Out with a bang? Not even close.

The roof of Reunion Arena will be brought down in a "controlled drop" beginning today. No explosives, no detonation.

But the process, which is expected to take one to three days, will remove the 29-year-old former sports arena from the Dallas skyline once and for all. The roof and columns supporting it are the only pieces that remain.

"I think the contractor and I are both ready for it to be on the ground," said Martha Welch, senior architect for the city of Dallas.

Just last week, city officials and A&R Demolition, the firm in charge of the dismantling, said the plan was to bring the structure down starting in December. But on Monday, city officials said everyone involved decided to move the date up.

A&R Demolition is working with Advanced Explosive Demolition to help demolish the roof, Welch said.

AED's owners, Eric and Lisa Kelly, are being followed by cameras from the Learning Channel's coming series The Imploders. Those cameras will be rolling during Reunion's demolition this week, and footage will air on an undetermined date.

The demolition itself will be somewhat slow-going.

One of the columns holding the roof up will be hammered, causing part of the structure to fail.

That process will continue, with workers taking out one column at a time until the entire roof is resting on the ground.

"You'll see a sag in the building [at the beginning]; then later you'll see the building leaning or half of it down," Welch said.

The process being used is "tripping," during which the roof is weakened and pulled down on itself without the use of explosives.

This also allows A&R to recycle and sell the steel in the roof structure. The city says the project is on track to meet the goal of recycling 75 percent of the materials during demolition.

Completion of the entire project, which includes leveling the site and making it a grassy field, is expected by March.

No roads in the area will be shut down, but the public is asked to stay away from the site for safety reasons.