a.m. -- 30 minutes later than planned -- the blasts sounded and the ground shook. After about 20 seconds, 875 explosive devices reduced the four-story, 1-million-square-foot stadium to a pile of rubble.

The collapsing walls resembled falling dominoes as they followed a preset pattern, leaving a massive ring of debris.

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After the dust cleared, a few jagged portions of the old concrete walls were still visible.

That -- and virtually everything else during the implosion -- had been expected.

"Everything looks really good," said Mark Loizeaux, president of Controlled Demolition. "I'm actually surprised the debris is as low as it is."

On all four levels of the dome, crews had placed 610 pounds of nitroglycerin-based dynamite into pre-drilled holes in the supporting columns. More than 100 workers have been involved in the demolition process.

In the hours after the implosion, work crews and safety personnel found no significant damage to area buildings. A piece of steel penetrated the wall of a storeroom at the Indiana Convention Center, Loizeaux said, but crews would quickly repair that, he said.

Loizeaux, whose company is based near Baltimore, also oversaw demolition of Market Square Arena and, before that, four other Indianapolis buildings.

"It's a little ironic that a demolition company from Baltimore had the opportunity to take down the stadium to where the Colts fled when they left Baltimore," said Loizeaux, a Baltimore Ravens fan.

Demolishing the dome cost about $13 million, said Lori Dunlap, deputy director of the Indiana Stadium and Convention Building Authority. That figure includes some site preparation for the convention center expansion, she said. The total project, including the dome demolition, will cost $275 million.

Pictures here.