Mobile Civic Center Arena roof collapses

On January 24, 2025By Littum

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – The vaulted roof of the Mobile Civic Center – a building the city is in the process of tearing down – collapsed Wednesday morning.

This was one day after a record snowfall for the city of Mobile.

Just after 11 a.m., a witness wrote on Facebook that he “heard it and felt the ground shake.”

Mobile City spokesman Jason Johnson said there were no injuries.

Johnson stated, “Based on an initial evaluation of the site, the arena roof collapsed in on itself due to the snow load. It fell in a manner consistent with the demolition plans. There were no injuries and the mosaic murals have not been damaged.”

Dylan Alidor and Bayleigh Thompson say they went to investigate themselves.

“Yeah, we were out walking the dog, and when we got back to the house here, we heard rumblings in the distance and looked up and you could see a big plume of smoke over the townhouse,” Alidor said.

There was 7.5 inches of snowfall on top of the arena roof after we broke an all-time record on Tuesday.

The roof was completely caved in as the snow around it continued to melt.

The town hall has been on the way to being demolished since July.

‘Major milestone’ – Mobile City Council approves Civic Center demolition contract

Thompson says this is hopefully less work for demolition crews.

“It’s fortunate that it went down in a way that they intended. Yeah, it definitely helped them take a load off. No pun intended,” Thompson said. “It’s bittersweet to see it go down, but hopefully it helps the crews a little bit, you know, so they don’t have to do as much work. A little bit of money has been saved on it.”

The Civic Center will soon be replaced with a new $300 million facility.

The Mobile Civic Center is to be replaced with a nearly $300 million facility

Some say it’s still emotional to see the historic building that has stood for the past sixty years… come down.

“It’s bittersweet. I grew up dancing in the auditorium and we go to Mardi Gras there,” Thompson said. “So I’m excited to see what’s in store in the coming years.”

The city is spending $1.3 million to preserve the mosaics that have been here since the 1960s.