The deflation of the 17-year-old Bielenberg Sports Center in Woodbury was the first step in a $21.8 million expansion project.
With the flip of a switch, Woodbury Mayor Mary Giuliani Stephens last Monday brought down the house — the Bielenberg Sports Center fieldhouse.
For the first time since the distinctive white air-supported dome was installed on Sept. 18, 1995, it was deflated to make room for a new, larger and permanent structure.
The dome's deflation and removal is the first step in a yearlong $21.8 million construction and expansion project.
Along with a new 90,000-square-foot fieldhouse, the project will include an expanded lobby, an outdoor refrigerated recreational skating rink, a storage building, a geothermal heating system and solar water-heating panels, plus improvements to two indoor skating rinks.
Jim Anderson
