UNI reaches settlement on leaking dome roof

The University of Northern Iowa has settled a lawsuit it filed over a botched UNI-Dome roof replacement project. The university and the state board of regents filed an 11-point-4 million dollar suit against the roof’s designer and construction contractor in 2000, claiming sub-standard work caused frequent leaks in the dome and forced the relocation of scheduled events to other facilities. The suit grew to include dozens of architects, consultants, and sub-contractors who all had a hand in the project. Fearing the likelihood of a month-long trial, the parties involved in the suit settled out-of-court. In the settlement, U-N-I was awarded two-point-eight million dollars and all countersuits filed against the university by the defendants were dropped. The UNI-Dome project involved the replacement of the stadium’s original air-supported fabric roof with a steel-supported structure in 1997.