The iconic BC Place dome that many people, over its 27 years, have likened to a giant marshmallow is no longer visible on the Vancouver skyline.

It was deflated Tuesday morning to make way for construction on the new $458-million retractable roof.

At 11 a.m., B.C.’s Tourism Minister, Kevin Krueger, and B.C. Pavilion Corporation’s chair, David Podmore, turned off the 16 giant fans that keep the roof inflated.

“The deflation took 48 minutes flat,” said Trevor Pancoust, a spokesman for BC Place.

By noon, crews had begun removing the old roof and construction on the new roof had officially got underway. Burnaby-based Pacific Blasting and Demolition was hired to demolish the roof structure and remove the fabric.

“The dome of BC Place has been a landmark of the Vancouver skyline for a generation, and today we begin work on the new roof and a new look for Vancouver and the province,” said Krueger in a news release.

“This project is an economic driver, creating thousands of jobs and it will create a new BC Place when complete.”

Almost 100 per cent of the roof’s 219 metres of Teflon and inner liner will be recycled. It will be sent to a Minneapolis firm called Billboard Tarp Warehouse that specializes in recycling that type of fabric into movie screens, billboards and handbags.

About three per cent of the fabric will be set aside for use as a permanent ice-rink liner in the community of Celista, northeast of Kamloops.

The steel cable system that has held the roof in shape since 1982 will be sent to ABC Recycling in Surrey for recycling.

The replacement roof, when complete, will be the largest retractable fabric roof in the world, at more than four hectares. Officials say the roof will open or close within 20 minutes.

The last time the roof was deflated was in January 2007, when a tear in the Teflon-coated fabric caused the roof to collapse.

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