This invention relates to an openable dome-shaped roof structure mainly intended for application to a stadium and, more particularly, to an openable dome-shaped roof structure comprising three or more roof sections, wherein at least one of the roof sections rotates generally in a horizontal plane and at least one of the other roof sections slides along the same horizontal plane to widely open the roof.
Such a type of dome-shaped roof structure has been demonstrated at "SKYDOME" in Toronto, Canada. This roof structure comprises four roof sections in which one semi-dome shaped roof section is rotatable in a horizontal plane and the other roof sections are slidable in the same horizontal plane. In "SKYDOME", a hotel is constructed adjacent to a stadium and the slidable roof sections are moved to the top of the hotel when the dome-shaped roof of the stadium is to be opened. This means that in "SKYDOME" an adjoining building is required other than the stadium for supporting the slidable roof sections. This building has to be of a large scale enough to support the huge slidable roof sections.
Therefore, in order to construct the stadium with such a dome-shaped roof structure as set forth above, a vast amount of land is required, other than that required for the stadium, and additional investment is required for constructing the building adjacent to the stadium.
Furthermore, it is almost impossible to reconstruct an old stadium to a new one with the dome-shaped roof structure as set forth above, because the required additional land will not be available adjacent to the stadium for constructing a building for supporting the slidable roof sections.