We are fans of the Astrodome. Many of us grew up visiting it for all kinds of events. We have advocated in this space several times for keeping it around and doing something, anything with the legendary structure. But failed referendums and a culture of not protecting historic landmarks in Houston have taken their toll on a weary public, nevermind the fact that college age kids were born after the building hosted its last event.
Yet, there it remains as a testament to both Houston’s ingenuity and its lackluster approach to historic preservation — that is a nice way of there is NO approach to historic preservation in Houston.
Still, the battle goes on, now with the Astrodome Conservancy presenting its latest vision for the empty domed stadium. In this case, architects at Gensler have come up with an ambitious $1 billion plan.
Gensler’s design proposes 450,000-square feet of new, revenue-generating space. It conceptualizes four state-of-the-art buildings under the Astrodome’s iconic roof. Inspired by the Highline in New York, a boulevard would cut through the Astrodome to connect existing buildings within NRG Park. There would be room for 1,500 additional parking spots and animal handling facilities could be located under a new ground floor.
Around the perimeter, Vision: Astrodome has conceptualized a retail village for year-round restaurants, hospitality, exhibitions and shopping. An idea has been put forth to lease out real estate within the Dome’s concrete walls for data storage.
The alternative is a $100 million year-long demolition of the historic landmark.
The problem for the Conservancy and for anyone who truly wants to save the building are the very real hurdles facing any efforts to do anything with the Dome. And with a lease that runs out in less than 10 years, there isn’t a lot of time to make it happen before the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and Houston Texans do something unilaterally on the property owned by the county but controlled almost entirely by those two entities.
Hurdle 1: The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and Texans are uninterested in any plans that don’t include demolition.
The reality is neither of the two groups want anything to do with the Astrodome. They recognize the historic significance, but they’d rather have more parking spaces than a rundown old building that serves no purpose for them. We have always found it ironic that groups that only occupy the NRG facilities about 40 or 50 days each year get so much sway over what happens there, but Harris County is weird like that. The city had to foot around half of the bills (through HOT taxes) for three downtown stadiums, but the county was on the hook for NRG Stadium almost entirely when the NFL returned.
Yet, a one-month-a-year rodeo and the sports team with the fewest actual dates of use for the facility get the final say on almost everything that happens there. If you think the rodeo is interested in the Astrodome’s plans, check this quote from the linked story in the Chronicle:
“The rodeo has not had formal conversations with the Astrodome Conservancy in more than a year. The rodeo does not support the previously presented concepts as they conflict with our organization’s strategic vision and operational needs,” said Chris Boleman, president and CEO of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in an email statement to the Chronicle Tuesday.
“We have voiced our concerns on several occasions with the conservancy,” he said. “There is no proposed or official plan that our organization has agreed to or been made aware of regarding the future of the Astrodome. However, the rodeo, Texans and Harris County Sports & Convention Corp. have been working on plans for NRG Park’s future. Our goal remains to focus on the functioning buildings, enhancing our experience, and growing our event.”
Yikes.
Hurdle 2: The location is truly awful for non-event development.
Let’s be honest, the only reason people travel to the NRG area is to go to the rodeo or a football game (or one of the other miscellaneous events held in their combined spaces). No one just hangs out around NRG. It’s the literal end of the line for the METROrail Red Line for a reason. While the Texas Medical Center is practically next door, it may as well be 100 miles from the giant lots surrounded by fences. Not exactly an enticing environment for people wanting to go grab dinner or do some shopping.
It is one of the reasons why the idea of some complementary facility made a lot more sense from the beginning. Trying to turn this into a destination of its own presents all sorts of complex issues from parking to ingress and egress from the giant lot. And during rodeo month or Texans games, it would be nearly worthless for businesses who occupy it. Frankly, we preferred the giant indoor garden someone proposed previously that was NEVER going to happen, but that’s us.
Hurdle 3: Paying for it will be complicated.
It seems to us the only way this will get done is through mostly private dollars and matching grants. Look at how the city managed Buffalo Bayou Park, the signature green space for Houston. It was mostly financed through massive investments from the Kinder Institute. The county has already rejected a previous funding proposal that was put before voters. There isn’t much political will to revive those plans, so the Conservancy is likely on its own when it comes to money and $1 billion is a big price tag.
We absolutely want the Astrodome’s structure to remain. It is iconic and one of the few things you can really point to as 100 percent Houston in a city that values whatever’s next over what happened in the past. But color us uninspired by most of the plans put forward over the years simply because they felt wholly unrealistic.
Without a clear, concrete approach, private funding mechanisms and, most importantly, the blessing of the current rather entitled tenants, this vision is going nowhere.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
