dome's day scenario

Ken Hoffman's bold prediction on the latest plan to transform The Astrodome

The Dome as it sat in 1980. What's next?

Photo by Carol M. Highsmith via the Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division

Like the swallows returning to Capistrano or Congress threatening to shut down the government, it’s become an annual event: a group comes forward with a plan to renovate the forlorn Houston Astrodome and turn it into a … something.

Ever since the Astrodome closed its doors in 2008, and was officially condemned a year later, groups have floated ideas to convert the one-time Eighth Wonder of the World into a casino, museum, resort hotel, movie studio, ski jumping facility, amusement park, indoor golf, waterpark, archery range and a million other things.

Some of the ideas were realistic. Some were cockamamie. One group took floating an idea literally and said why not flood the Astrodome floor and recreate history naval battles?

The latest Dome's-day scenario

The latest plan making the media rounds is presented by an LLC called Astrodome reIMAGINEd. The idea, as we reported, is to use private funds to create an entertainment complex with restaurants, shops and even different-sized football fields on the floor.

The proposal has Houston catching Astrodome fever again. What to do with Houston’s most famous landmark? It’s an emotional issue that gets people all worked up with no place to go.

This time around the Astrodome buzz has a new wrinkle. Some are pondering publicly if the Astrodome, just by sitting there, is preventing NRG Stadium from being awarded another Super Bowl. As though the NFL is threatening Houston, either renovate the Dome or tear it down if you want another Super Bowl.

I’ll tell you what’s going to happen to the latest plan, just like what happened with all the other plans:

Nothing.

And I’m calling BS on NFL Super Bowl deciders making the Astrodome an issue. While the Astrodome may be an offensive eyesore, it hasn't stopped more than 1,000 events from booking NRG Stadium, including:

Three Final Fours (2011, 2016, 2023), WrestleMania 25, the Rolling Stones, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, One Direction, U2, Coldplay, MLS All-Star Game, two international Jehovah’s Witnesses conventions, Texas Bowl, plus next year's College Football Playoff National Championship Game, and FIFA World Cup in 2026.

Oh, and two Super Bowls (2004, 2017). So much for the NFL hating on the Astrodome in the past.

A lot of issues under one Dome

The Astrodome currently sits empty, a shell of its former shimmering structure. The gutted building doesn’t have an air conditioning or plumbing system. Most of the rainbow-colored seats are gone. Its only inhabitants reportedly are cats and rats, and back when, a few adventurous young explorers. Let’s call them trespassers.

It currently costs taxpayers somewhere in the range of $150,000 to $400,000 a year to cover the Astrodome’s utilities and insurance bills. It would cost taxpayers an estimated $30 million or more to bulldoze it.

The Astrodome is owned by Harris County and is operated by the Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation. Harris County Commissioners Court has final say what, if and when anything is done with the Dome.

And there’s the rub. County commissioners don’t seem to have the Astrodome on their front burner. In fact, the Astrodome isn’t even in the commissioners’ kitchen. The five-member court appears more interested in dealing with flooding issues, healthcare, and criminal justice reform. I agree those are more pressing problems.

History on its side...for now

Besides, it isn’t just Commissioners Court that would have to sign off on any Astrodome plan. The building, or what’s left of it, has been designated a Texas Historical Landmark and a Texas Antiquities Landmark. The Astrodome also is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Try convincing the Texas Historical Commission, hey, let’s turn the Astrodome into an amusement park. We’ll put the bumper cars and spinning tea cups where George H.W. Bush accepted the Republican nomination for president.

Many of the previous proposals to renovate the Astrodome failed because sponsors were unable to find private financing. You may have heard that interest rates are up and money is tight. You also might remember that there was an election in 2013. Voters did not approve a referendum that would have authorized $217 million in bonds to convert the Dome into a convention and event complex.

Contrary to what many believe, the vote was not about keeping vs. demolishing the Dome. It was about spending public funds to renovate it. The Dome lost. So it sits.

Do something

Like every hard-hitting journalist, I wrote several columns about the bond proposal and Astrodome’s future during 2013. What cheesed me off, a book about the Astrodome’s iffy future was published later and the author listed me as a media member helping lead the charge to demolish the Dome.

That wasn’t true. My position then, and now, is something needs to be done with the Astrodome. I’m good with fixing it up. I’m fine with tearing it down. What is unacceptable, however, is leaving the Dome in its current decaying state. Something needs to be done.

But you know how things work around here.

What do you think should happen to the Dome? Let Ken know at ken@culturemap.com or on Twitter.

Astrodome's new vision

New proposal to save the Astrodome calls for shops, restaurants, and more

Rendering courtesy of Gensler

A new plan for renovating the Astrodome has emerged.

The Houston Astrodome is both the city’s crown jewel and a rotting albatross depending on which direction you view it from. To address the ongoing problem of what to do with the facility, the Astrodome Conservancy has unveiled Vision: Astrodome, the latest bold plan to repurpose the dome by turning it into a small city-within-a-city with four inner buildings and walkable green spaces.

“Our 8th Wonder of the World is as Houston as it gets,” says Abbie J. Kamin, Houston City Councilmember from District C. “This historic protected landmark, filled with generations of memories and a legacy of iconic sports and music, is woven deeply into our hearts and our heritage. I am grateful that the Astrodome Conservancy has found a path forward to not only save the Dome but provide an economic asset Houstonians can enjoy year-round.”

Here's the vision. There will be a central event space on the dome floor. Four building will surround it, offering restaurants, retail shopping, and offices. The plan should result in 450,000 square feet of revenue generating space, all within the confines of the dome itself.

In addition, a connecting boulevard will move visitors throughout the area. This plan is based on New York City’s Highline, a raised walkway built on an old viaduct that opened in 2009 and has become a template for repurposed city architecture across the nation. Not only will the dome boulevard connect the various structures inside the dome, but also lead to the other buildings in NRG Park.

Built in 1965, the Astrodome is one of the most iconic sports stadiums still standing in the world. It was the first domed stadium, ushering in a new era of air-conditioned sports entertainment that earned it the nickname 8^th Wonder of the World. Muhammad Ali fought in the dome, it hosted Wrestlemania, the famous “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match took place there, and it was of course the longtime home of the Houston Oilers, Houston Astros, and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

When it closed in 2008 (and failed to meet fire code the next year), no one quite knew what to do with it. Ken Hoffman, writing in 2019, called it “puny and old, an embarrassing, dingy public eyesore” next to the shiny new NRG Stadium. In 2013, the city held a referendum on spending $217 million to renovate the dome, which failed and seemed to doom the dome to the wrecking ball.

Harris County Judge Ed Emmett started a campaign to save the dome, leading to a long and protracted discussion on what was best for the city. On the one hand, the Astrodome is a fully paid-for asset of Harris County and an iconic landmark to boot. On the other hand, no one could agree on what to do or how to pay for it. The dome waited.

In 2016, the Astrodome Conservancy was formed as a private nonprofit dedicated to revitalizing the dome. To date, they have raised $3 million toward the project, which is still a drop in the bucket when it comes to remodeling the space. Two years later, Harris County Commissioners court approved $105 million to raise the floor and turn the dome back into an event space. Progress was again halted under Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, who questioned whether renovating the dome was a wise use of the county’s money. The county currently spends $150,000 to $400,000 to maintain the empty dome.

So, what will Vision: Astrodome cost and where will the conservancy get it? The answer to the first question is currently: don’t know. The answer to the second question is: don’t know, but . . .

Vision Astrodome is meant to be a “conversation starter” between the major stakeholders in NRG Park according to official press documents. That likely means the conservancy is hoping to leverage economic interest and city pride to raise the money from the Houston Texans and the rodeo. Both have a contract with the county that gives them priority at NRG Park until 2032 and are unlikely to approve anything that threatens the parking situation in the complex.

The rest will likely come from Harris County itself, paid for through taxes and hotel fees. Houston refused to foot the bill in 2013, but nostalgia may have turned the hearts of the populace since then, especially if Houston can get a first-class facility out of the deal. Until then, the dome sits as it has for 15 years, watching the city pass it by.

Rendering courtesy of Gensler

A new plan for renovating the Astrodome has emerged.

dome's day scenario

Ken Hoffman's bold prediction on the latest plan to transform The Astrodome

15 food and drink specials saluting Houston's heroes on Veterans Day

7 hot takes on Houston's 31 restaurants in the Texas Michelin Guide

Former ABC13 Houston anchor Chauncy Glover dies at 39

Astrodome's new vision

New proposal to save the Astrodome calls for shops, restaurants, and more