One of the most iconic landmarks in Marquette is the Superior Dome, a 14 story tall wooden dome that hosts sporting events on the campus of Northern Michigan University. Opened in 1991, this unique structure was constructed with more than 700 Douglas fir beams and is designed to withstand the Upper Peninsula’s heavy snow and strong winds. The dome can host more than 8,000 spectators for sporting events and up to 16,000 people for other events. The dome also opens its doors for public walking hours, allowing locals and visitors the chance to see the inside of this remarkable facility. When we visited Marquette in June we finally stopped to take a walk inside the Superior Dome and it was an amazing visit. Today we will share a little bit of what you will see inside.

The Superior Dome is best known for hosting football games, and the Northern Michigan Wildcats (NCAA – Division 2) call this dome home and see other Michigan opponents like the Grand Valley State Lakers, Michigan Tech Huskies, Saginaw Valley State Cardinals, and Ferris State Bulldogs visit. The dome also has hosted the Michigan High School Athletic Association 8-Man football State Championship in recent years. Wildcat track and field, soccer, lacrosse, and more also host events here.

A walk around the Superior Dome takes you past several museum-type exhibits. One highlights “the Natural Beauty of the Upper Peninsula” with taxidermied animals, rock and mineral specimens, and more. Another gives some details about the Superior Dome’s role as a USA Olympic training facility. A third focuses on a fe famous U.P. residents like author and Michigan Supreme Court justice John D. Voelker (pen name Robert Traver).

The Superior Dome is also home to the Northern Michigan University Sports Hall of Fame. We had fun looking through the plaques and finding names we recognized. I spotted Detroit Red Wings Stanley Cup champion Dallas Drake and a few other notable names from the hockey world before finding two fo the biggest names on the wall: legendary MSU basketball coach Tom Izzo and former Michigan Wolverines football coach Lloyd Carr.

Inside the dome you can also see the equipment that controls the retractable artificial turf carpet. Underneath this carpet are synthetic playing surfaces for basketball and volleyball and according to NMU it “It takes 30 minutes to retract the artificial turf carpet and approximately two hours for full set up to be completed.”

We’ve driven by this dome many times while on our way to Presque Isle Park and I’m not sure why it took us so long to go inside. It was very cool to see what the Superior Dome looks like inside and to see all of the well-curated exhibits and the hall of fame as well. This is a perfect rainy day activity while you’re in the Marquette area or a great place to check out for a quick walk in any weather. The Superior Dome is located at 1401 Presque Isle Ave. near the northeast end of the NMU campus.