Proposed Astrodome Hotel

[Subdude]

There's a rendering of the interior in the print edition.

Dec. 18, 2005, 12:32AM

SECOND LIFE FOR 'EIGHTH WONDER'?

Luxury amenities all under one dome

Metroplex hotel could be used as blueprint for revamping Houston icon

By BILL MURPHY

Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

Grapevine

[RedScare]

This project is beginning to grow on me a bit. Not in the sense that I would spend a lot of time there, but in the sense that it would save the Astrodome. The preferred option of a track and field venue will never come to fruition without an Olympics or other large sporting event. This concept has been shown to work in Dallas. That appears to be helping with funding.

Most importantly, this would clean up an aging beauty, also known as an eyesore. Maybe they'll even put in a parking garage, allowing some of the surface parking to be converted to better use.

[The Great Hizzy!]

If done right, it could really heighten the profile of Reliant Stadium as a premiere location to hold world class events under any circumstances. You've already got transit in place. You already have a lot of parking access. Now, if you can provide retail and lodging and do it in a manner that's asthetically pleasing, you'd have something pretty sweet.

[DJ V Lawrence]

That's gonna be a hot project! It BETTER come through.

[musicman]

July 18, 2006, 1:04AM

Dome hotel plan includes 610 exit

Texans officials have 'aesthetic concerns' about a proposed ramp

By BILL MURPHY

Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

A $450 million plan to reinvent the Reliant Astrodome as a luxury convention hotel includes a parking garage and new exit from Loop 610 to keep the facility from interfering with Texans games and performances of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

The 2,100-space, multistory parking garage would wrap around two-thirds of the Astrodome and markedly change the appearance of the facility once dubbed the Eighth Wonder of the World.

Astrodome Redevelopment Corp., a consortium proposing the development, favors building a ramp from the Loop 610 feeder road to the Dome.

But Texans officials so far have balked at the proposed ramp, saying they have "aesthetic concerns" about its effect on the appearance of Reliant Park, county-hired consultants said in a report.

"I really believe we will be able to resolve all these issues," said Scott Hanson, president of Astrodome Redevelopment.

A ramp would cost $5 million to $10 million, while the alternate proposal, a tunnel from the Loop feeder road, likely would cost $10 million to $15 million, Hanson said.

Astrodome Redevelopment proposes to build a 1,200-room, upscale hotel, restaurants, nightclubs, retail stores and possibly performance stages. The tentative theme is Best of Texas, re-creating Texas courthouses and town squares.

Astrodome Redevelopment has little choice but to address the concerns of the Texans and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Their contracts with Harris County, which owns Reliant Park, allow them to demand that the Astrodome cease operations when rodeo season arrives or when the Texans play at home.

The rodeo will look to receive a percentage of revenues from at least some convention hotel operations, including the hotel, restaurants and many, if not all, retail stores, said Leroy Shafer, the rodeo's chief operating officer. "It is my assumption that since we have the ability to keep them in the dark, that this will happen," he said.

Such an arrangement isn't unprecedented for Reliant Park tenants. For example, the rodeo now gets a percentage of revenues from Aramark, which holds the concession contract at Reliant Park.

The Harris County Sports & Convention Corp., the county entity that oversees Reliant Park, and Astrodome Redevelopment are expected Wednesday to sign an agreement, called a letter of intent, that spells out each side's willingness to move forward with the project.

It is expected to say that the county is giving Astrodome Redevelopment six months to obtain financing and seven months to reach pacts on issues including parking, the hotel's ramp or tunnel entrance and profit-sharing.

Astrodome Redevelopment needs the letter to obtain financing. It will be given a year from the time the letter of intent is signed to reach a lease agreement with the Sports and Convention Corp.

The letter of intent "will be a major, major milestone," said Willie Loston, director of the Sports & Convention Corp.

There are 8,500 parking spaces at Reliant Park and an additional 17,500 across Kirby and in other county-owned lots. The Texans and the Houston Rodeo opposed sacrificing any parking to the hotel, so Astrodome Redevelopment added the parking garage to its concept.

The letter of intent says Astrodome Redevelopment would lease the Dome from the county for 50 years with an option to extend it another 20 years.

Astrodome Redevelopment would pay $2.5 million in rent the first year the hotel opens. Rent would rise 3 percent annually. The company also would pay the Sports & Convention Corp. 2 percent to 3 percent of its gross revenues.

The hotel would be modeled on Gaylord convention hotels in Grapevine, Nashville, Tenn., and Orlando, Fla. Senate Hospitality, a Nashville-based company that includes former Gaylord executives, would operate the Dome hotel. Gaylord hotels cater to groups that want hotels, restaurants, meeting rooms and convention halls under one roof.

Houston already has a convention hotel, the city-owned Hilton Americas next to the George R. Brown Convention Center. Unlike the Hilton Americas, the Dome hotel would imitate the Gaylord concept and try to attract groups looking for a self-contained facility.

"Prior to seeing the Gaylord Texan (in Grapevine), I thought it was a dumb idea," Shafer said. "After we visited the Gaylord Texan, we began to see it is a different model. But personally, I still have concerns that it will work."

Edited July 13, 2007 by musicman

[RedScare]

Yes, those parking lot views are so aesthetically pleasing now. I can see why they don't want to ruin the view.

[KDubRedRaider]

Here's a rendering from the Chronicle.

[sevfiv]

Yes, those parking lot views are so aesthetically pleasing now. I can see why they don't want to ruin the view.

yes - and that horrible reliant stadium, too. i don't think i take their "aesthetic concerns" with even a grain of salt.

and the tentative theme is Best of Texas, re-creating Texas courthouses and town squares.

oh please, no...please.

Edited July 18, 2006 by sevfiv

[musicman]

Yes, those parking lot views are so aesthetically pleasing now. I can see why they don't want to ruin the view.

Good pic...guess i never realized just how big Reliant Center is. I just remember that there was always plenty of parking back in the day.

[Trophy Property]

I do not see this happening. The Rodeo yeilds too much power and will get too greedy and ruin this whole concept. I am about ready to say tear the sucker down, build a hotel and a few parking garages and move on down the road.

July 18, 2006, 1:04AM

Dome hotel plan includes 610 exit

Texans officials have 'aesthetic concerns' about a proposed ramp

By BILL MURPHY

Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

A $450 million plan to reinvent the Reliant Astrodome as a luxury convention hotel includes a parking garage and new exit from Loop 610 to keep the facility from interfering with Texans games and performances of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

The 2,100-space, multistory parking garage would wrap around two-thirds of the Astrodome and markedly change the appearance of the facility once dubbed the Eighth Wonder of the World.

Astrodome Redevelopment Corp., a consortium proposing the development, favors building a ramp from the Loop 610 feeder road to the Dome.

But Texans officials so far have balked at the proposed ramp, saying they have "aesthetic concerns" about its effect on the appearance of Reliant Park, county-hired consultants said in a report.

"I really believe we will be able to resolve all these issues," said Scott Hanson, president of Astrodome Redevelopment.

A ramp would cost $5 million to $10 million, while the alternate proposal, a tunnel from the Loop feeder road, likely would cost $10 million to $15 million, Hanson said.

Astrodome Redevelopment proposes to build a 1,200-room, upscale hotel, restaurants, nightclubs, retail stores and possibly performance stages. The tentative theme is Best of Texas, re-creating Texas courthouses and town squares.

Astrodome Redevelopment has little choice but to address the concerns of the Texans and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Their contracts with Harris County, which owns Reliant Park, allow them to demand that the Astrodome cease operations when rodeo season arrives or when the Texans play at home.

The rodeo will look to receive a percentage of revenues from at least some convention hotel operations, including the hotel, restaurants and many, if not all, retail stores, said Leroy Shafer, the rodeo's chief operating officer. "It is my assumption that since we have the ability to keep them in the dark, that this will happen," he said.

Such an arrangement isn't unprecedented for Reliant Park tenants. For example, the rodeo now gets a percentage of revenues from Aramark, which holds the concession contract at Reliant Park.

The Harris County Sports & Convention Corp., the county entity that oversees Reliant Park, and Astrodome Redevelopment are expected Wednesday to sign an agreement, called a letter of intent, that spells out each side's willingness to move forward with the project.

It is expected to say that the county is giving Astrodome Redevelopment six months to obtain financing and seven months to reach pacts on issues including parking, the hotel's ramp or tunnel entrance and profit-sharing.

Astrodome Redevelopment needs the letter to obtain financing. It will be given a year from the time the letter of intent is signed to reach a lease agreement with the Sports and Convention Corp.

The letter of intent "will be a major, major milestone," said Willie Loston, director of the Sports & Convention Corp.

There are 8,500 parking spaces at Reliant Park and an additional 17,500 across Kirby and in other county-owned lots. The Texans and the Houston Rodeo opposed sacrificing any parking to the hotel, so Astrodome Redevelopment added the parking garage to its concept.

The letter of intent says Astrodome Redevelopment would lease the Dome from the county for 50 years with an option to extend it another 20 years.

Astrodome Redevelopment would pay $2.5 million in rent the first year the hotel opens. Rent would rise 3 percent annually. The company also would pay the Sports & Convention Corp. 2 percent to 3 percent of its gross revenues.

The hotel would be modeled on Gaylord convention hotels in Grapevine, Nashville, Tenn., and Orlando, Fla. Senate Hospitality, a Nashville-based company that includes former Gaylord executives, would operate the Dome hotel. Gaylord hotels cater to groups that want hotels, restaurants, meeting rooms and convention halls under one roof.

Houston already has a convention hotel, the city-owned Hilton Americas next to the George R. Brown Convention Center. Unlike the Hilton Americas, the Dome hotel would imitate the Gaylord concept and try to attract groups looking for a self-contained facility.

"Prior to seeing the Gaylord Texan (in Grapevine), I thought it was a dumb idea," Shafer said. "After we visited the Gaylord Texan, we began to see it is a different model. But personally, I still have concerns that it will work."

[MidtownCoog]

Astrodome Redevelopment proposes to build a 1,200-room, upscale hotel, restaurants, nightclubs, retail stores and possibly performance stages. The tentative theme is Best of Texas, re-creating Texas courthouses and town squares.

This is a terrible idea. Best of Texas? Oy vey.

Does this even sound appealing to anyone? It sounds like the last place I'd want to spend time.

[2112]

What ever happened to that futuristic space themed thing? Although not perfect, I liked that a heck of a lot better than this small-town themed, Texas courthouse/town center crap. The space theme is very much Houston. Is modern and futuristic, a characteristic of Houston itself. Nothing against Nashville, but the fact that Nashville is involved just conjures up fiddles in my brain. And what the hell is Gaylord Texan? It all just sounds wrong.

[WesternGulf]

This is a terrible idea. Best of Texas? Oy vey.

Does this even sound appealing to anyone? It sounds like the last place I'd want to spend time.

I have to agree.

[2112]

Ok. I just looked at the picture there. This MAY work. Come to think about it, Disneyland and Disneyworld also use the small town feel, yet they dont instantiate fiddles at every corner either. So as long as it looks MODERN, then, maybe. The picture looks pretty cool. Small town, like disney, is ok, just as long as it is not country.

...But then again, I can't think of anyway that a Nashville-based organization isnt going to go country on us. They may very well turn up the country theme to the maximum level, because they see this as Texas and not Houston. Were screwed...

[MidtownCoog]

I look at it this way...

What kind of moron comes to the 4th largest city in the US, the Space City, and wants to experience a faux small town environment?

Yes, it works for Disney. But Disney is all about being fake and pretend like.

[wendyps]

Does this even sound appealing to anyone? It sounds like the last place I'd want to spend time.

You aren't their demographic. Their demographic is the family in Kalamazoo Michigan coming to Houston for an event, but they don't have the time or the money to travel the state, so they have to get their fill here. They will probably take an afternoon to go see NASA, but can't take the time to go to Brenham (or what have you), so they stay at a hotel that "simulates" small town Texas that is in their mind's eye.

And what the hell is Gaylord Texan?

A BIG, HUGE hotel up in Dallas. I think there are others. I got stuck there at a conference for 3 days...it was fine that there was no off-site transportation, cause everything we needed was there. Stores, like 10 places to eat, bars, cafe's, convention center, hotel, blah, blah blah...

[groovehouse]

Time to tear the dome down. It served its purpose and now it's time to go.

[musicman]

This could be a great success in Dallas.

"But Disney is all about being fake and pretend like." Just like Dallas.

[houstonsemipro]

^^^ And alot of people tour Disney and Dallas also. I agree with the project. It's addition to somewhere else to go to in Houston, and more tourist attraction. Bring it on!

[Montrose1100]

Oh well, atleast you can go swimming in a pool in A/C. I wonder what they'll do about the glass plates on the roof... They seem too yellow/painted over to support a comfortable environment.

[Pumapayam]

The Dome does NOT need to be torn down, it is a strong reliable structure that can be reused.

And just so you know musicman, it is bad practive to copy and paste the ENTIRE article, no matter if you gave the orignal author credit. HAIF has had issues with this from both the Chron and HBJ. Post a blurb, and then the link.

[musicman]

And just so you know musicman, it is bad practive to copy and paste the ENTIRE article, no matter if you gave the orignal author credit. HAIF has had issues with this from both the Chron and HBJ. Post a blurb, and then the link.

In the past i've pasted links to the chron and they disappear fairly rapidly. That is why i posted the text instead.

[VelvetJ]

Not against the idea but I am not thrilled with the concept, simply because it is the exact same concept of the hotel in Dallas. The only difference is Dallas' Hotel was built from scratch.

We always say Houston should be Houston, well this is a case where I couldn't stress that more. I say re-theme it so it will be different from the one in Dallas.

MY own personal idea for the Dome was to turn it into a indoor ski resort so we could push the idea of snow skiing in Houston and being on the warm beaches of Galveston within the same hour. But it was shot down on this site and I don't think it ever even crossed any developers mind in Houston. Oh well, Dallas has actually beat us to it anyway so I suppose we can go snow skiing up there .

Edited July 18, 2006 by VelvetJ

[H-Town Man]

Simply because Latino immigrants hungry for an urban lifestyle don't like traditional Texas doesn't mean other people don't. It is a no-brainer that a hotel/convention center in Texas would play up the Texas theme. If you don't like Texas, there are 49 other states.

I like the blending of the dome with other elements of Texas heritage, showing that the Astrodome is a part of that heritage. The whole idea of a nineteenth-century courthouse under a twentieth-century glass dome... interesting...

[RedScare]

Simply because Latino immigrants hungry for an urban lifestyle don't like traditional Texas doesn't mean other people don't. It is a no-brainer that a hotel/convention center in Texas would play up the Texas theme. If you don't like Texas, there are 49 other states.

WTF?

VelvetJ is Black, Me, sevfiv and MidtownCoog, among others, are White. What does that statement have to do with our collective opinion of this project's hokieness quotient being through the (glass) roof?

[MidtownCoog]

I am looking out my window at a Texas theme.

It's called reality! The real world.

Embrace it!

[T 2 THA C]

I say keep the dome also, seeing how taxpayers are still paying for the last expansion. Or at least get some money's worth out of it!

[Montrose1100]

WTF?

VelvetJ is Black, Me, sevfiv and MidtownCoog, among others, are White. What does that statement have to do with our collective opinion of this project's hokieness quotient being through the (glass) roof?

NO WAY!

[MexAmerican_Moose]

i am in favor of anything that will bring Houston tourists....even if it is the stereotypical texas town theme...

[Pumapayam]

In the past i've pasted links to the chron and they disappear fairly rapidly. That is why i posted the text instead.

That is true (and annoying), I think after 7 days it becomes a dead link and you have to sign up for something, but either way, the "editor" might have to take it off eventually. I was just checking to see if you did know.

WTF?

VelvetJ is Black, Me, sevfiv and MidtownCoog, among others, are White. What does that statement have to do with our collective opinion of this project's hokieness quotient being through the (glass) roof?

Don't forget non-terrorist Persians!

Edited July 18, 2006 by Pumapayam