The Abandoned Astrodome And Its Future

[arche_757]

So then the question we should be asking is this: “How do we make the whole Harris County Sports and Exposition Complex nicer?”  And yes, I know that’s not the name - but it is what those building actually are.  I agree the Dome should be repurposed, but the whole complex is garbage urban design.

[EllenOlenska]

I guess I'll just hope is while the city envelops the complex, the complex works toward the city from its center outward, slowly erasing the sea of parking. 

[arche_757]

If nothing else the parking could be made partially permeable to allow some water retention.  It’s insane how much parking is surrounding this complex.  It’s unnecessary.  Make more people park and take LR for events.  Benefits other neighborhoods, since no one going to that complex is spending a dime outside of the event center.  Zero.

 

Its possible it is the worst example of urban planning in this city.

[Specwriter]

On 7/4/2021 at 9:02 AM, arche_757 said:

"TV is chewing gum for the eyes"  - Frank Lloyd Wright

I like this quote, arche. Conversely, chewing gum is TV for the mouth - little to no nutritional value and probably damaging to functionality.

[sapo2367]

The proposed plan above does include additional greenspace by cannibalizing some parking.

 

[Naviguessor]

I sincerely doubt that the HLSR will be down with that Park concept.   Pretty much anything that happens with the Dome will need their approval.   

[arche_757]

6 hours ago, Specwriter said:

I like this quote, arche. Conversely, chewing gum is TV for the mouth - little to no nutritional value and probably damaging to functionality.

Not to digress… I didn’t know my quote was visible?  😆 😬 

[august948]

15 hours ago, sapo2367 said:

The proposed plan above does include additional greenspace by cannibalizing some parking.

 

Looks like somebody's just dialing in the landscaping.  Not a bad idea to have some green space but given the events heavy nature of nrg, it needs to have more open green space and vendor friendly areas (think Japanese festival in Hermann park) instead of just row after row of trees.  Those areas can be surrounded by canopy.

[Montrose1100]

On 7/20/2021 at 12:23 AM, august948 said:

Looks like somebody's just dialing in the landscaping.  Not a bad idea to have some green space but given the events heavy nature of nrg, it needs to have more open green space and vendor friendly areas (think Japanese festival in Hermann park) instead of just row after row of trees.  Those areas can be surrounded by canopy.

Honestly they could have a nice path with trees and vendors from NRG Stadium to the Light Rail stop. Otherwise you're just roaming a huge dark parking lot. Doesn't feel dangerous, just uninviting. I don't really care what happens with the Dome anymore. Should just turn it into a giant parking garage to clear all the surface lots, turn them in year round fair grounds with trees. Could easily get rid of all the lots and maybe even sell some of them to developers. 

[H-Town Man]

People seem to think that because nothing has been done, all the previous ideas wouldn't have worked. But we have no idea if they would have worked or not, because none of them were done. It's very possible we could have had a working facility by now that would be a huge point of pride for the city and county and one of, if not the most notable historical landmark in Houston.

 

[hindesky]

https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/houston-astrodome-future-inside-look/285-ecf4b91b-30d7-4f4c-8cce-77a56d90890b

[tigereye]

On 7/25/2021 at 2:55 PM, hindesky said:

https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/houston-astrodome-future-inside-look/285-ecf4b91b-30d7-4f4c-8cce-77a56d90890b

Met Olschner during the last Dome Conservancy call. He had the interior of his dome park concept as the virtual background, which was cool. There’s just 2 problems with this idea:

Problem 1: 

Quote

"The Astrodome is recognized as a culturally important piece of Houston’s history, and as such it is protected as a State of Texas Landmark from alterations and changes that would impact the character of the Dome.  Stripping it down to an open-air experience would spoil the character and its integrity.  Maintaining the original design and intent of the structure is important and will be key to triggering reinvestment in the Astrodome.”

Problem 2: The NRG Park tenants (Texans & Rodeo) also have to sign off on this. A Dome Park would take away areas where they could make revenues from parking at the very least. The park itself also takes a chunk of the lots the Rodeo uses to stage its events.

Not sure why so many miss the simple point that this project also has to appeal to the tenants. With that in mind, my idea to the Dome Conservancy focused on that very point. Sports franchises are building stadiums with mixed use development attached. SoFi Stadium and the surrounding LASED development on the old Hollywood Park site and Lambeau Field’s Titletown complex are the latest examples. The Jaguars are also following suit with the Jacksonville Shipyards development. The Astros are about to do the same at the Home Plate BBQ site.

Why can’t this happen within the walls of the Astrodome? It makes sense IMO. A mixed use development that both the Texans and the Rodeo can draw additional revenue from during events & year round is an idea they would likely sign off on. And since the NFL likes to reward cities for investment by granting Super Bowl hosting duties, which we’ve been a direct beneficiary of in 2004 (construction of Reliant Stadium) and 2017 (NRG Stadium renovation), maybe an Astrodome renovation into a year round mixed use development might be enough to lure another Super Bowl to town, in addition to the World Cup and Final Four. Competition to host large events that pull in millions in revenue is getting stiff, with AT&T Stadium in North Texas, Allegiant Stadium in Vegas and now SoFi in LA. A Dome mixed use development allows us to remain competitive 

Edited July 26, 2021 by tigereye

[Houston19514]

16 minutes ago, tigereye said:

Met Olschner during the last Dome Conservancy call. He had the interior of his dome park concept as the virtual background, which was cool. There’s just 2 problems with this idea:

Problem 1: 

Problem 2: The NRG Park tenants (Texans & Rodeo) also have to sign off on this. A Dome Park would take away areas where they could make revenues from parking at the very least. The park itself also takes a chunk of the lots the Rodeo uses to stage its events.

Not sure why so many miss the simple point that this project also has to appeal to the tenants. With that in mind, my idea to the Dome Conservancy focused on that very point. Sports franchises are building stadiums with mixed use development attached. SoFi Stadium and the surrounding LASED development on the old Hollywood Park site and Lambeau Field’s Titletown complex are the latest examples. The Jaguars are also following suit with the Jacksonville Shipyards development. The Astros are about to do the same at the Home Plate BBQ site.

Why can’t this happen within the walls of the Astrodome? It makes sense IMO. A mixed use development that both the Texans and the Rodeo can draw additional revenue from during events & year round is an idea they would likely sign off on. And since the NFL likes to reward cities for investment by granting Super Bowl hosting duties, which we’ve been a direct beneficiary of in 2004 (construction of Reliant Stadium) and 2017 (NRG Stadium renovation), maybe an Astrodome renovation into a year round mixed use development might be enough to lure another Super Bowl to town, in addition to the World Cup and Final Four. Competition to host large events that pull in millions in revenue is getting stiff, with AT&T Stadium in North Texas, Allegiant Stadium in Vegas and now SoFi in LA. A Dome mixed use development allows us to remain competitive 

You make a lot of good points.  Why I like the architects' vision and their work on the Dome, they kinda failed to do basic due diligence before starting out on the project.  As the KHOU story reports, the structural work is not possible because it is now protected as an historical site (b) surrounding the dome structure with a forest such as they envision is a non-starter for Rodeo and probably for the Texans and OTC.

I love the concept of filling it with mixed-use, but wonder how feasible it is.  Not sure if the financing can work for all involved (could such a mixed-use development really generate enough revenue to provide a return on the investment for the developers and also keep the Texans and Rodeo unharmed, let alone provide them with additional revenue?  And I wonder how much traffic such a mixed-use endeavor could generate on non-game, non-Rodeo days. 

The plan that was voted down was a pretty darned good plan (unfortunately poorly presented/marketed).  The latter, pared-down plan that the new County Judge put on indefinite hold was a decent compromise that would have allowed for use and later improvement/possible mixed-use development.

[dbigtex56]

On 7/20/2021 at 9:12 AM, Montrose1100 said:

Honestly they could have a nice path with trees and vendors from NRG Stadium to the Light Rail stop. Otherwise you're just roaming a huge dark parking lot. Doesn't feel dangerous, just uninviting. I don't really care what happens with the Dome anymore. Should just turn it into a giant parking garage to clear all the surface lots, turn them in year round fair grounds with trees. Could easily get rid of all the lots and maybe even sell some of them to developers. 

I heartily agree with the first three sentences.
(After that not so much, but to each their own.)

[Subdude]

At the end of the day I just don't think the Dome would ever be successful for "mixed use". I'm not aware of any stadium that has been successfully retrofitted that way. I would leave the frame and let it serve as a picnic or park area.

[tigereye]

11 hours ago, Subdude said:

At the end of the day I just don't think the Dome would ever be successful for "mixed use". I'm not aware of any stadium that has been successfully retrofitted that way. I would leave the frame and let it serve as a picnic or park area.

NRG Park has NRG Stadium, a convention center and an arena all on its footprint. All that’s missing is a hotel/mixed use component. Compare that to Texas Live, which will have all of the above. If the SkyDome can have a hotel within its stadium walls, I don’t see why the Astrodome can’t either. If St. Louis can convert an old train shed into a mixed use/hotel development, I don’t see why the Astrodome can’t be converted either. I think some of you are simply selling the potential of this short 

[arche_757]

I believe this ship has sailed:

My father has long thought the best use of the Dome is simply as a sports facility.  He wanted to see it repurposed as a large multi-sport Olympic level training facility.  Maybe it could have been made into an indoor/outdoor facility by opening some of the exterior?  Could have been a solid complex for the USOC teams to use, additionally, could have had annual trials/competitions etc here.  That’s not a big money/big ticket event on its own, but adding all those athletes here nearly year round, and you tap into the ready resources of the TMC and you’d have a win-win.  Athletes from around the country would have travelled to Houston for medical procedures, rehabilitations and the like (I know some do already, but the draw would have been bigger).  The TMC institution’s  could have opened a large sports medicine complex along Fannin.  You could add a 400 room hotel with some live-work type condos/apartments for reserve for athletes, and the rest available year round for events and conventions.  Of course we’re in the middle of the country with a mild fall-spring and it’s an ideal training complex.  I know that is very, very unlikely to happen now… but pie in the sky ideas like that are what Harris County should have been going after.   

Edited August 2, 2021 by arche_757

[H-Town Man]

Large-scale science and technology museum. That would do justice to the space and draw people.

 

[Houston19514]

Good news/Bad news:  There has been no shortage of interesting and creative ideas for the use of the Dome.  But none of them have come with a financing plan.

[H-Town Man]

1 hour ago, Houston19514 said:

Good news/Bad news:  There has been no shortage of interesting and creative ideas for the use of the Dome.  But none of them have come with a financing plan.

This was the county's excuse for not considering any of the ideas submitted. But the financing plan for any of these ideas could have been the same as the county used for their own ideas: use county general fund and/or sell bonds.

 

[arche_757]

4 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

Good news/Bad news:  There has been no shortage of interesting and creative ideas for the use of the Dome.  But none of them have come with a financing plan.

Should have given the entire facility to the TMC and let them run with it.  Problem solved.  They could have built housing, new facilities and expanded the scale of TMC 20+ years ago.  Instead… we got the Texans.

[TheGreenMeanie]

Sorry to bring up an older subject, but does anyone know anything about this tower I found on Getty Images? Never heard anything about it before:

"(Original Caption) A giant gold abstract star tops the tower dominating an entrance to Houston's "Eight Wonder of the Modern World." It's the city's new Astrodome Stadium which will be inaugurated Friday night, April 9th, with an exhibition baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros. The $31 million dome-covered stadium has a seating capacity ranging from 45,000 for baseball to 66,000 for conventions. The new home of the Houston Astros, formerly called the Colts, features a $2-million scoreboard providing a half acre of information for fans watching the game played under the translucent, hurricane-proof roof."

[tigereye]

Just now, j_cuevas713 said:

I agree. Honestly I don't know how we're going to do it with some of the infrastructure issues we have, especially around NRG. It boggles my mind how Texan fans funnel through those narrow sidewalks and it's even crazier that area isn't more walkable simply because of that. 

One thing they need to is renovate the Astrodome in time for the World Cup spotlight. This city/county simply cannot have an abandoned building sitting next to a World Cup venue. Do something now. 

[bobruss]

Turn the Dome into a giant open air beer hall for the World Cup!

[Houston19514]

18 hours ago, tigereye said:

One thing they need to is renovate the Astrodome in time for the World Cup spotlight. This city/county simply cannot have an abandoned building sitting next to a World Cup venue. Do something now. 

Sadly, our county leadership apparently has zero interest in doing anything with the Astrodome. The 

[phillip_white]

The astrodome could be a hotel, multiple restaurants, parking garage, indoor park, AND beer hall with room to spare. And any renovations would pay for themselves within a decade.

[Urbannizer]

I think the dome should be demolished. The county could work with developers to build mixed-use next to Reliant Stadium. 😇 

[Houston19514]

3 hours ago, Urbannizer said:

I think the dome should be demolished. The county could work with developers to build mixed-use next to Reliant Stadium. 😇 

Why would we demolish an architecturally historical structure that could be utilized for additional convention/event space with a modicum of creativity and commitment from the county?

If mixed-use can be made to work on the NRG Park grounds, incorporate in to the Dome structure. 

[nate4l1f3]

8 hours ago, Urbannizer said:

I think the dome should be demolished. The county could work with developers to build mixed-use next to Reliant Stadium. 😇 

Mixed-use parking 

[mfastx]

I'm down for the parking idea. And then build mixed use on all the surface lots... 🤤