DALLAS — The remaining portion of Reunion Arena fell to the ground with a loud crash in downtown Dallas Tuesday afternoon as demolition of the sports stadium neared completion.
Workers began dismantling the former home of the Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars in April. All that remained of the 29-year-old structure Tuesday morning was the roof section over the space where the seating area and playing surface used to be, supported by eight giant columns.
A spokesman for the demolition firm told News 8 earlier that the roof was expected to slowly sag to the ground over a three-day period as workers hammered away at the eight columns one-by-one.
"We decided not to do an implosion because of what was found in the curtain wall," said Jim Rawson of A&R Demolition. "We actually had a change of direction to go mechanical to do that."
The roof section toppled to the ground around 3:30 p.m. in a cloud of dust.
The team has 45 days to remove all of the rubble, much of which will be recycled.
The City of Dallas owns the property. Short-term plans are to convert the plot into a grassy area pending future development.
E-mail cvega@wfaa.com
