SMF

They need to erect a statue to whoever had the idea of building Discovery Green. It may the be single coolest game changer in Houston in the last decade. What a great place to have future New Year's Eve events. I'd love to see the GRB, the Hilton and the Marriott Marquis dripping in some serious lighting like Time Square.

What a waste.

   Are we so certain that this will be "on the freeway"? How do you know it won't be located back a few feet like the W in Dallas.

It is best to have the W along side the freeway so that it is easy for cars to get in and out of it. I hope the W entrance and huge surface parking lot is off feeder so that no driver is bothered by any foolish uptown pedestrians.

O right, because projects don't get scrapped, scaled back or shelved in any other city except Houston. Your bad.

I guess all those cranes on the horizon are just mirages. Why does Houston have to be the only city in the world where projects get cancelled, scaled down and/or modified.

The W in Dallas is about a block away from 35. You can CLEARLY see and hear the freeway from it. It is also very close to Woodall Rodgers freeway too. It is close to TWO freeways. http://hksinc.com/wp-content/uploads/w-dallas-victory-hotel-5.jpg http://dweddings.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/WHotel_Altitude_0029.jpg http://assets.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/Victory%20Park%20P16%20%2011-10*304.jpg?v=1 http://www.americanairlinescenter.com/gfx/PHOTOS/new_photos/vp_ariel1.jpg

   I know I've said all this before, but since you asked and don't feel like clicking back a couple of pages, here is a summery. NO it's o.k. I really don't mind at all. 1. Time is running out. (the wolf is at the door) 2. Skiing isn't a realistic option. (needs 100% private investor - I don't see anyone volunteering money to this) 3. No one with any power is considering it. (proposal time is over) 4. Prefab skiing has limited appeal. (tourist will be doing this in their own towns) 5. Indoor park has more uses, flexibility, ect. (potential to attract a wide variety of events, interests and people) 6. Indoor park can evolve, grow and expand. (today it's a park, tomorrow they add a hotel or something if planned correctly) 7. Astrodome deserves better than a fly-by-night, financially risky, glorified carnival attraction. (a park is more classic - parks appeal to everyone -skiing does not) I'm sure I'll think up some more reasons later.

@ Cloud - It seems clear enough to me. I've seen that figure written in a other few articles and it seems totally believable to me. You can tell by just looking at google maps arial photos that the dome roof covers about 9.5 acres. 7.43 seems believable to me as well. Remind me again why it matters anyway? They can put a park in the dome if it's 9.5 acres or it's 9.5 square feet if they want to. They can plop trees and grass on several layers seating decks if they want to or just keep it no bigger than the baseball field used to be - which is what I would expect them to do. I would expect them to start small and add stuff. I would hope there is a master plan, but I would also hope that they would use the existing seating decks as a way to increase the amount of usable space. Maybe if a park is put in the existing open space at first, those seating decks could be used for other amenities in the future - maybe even restaurants, hotel rooms or something no one's thought up yet. Like I said before the park idea has legs. The diagram that was posted earlier is just one idea. There are an infinite number of ways to make a creative interesting indoor park work in the Astrodome space.

@ Cloud - There is 9.5 acres of space inside the dome. I don't know how I can make that any clearer. They can do whatever they want, use part of it, use all of it, the existing open area, the footprint, whatever. What's the problem? The park idea has the backing of one of the most powerful persons in Harris County and a lot of people like it because it would make the Astrodome an attractive place to hold events. It is the best chance we have to save the dome right now - and a GOOD one. Of course the Astrodome park would not be the kind of park that local residents would be using to walk their dog. It would be a destination. It would be the Astrodome - with a park atmosphere to attract special events. Events that people would either drive to or take LRT to get to. I'm sorry that I keep over-estimating your capacity to 'get it'. If the park idea is silly (and maybe it is a little silly), ideas like the indoor fake ski hill are off-the-charts asinine. There is NO CHANCE IN A MILLION YEARS that the Astrodome will be saved by building a ski slope in it. NOBODY in authority is even considering it.

^ I agree.

   The point is that there is 9.5 acres of space to work with INSIDE the dome. I'm fairly sure that ripping out the seating decks is an option. Although, I would hope that whatever they do, they are able to use some of the dome's height to maximize floor space so keeping the decks would seem to be a good idea IMO. A Gaylord Hotel-like proposal was one of the first ideas rejected. The Texans and the Rodeo got the blame for rejecting it but I'm sure it went deeper than that. Probably had more to do with no one willing to invest in the idea. I thought it was a shame they couldn't make it happen, I think it would have been cool. No offense, but it's hard having a discussion with someone who never even bothers to collect any facts or even reads previous postings before commenting and then has the nerve to offer any assessment of the Astrodome's legacy or future. Seriously, did you not know about the original Gaylord-like proposal? http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Astrodome-hotel-plan-includes-610-exit-ramp-1488657.php Off topic - Cloud, I'm curious, have you ever even been inside the dome in your entire life? Have you ever seen the ceiling from the inside? Please tell me you have, even if you have to lie. You just don't seem to get it. The county is not looking for new ideas for what to do with the dome anymore. They are ESPECIALLY not looking for old ones like the Gaylord idea. Proposal time is over for the time being. Although my posts directed at you may come out sounding harsh. I do admire the fact you want them to do what you think is best for the dome. Ultimately, I think we are on the same side of this issue. Saving the dome is what I really care about. I think the park sounds like a solid and realistic plan to get people into the dome again and have it used and appreciated by the masses.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrodome This says the dome covers 9.5 acres. This wikipage is very interesting. The Astrodome was designed by architects Hermon Lloyd & W. B. Morgan, and Wilson, Morris, Crain and Anderson. Structural engineering and structural design was performed by Walter P Moore Engineers and Consultants of Houston. It was constructed by H. A. Lott, Inc. for Harris County, Texas. It stands 18 stories tall, covering 9.5 acres (3.8 ha). The dome is 710 feet (220 m) in diameter and the ceiling is 208 feet (63 m) above the playing surface, which itself sits 25 feet (7.6 m) below street level.[6]