What is the future of the Astrodome? - Houston Astrodome Future Plans
The date is April 9th, 1965. You’re walking from your car to a massive new stadium. You get to your seat inside of the stadium and look around. 67,925 fans are jam packed to watch an exhibition game between the Houston Astros and the New York Yankees. The President of the United States has turned up for the event, to see the 8th wonder of the world on its opening day. 56 years later the Astrodome sits as a rotting shell of its former self. The Oilers left in 1996 and the Astros left in 1999. The stadium can’t be torn down because it is now on the national register of historic places, but its going to take hundreds of millions of dollars in renovations to make it viable again. What's going to happen to the structure?
That is the million dollar, or should i say hundreds of millions of dollars question. The Astrodome is too much of a Houston icon to be torn down, but until a private citizen is willing to put up the money needed to renovate the stadium, nothing is going to be done. Every few years an idea gets floated to turn the stadium into a park, apartments, and even a 250 screen movie theater but nothing has come from these ideas. What does the future of the stadium look like?
Soon after the stadium’s closure in 2009, Houston launched a bid to host the 2012 Olympics. One interesting aspect of this plan was to use the Astrodome as a main event stadium. The bid was serious enough for the U.S. Olympic Committee to make it a finalist, but New York City was ultimately chosen to represent the U.S.
The second plan to reopen the Astrodome has to be my favorite. A local group as setup named Astrodome Studios, with the hope of turning the massive stadium into a movie studio. The group drew up diagrams that included sound stages, office and studio space, a museum, restaurant, and even a fitness center. The plan ultimately fell through, leaving the dream of Houston movie studio left to rot with the dome itself.
Astrodome Indoor City Park was the next concept that seemed to have a chance at viability. The plan called for leaving the roof of the Astrodome in place and converfting the massive playing surface area into a city park styled space that could be used for the rodeo, festivals, and concerts. Additional changes to the structure were to build restaurants, conference rooms, and educational areas to teach kids about engineering. The plan went to a voter referendum but it too was ultimately rejected, leaving the Astrodome to sit even longer.
The most recent plan came when the Harris County Commissioners approved a plan for the floor of the Astrodome to be raised and a massive parking structure be built on the new underground level of the dome. The second floor playing surface would remain intact for future recreation space. The plan moved forward and was bolstered by the decision on January 27, 2017 to make the Astrodome a state landmark. Construction was set to begin in October 2018, with a goal to be complete by 2020. When new Judge Lina Hidalgo was elected, she chose to scrap the proposal and use the money to focus on more pressing issues with the city. Ultimately no work was performed on the stadium, and it has been continues to sit much as it has since 2009.
The only major changes to the stadium in the decade since its closure include demolishing ramp access into the stadium, and the removal of the seating inside of the stadium. With only minimal repair work being done to keep the structure from falling into a completely desolate space, it truly is a sad site to see.
This leaves us in the year 2021, the Astrodome still sits quietly waiting for a savior. My hope is for the structure to be saved and repurposed into some kind of venue that the entire city of Houston could enjoy. Whatever the city decides to do, the Astrodome will always be remembered as a shining beacon of ingenuity of engineering, and a source of pride for anyone who calls Houston home.
