Carrier Dome - Notability

Notability

The Carrier Dome is the largest domed stadium of any college campus and the largest domed stadium in the Northeastern United States. Also, it is the largest on-campus basketball arena in the nation, with a listed capacity of 33,000, however this limit has been easily exceeded several times. Consequently, Syracuse University's Men's Basketball per-game and single-season attendance numbers are usually annual contenders for the top rank in the nation. Lacrosse crowds are not as large, but the venue allows Syracuse's lacrosse teams to play home games throughout the February–May regular season.

The Dome has thus seen many of NCAA basketball's largest crowds. On February 27, 2010, a new on-campus basketball attendance record was set, at 34,616 as the Orange routed the Villanova Wildcats 95-77. The game officially sold out on February 3, more than three weeks ahead of the game. Officials resorted to selling tickets in sections of the Dome—which has a listed capacity of 49,262 in its football configuration and 33,000 in basketball—that are not normally open to basketball games, however associate athletic director Pete Sala insisted that nobody would have an obstructed view of the court. The previous attendance record to fall was also at The Dome, on March 6, 2006, when 33,633 came to see the last regular-season college game ever played by Syracuse guard Gerry McNamara, in a 92-82 loss to Villanova. Further still, that figure broke the previous record of 33,199 set in Syracuse's 60–57 win over Notre Dame at the Dome on February 5, 2005.

On March 19, 2007, a new NIT attendance record was set, at 26,752, in the second-round men's basketball game against the San Diego State University Aztecs.

Artists that have performed at the stadium include Elton John, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Rod Stewart, U2, Genesis, The Rolling Stones, The Police, Frank Sinatra, Garth Brooks, The Who, Neil Diamond, Kid Cudi, Grateful Dead, Kid Rock, Paul McCartney, Kenny Chesney, Ludacris, Rick Ross, Meek Mill, Taylor Swift, and Pink Floyd, among others.

Billy Joel played a special sold-out concert on March 25, 2006, to help mark the Carrier Dome's 25th anniversary. All tickets were sold for $39.50, the same price as his last solo appearance in Syracuse in 1998.

Each October, the dome hosts the New York State Field Band Conference marching band championships.

It also hosts the New York State High School Football Championships each November.

A Billy Graham crusade took place at the Carrier Dome in 1989.