Not sure what the version number is for this, but whatever it is, increment it by one.
Ready and waiting
The Astrodome became the world’s first domed stadium upon opening its doors in 1965. Financed and developed primarily by then-mayor Roy Hofheinz, the Astrodome served as the home of the Astros, Oilers and, for a short time, the Rockets.
Its design was inspired by the Colosseum in Rome. It could seat 50,000 — though a record 68,266 fans packed in for a George Strait performance in 2002. Its inaugural use of artificial grass coined the term AstroTurf. It boasted the first-ever LED scoreboard. It was the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s primary venue from 1966 to 2002. And it earned the nickname of the Eighth Wonder of the World.
On Wednesday, the Astrodome Conservancy unveiled its ambitious $1 billion plan, Vision: Astrodome, with a mission to answer the decades-long question of what to do with the landmark. Gensler Houston design firm created the redevelopment concept.
“The Astrodome has since 2009 struggled with a public relations issue,” Beth Wiedower Jackson, executive director of the Astrodome Conservancy, told the Chronicle.
The conservancy’s chairman, Phoebe Tudor, who established the non-profit organization in 2016 by issuing a $100,000 investment grant, says the building is structurally sound, has undergone remediation for asbestos and is debt-free. “It’s over-engineered, solid and strong,” she said. “It’s in really good shape and just needs some TLC.”
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 Astrodome Conservancy aims to address the needs of Harris County, which owns and operates the Astrodome as part of NRG Park, and its two primary tenants, the RodeoHouston and the Texans.
“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.”
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“I get a dozen or more emails a week for how to repurpose it,” Jackson said. “The primary challenge is satisfying the local operations and management of NRG Park. That is not a damning statement. Contracts written 20-plus years ago give both tenants contractual rights to the Astrodome. Any proposal must have the support of those two primary tenants, the rodeo and the Texans.”
The current 30-year lease agreements, which were likely signed in 2001 and 2002, expire in 2031 and 2032.
“The hurdle is, from their perspective, that there are higher priorities at NRG Park,” Jackson said. “The assumption is that the Astrodome’s redevelopment is not possible without significant Harris County dollars and resources. Their argument is that support should first be spent on maintaining NRG Stadium.”
With those time parameters in mind, Jackson and Tudor say they tried to anticipate the Texans and RodeoHouston’s needs for the next 30 years. Their mission in working with Gensler was to create a multipurpose solution that adds value to the existing programs at NRG Park. The biggest challenge was solving the logistical puzzle of not interrupting access during rodeo season and Texans’ game days.
What’s the alternative?
Demolition could cost $100 million and take up to a year, Tudor said.
See here and here for the most recent Astrodome updates. The Astrodome Conservancy has been around for at least a few years. In some ways it’s kind of amazing to me that 25 years after the Astros played their last game at the Dome and 22 years after the last Rodeo there, we’re still trying to figure out what to do with it. There’s never been any shortage of ideas – my archives are full of them – but none have been able to get sufficient funding as well as the buy-in from the Rodeo and the Texans to move forward. Demolition has never really been on the table either, partly because of the desire to repurpose the space and partly because demolition would be expensive and disruptive and would still leave the question of what to do next. Doing nothing remains the easiest answer.
The Astrodome Conservancy has a vision and some people with a record of getting things done behind it. They also clearly have a lot of work to do to get the Rodeo and Texans on board – we haven’t really mentioned the Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation or Commissioners Court, though I suspect they’d be willing to at least hear out anyone who could get the Rodeo and the Texans behind them – and of course they would need to either raise a boatload of money or persuade Harris County to fund them. The most likely outcome is that we don’t hear anything further until the next story about someone’s idea to repurpose the Dome comes up. But we’ll see.
UPDATE: A response:
“We respect the efforts of the Astrodome Conservancy and have seen their proposed concept. Over the last few years, we have seen several concepts that, while thought-provoking, haven’t resulted in viable funding and maintenance solutions,” said Bishop James Dixon, chairman of Harris County Sports & Convention Corp., in an email statement to the Chronicle Wednesday.
“We are currently working with Harris County and a team of industry-leading experts to plan for the future of NRG Park. The solution for the Astrodome must be decided within that context. In addition, we cannot consider any future vision for NRG Park without first understanding certain baseline financial information related to the Astrodome,” Dixon said.
The Harris County Sports & Convention Corp. is working to obtain data to use in evaluating proposed plans, he said.
“This critical information will provide us with the most viable path forward, ensuring NRG Park continues to meet the needs of its stakeholders and the public for now, and for the future. We are taking this approach because we are accountable to the public. Accurate and data driven information on financial costs and maintenance will inform responsible, realistic decisions that will eventually involve taxpayer dollars.”
None of this is a “no”, but none of it suggests any real openness to what the Conservancy is proposing. The Press, which calls the Rodeo and the Texans “entitled”, says neither of them is interested in anything but demolition. I wish the Conservancy luck but it’s hard to be optimistic.
“Entitled” is putting it politely. I’ve been a lifetime Rodeo member and committee volunteer since before NRG Stadium was even on the drawing board, but there are times when they make Whitmire look open to new ideas. The devil of it is, the Arena is in nearly as bad a shape as the Dome (structurally, probably worse), and the Conservancy’s plan would both replace it with a bigger facility and add parking.