Iowa should at least consider using UNI-Dome in case of bad weather
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Assuming the 2020 Big Ten football season will last through late December, the weather will almost certainly be a factor, and could be a huge factor.
The average temperature for December in Iowa is 28 degrees, or in other words, four degrees below freezing.
Combine that with the risk of snow, ice and windy conditions and there is the potential for horrible conditions, even for football.
That’s why it sort of made sense on Friday when a caller on the Hawk Fanatic radio show and podcast said that Iowa should consider playing some of its home games at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.
The dome should be available since Northern Iowa isn’t playing football this fall as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference, which has canceled fall sports due to health concerns with the COVID-19 global pandemic..
And with the Big Ten not allowing fans in the games at this point, it makes sense to at least consider if it’s possible the option of relocating to the UNI-Dome in case of adverse weather.
Iowa arguably has the best home-field advantage in the Big Ten, thanks to how close the fans are to the field at Kinnick Stadium.
But take away the fans and Kinnick Stadium would lose much of its energy and appeal.
The thought of playing in a near-empty stadium, and in lousy December weather, is kind of depressing.
The Wave could even be performed after the first quarter in the UNI-Dome. Both teams could face the video screen and wave to the children at the Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital in Iowa City.
It wouldn’t be the same as waving from Kinnick Stadium, but it still would send a strong message of support.
Those who disagree with playing in the UNI-Dome would say that football is meant to be played in all types of weather, so just suck it up and quit being soft.
And while it’s true that football can be played in all types of weather, with lightning the notable exception, the product on the field suffers from adverse conditions.
Remember the 2017 Pinstripe Bowl when Iowa did a slightly better job than Boston College of not slipping and sliding on the icy field at Yankee Stadium?
The weather was perhaps the biggest storyline in that game, and that was unfortunate.
Each of the Big Ten teams will play eight games – four at home and four on the road – over eight weeks, beginning on the weekend of Oct. 23.
Each team will also reportedly play a ninth game on the weekend of Dec. 19, with the two division winners playing in the Big Ten title game on that same day.
The Big Ten is expected to release the schedules soon.
So with a majority of the games scheduled for November and December, there is the potential for bad weather.
It almost seems inevitable.
Perhaps the biggest concern with playing in the UNI-Dome would be the cost of renting it from Northern Iowa.
Some would argue that it makes no sense to take on additional expenses during a global pandemic, which already has caused the Iowa Athletic Department to cut four sports and eliminate 40 jobs.
Fair enough.
But it also would make little sense to play a game in horrible weather conditions at a near-empty Kinnick Stadium, especially if the UNI-Dome were available at an affordable cost.
It just seems worth considering.