Commissioner’s Court approves plans for Astrodome

The Astrodome is one of the most iconic places in Houston.

Debuted in 1965, it was nicknamed the “Eighth Wonder of the World” for being the world’s first multi-purpose, domed stadium.

It was home to the Houston Astros, the Houston Oilers and the world famous Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (HLSR). During its prime it hosted many memorable events such as Evil Knievel jumping 13 cars on his motorcycle, Billie Jean King beating Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes tennis match, and Muhammad Ali retaining his heavyweight title.

The opening of NRG Stadium in 2002 left the Astrodome, in many ways, useless. Since then, it’s sat vacant and untouched, until now. March 31, the Harris County Commissioner’s Court approved plans for the Astrodome to be redeveloped as a multiuse facility with an estimated cost of $243 million.

In May 2014, Harris County Budget Chief Bill Jackson revealed that it costs approximately $160,000 a year to keep the dome standing. For years there has been talk about what to do with the Astrodome, including demolition, but none of the previous plans ever came to fruition.

Joe Stinebaker, director of communications for Harris County Commissioner and Judge Ed Emmett, said the main problem has been money and vision.

“The idea at first was that we would turn the Astrodome over to private investors for conversion into some type of profit-generating business, but there are very few investors with the type of financial backing to take over such a large building and enterprise,” Stinebaker said.

He explained that because of this, the Commissioner’s Court has since moved on to the idea of a private-public partnership that combines the public benefits of a park and grand civic space with a series of smaller private businesses.

In late 2014, Harris County hired the Urban Land Institute (ULI) to help create a viable plan for the Astrodome.

ULI’s mission is to find creative, practical solutions for some of the most challenging issues among urban and rural communities today.

During the week of Dec. 15, 2014, a panel of 10 experts from ULI gathered to discuss and form a plan. At the end of the week, the panel presented their report.

Both Stinebaker and Emmett have been very vocal in their support of plans for the Astrodome.

“The recommendations released by the Urban Land Institute are very similar to a proposal I announced in September for a large indoor park,” Stinebaker said.

Some of the recommendations include the development of 1,500 additional parking spaces in the lower levels and a new ground floor to accommodate a variety of uses, including a park.

In addition, they suggest creating a museum to highlight the major events that occurred within the Astrodome and a space to celebrate both the racial and ethnic diversity of Houston, with the remainder of the area being divided between civic space (gardens, parks and green spaces) and leasable commercial space.

The panel also suggests that the Astrodome become the formal entrance of NRG Park by creating a live oak-lined walkway from the Metrorail to the Astrodome.

The skylights will be rehabilitated and the base of the building will be glass. Additionally, a covered canopy will connect the Astrodome to NRG Stadium, thereby completing the procession through the building.

They suggest exploring a number of avenues and sources to fund this project. These include federal, state, county and city funds, tax increment reinvestment zones, historic tax credits, Harris County redevelopment and philanthropy.

“ULI was hired by Harris County to conduct the Advisory Panel,” Eitler said. “What the county does with these recommendations is entirely up to them.”

Once the recommendations were accepted by the Commissioner’s Court, they were passed on to the Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation (HCSCC).

“For now, it lies with the Sports and Convention Corporation,” Stinebaker said.

HCSCC is tasked with refining the proposals. Once complete, they will be sent back to the Commissioner’s Court with a solid plan for implementing them.

ULI outlined a detailed timeframe within their report in which renovations could be completed as early as 2017.

“The county, not ULI, will have to determine a timeframe, but we suggested sooner rather than later,” Eitler said. “If they follow our recommendations it will be a success.”

Houston will host the 2017 Super Bowl, which will bring a huge influx of tourists to Harris County. ULI’s suggested timeframe recommends that the plans be completed before then.

“I hope that a substantial part of the actual park conversion can be completed by then, if not the installation of some of the surrounding private facilities,” Stinebaker said.