Maybe by the end of the year. But don’t rush County Judge Ed Emmett, who has a few things to say about that study that claimed it would be cheaper than originally reported to demolish the Astrodome.
Still cheaper to renovate than the real thing
Harris County Judge Ed Emmett put that study with all the ones that have been done over the past decade.
“We’re far from making that decision. Commissioner’s Court has to decide what to do with the Dome, and we are all pretty much chewing on the (Harris County) Sports and Convention Corporation saying, ‘Give us the best ideas because we do have to move forward.’ But if the decision were to be made that the Dome would somehow come down, we’d have to go out for bids. So I mean, a study doesn’t do us any good on that.”
If anything, the latest study has renewed interest in transforming the Dome, but he says the lingering question remains:
“What’s the revenue stream that’s gonna support whatever the idea is and that’s what Commissioner’s Court’s gonna have to decide. Once we decide what to do with the Astrodome, the Harris County Domed Stadium, then you start asking the question: How much will it cost and who’s gonna pay for it? And if it involves taxpayer dollars, then the taxpayers are gonna get to have a say on that.”
Emmett says he expects the Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation to contribute to the discussion.
“They know that they’re kind of under the gun to come up with a suggestion as to what the best idea is, and my guess is that they’ll bring options to Commissioner’s Court and Commissioner’s Court will vote.”
There’s audio at the link above. Judge Emmett is hoping that the Sports & Convention folks can present something by the end of the year, in which case we the taxpayers get to have our say on it in 2014. I can hardly wait. Texas Leftist has more.
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