Shropshire Star

As sporting memorabilia goes, this is definitely something different

Disused road signs offer a lasting legacy to the old Pontiac Silverdome.

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Two signs for the Pontiac Silverdome which will be auctioned

Forget replica shirts and scarves, or even bedding and crockery.

If you want a real piece of sporting history, then there’s an auction under way in the US which might be up your street.

Which is just as well because the item in question is a road sign – or rather two road signs which direct people to exits for the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan.

The dome opened in 1975 and was bulldozed in December 2017, with the city’s sports teams having moved to new homes – but it lives long in the memory.

It was the home of the Detroit Lions for a quarter of a century and the Detroit Pistons for a decade.

It hosted the Super Bowl XVI in 1982, the 1979 NBA All-Star Game, WrestleMania III, games in the 1994 World Cup and numerous Michigan high school football championships.

Now aluminium signs directing traffic to the venue are being auctioned by Michigan Department Of Transportation (MDOT) with starting bids at $500 (about £384) apiece.

They measure seven feet by 14 feet and weigh approximately 225lbs. If it’s important, MDOT notes, they are both “in good condition”.

The department added: “MDOT regularly recycles old signs but there has been quite a bit of interest in these particular signs since the Silverdome was torn down.”

The auction closes on September 24 with the winning bidders required to collect the signs within two days.

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