Early estimates suggest the stadium could be out of action for up to 18 months, which means the Invercargill-based franchise will need to find somewhere else to play the four ANZ Championship matches scheduled for the venue.
Steel chief executive Julie Paterson was still trying to digest the news when the Otago Daily Times phoned yesterday.
Her initial thought was that she would be reluctant to move all the Steel's home games to Dunedin's Edgar Centre.
"My first thought was for our membership base," she said.
The overwhelming majority of Steel season ticket-holders are from Invercargill.
"We have to be really careful with the decisions we make around where those games are going to be played.
"We are still working our way through some options at the moment and, to be honest, it is still too early for us to have anything firmed up.
"I haven't even had the chance to sit down with Nigel [Skelt, the manager of Stadium Southland] and have a talk to him about what options there might be. It has just been such a massive shock."
Facilities in Queenstown and Gore do not meet ANZ Championship requirements, which leaves the Edgar Centre or some makeshift court in the undamaged section of Stadium Southland as the only viable options.
The thought of playing designated home games outside Otago-Southland would be unpalatable for the staunch Steel fans.
Edgar Centre manager Blair Crawford confirmed he had "pencilled" the Steel in for another four dates.
The Steel was already playing two games at the venue - against the Tactix on April 9 and the New South Wales Swifts on April 17 - but it may now also host the Steel's home games against the Pulse (February 26), the Adelaide Thunderbirds (March 28), the Waikato-Bay of Plenty (April 17) and the Northern Mystics (May 1).
Crawford said the Edgar Centre could easily absorb the extra games but there was one scheduling conflict.
The centre has a confirmed booking for the Otago House and Home Show on Saturday, February 26.
"That game could be played on the Monday, if they alter the draw slightly," Crawford said.
"I'm sure the ANZ Championship would allow some latitude."
Southland's loss could be Dunedin's gain, Crawford said without wanting to sound callous.
"Obviously, it would be good for the netball community in Otago. They've been desperate to get more netball.
"But at the same time you feel for Southland, and they have to think about their loyal supporters down there."
The franchise operates from Stadium Southland but was locked out yesterday.
The building also houses New Zealand's only indoor velodrome and is the home of the Southland Sharks basketball team.
Paterson was waiting to hear whether she would be able to get into the building today.
But the roof over the velodrome section was undamaged and she expects, once power has been restored and the proper checks completed, the management team would be able to return to the office and begin planning.
A small number of users had to flee the 10-year-old stadium about 11.30am on Saturday when the roof above the netball courts started to crumble.
Luckily, no-one was injured.
"We have never had a snowfall this big before," stadium manager Nigel Skelt told TVNZ.
"We are really conscious it wasn't during a peak time, because the result could have been far more catastrophic. We are just talking about a building here."
The 2000-seat venue cost about $10 million to build and was opened in 2000.
