However, it was the high cost of the project that made the idea fizzle out.

Perhaps the main reason why putting a dome over Lambeau never took off was built on the pride of playing in such harsh conditions.

“The Packers are so now so closely identified with playing outdoors and cold weather and it’s just part of their identity. I remember covering Vikings vs. Packers games at Bloomington at the old outdoor Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington. When Bud Grant was coaching the Vikings and I truly believe that that’s been one of their issues is that they kind of lost their identity once they moved indoors,” Christl says.

With the legacy that followed the Ice Bowl on New Year’s Eve in 1967, weather has become the identity of the Green Bay Packers.

“I think now people would consider it pure blasphemy if they put a dome over Lambeau Field,” Packer’s historian, Cliff Christl says.

Knowing Packers players can withstand just about anything remains a testament to our resilience, connecting with fans in a way no dome ever could.

Jeff Fedotin provides visual evidence:

“To do that to Lambeau Field would be a sin,” former Packers president Bob Harlan said. “To me football’s meant to be played outside. If I talked about putting a dome on the stadium, I’m not sure I could walk to the office building from my car and still be alive.”

But before Harlan became president in 1989, the Packers engaged a design team, which included Geiger Berger Associates and The Eggers Group P.C., to study the feasibility of covering Lambeau Field with an air-supported cable restrained fabric roof.

The study, released on August 13, 1982, examined the amount of capital investment, the duration of the construction and the additional revenue that it would produce.

David Campbell, a design engineer in 1982 at Geiger Berger Associates and now the president of Geiger Engineers, estimates it would have cost at least $10 million for the roof and $5 million or 6 million for the heating and ventilation back then.

According to the study, they analyzed the potential of gathering extra revenue through “trade and travel shows, exhibitions, concerts, rodeos, horse shows, etc., as offseason users of the facility in determining the cost effectiveness of encapsulating Lambeau Field.”

If Lambeau had added a dome, the results could’ve been dire. None of those interviewed suggested that Green Bay would’ve ended up losing the franchise, but the NFL’s smallest market always has faced a unique challenge to maintain its team.

“There’s no telling what might’ve happened,” said Packers team historian Cliff Christl. “It certainly would’ve tarnished some of the tradition and charm of the franchise, its romantic appeal.”

Placing a dome on Lambeau not only would have tarnished some of the charm, but also eroded the Packers’ edge. While he was still in his prime heading into his 14th Packers season, Brett Favre had a 38-3 record at Lambeau and a 95.0 QB rating when the temperature was 34 degrees or below. …

The 1982 feasibility study is so esoteric that Harlan, who was the Packers’ corporate assistant to the president at the time — along with several other current Packers staffers — have no recollection of it.

“It wasn’t a huge story,” said Christl, who previously covered the team for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Green Bay Press-Gazette. “But I do remember writing about it.”

The Packers were simply trying to keep up with the Joneses of the NFL. In the 1980s domes seemed like the wave of the future. And two of Green Bay’s NFC Central brethren, the Lions and Vikings, had recently built domed stadiums, providing further incentive for Green Bay to explore the issue.

“The study was done, but I don’t think there was any serious follow-up on that,” Campbell said. “It never had any legs.”

The Packers also were not unique in reaching out to examine the possibility of a domed structure. Campbell worked on feasibility studies to dome San Francisco’s Candlestick Park and Oregon’s Autzen Stadium.

“A number of stadiums were interested in looking at it,” he said. “None of the major stadiums actually did it.” …

To address some of the same concerns raised in 1982 about an open-air stadium in a cold weather climate, Harlan spearheaded a major stadium renovation in 2000. Part of the $295 million overhaul was the Lambeau Field Atrium, a five-story, 366,000-square foot dining, entertainment and retail center on the east side of the stadium that makes Lambeau a 365 day-a-year destination.

“We simply could not have continued to exist in the old Lambeau Field,” Harlan said.

That renovation ensured the best of both worlds. The Packers maintained the ambience of seeing an outdoor game at Lambeau Field while also creating a structure that would generate local revenue for the publicly owned team — without having to resort to building a dome.

“It’s a 1,000 percent consensus that would ruin the Packer experience,” Christensen said. “I love sitting out at Lambeau.”

Only two domed teams, the Rams (once in St. Louis and once back in L.A.) and New Orleans, have won a Super Bowl. Only two other domed teams, Atlanta and Arizona, have gotten to a Super Bowl. (Plus Seattle when the Seahawks played in the late Kingdome, but now they play outside.) Having a dome gets you the chance to host a Super Bowl, but having a dome does not get you to the Super Bowl.

The second point to be made is that the Packers’ home record is not what it once was. The Packers have lost playoff games in Lambeau to Atlanta, Minnesota, the Giants and San Francisco, and all but the Giants should have frozen like blocks of ice in those cold-weather conditions. (The first Giants game on this list had below-zero temperature and wind chill.) The Packers lost their last game last season, a game they needed to win to get in the playoffs, to Detroit, whose last outdoor home field was Tiger Stadium in the 1970s.

But there really isn’t a compelling business or football reason for the Packers to build a dome or cover Lambeau Field. Since its opening as City Stadium in 1957, luxury boxes and club seats have been added for fans willing to pay more to avoid the elements. (Disclosure: The last time I watched a game at Lambeau sitting outside was a late ’90s preseason game.) Lambeau Field has grown from the second smallest NFL stadium when it opened to the second largest NFL stadium now, and yet the Packers have no problem selling tickets in the oldest stadium in the smallest market in major professional sports.

The stadium is also considerably far down on the list for free agent players, since they’re there basically 20 days a year (two preseason games, eight regular-season games and the day-before walk-thrus). The team’s workout facilities, where players spend much more time, would be more important, but those pale in comparison to the top two — salary and chances of winning.

The Packers and Da Bears, Sunday’s opponent, are the only two NFC North teams that play outdoors. Da Bears are trying to exit Soldier Field for a new stadium in apparently one of several possible locations. Apparently a dome is being considered.