Tag Archives: Astrodome

State of the county 2016

Posted on February 4, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This year’s theme is cooperation and meeting challenges. In his ongoing effort to revive the Astrodome, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett on Tuesday proposed using the aging landmark for an outdoor light show when Houston hosts the Super Bowl next … Continue reading →

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Under the Dome

Posted on January 28, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The latest plan to save the Dome takes a step forward. Harris County Commissioners Court moved forward on Tuesday with one piece of the Astrodome revival that needs to happen whether or not the park plan is achieved, according to … Continue reading →

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The Chron on the El Franco Lee successor selection process

Posted on January 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

First, a lamentation. Not even a month has passed since Sylvester Turner was sworn in as Houston’s new mayor, and already the next election cycle is just around the corner. Early voting for party primaries is about a month away, … Continue reading →

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Highlighting wages in the Mayor’s race

Posted on October 3, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Coalition Calls on Next Mayor to Raise Minimum Wage for Publicly Funded Projects Today, a coalition of community and labor organizations staged a tour of of sites that received tax dollars to tell the story of how … Continue reading →

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Katrina, ten years after

Posted on August 28, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Hurricane Katrina made landfall ten years ago this weekend. The Chron looks at the role Houston played in the aftermath, and the changes that resulted. Before and after Katrina’s Aug. 29 landfall as a strong Category 3 storm, more than … Continue reading →

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Is this the plan that will save the Dome?

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe. A few months ago Ed Emmett had a breakthrough moment about how to save the Astrodome, a goal he’s been chipping away at for the better part of eight years. The Harris County judge was driving out of the … Continue reading →

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The Euro-Dome

Posted on May 9, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

What can the Germans teach us about saving the Astrodome? For years, Ed Emmett has been trying to figure out what to do with the Astrodome, one of the world’s grandest and wackiest-looking civic arenas. This week, he is on … Continue reading →

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ULI releases its Astrodome plan

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Feast your eyes on what the Urban Land Institute has in mind for the Astrodome. A final assessment by a group focused on sparing the Astrodome from the wrecking ball sets the price tag of reusing the iconic stadium at … Continue reading →

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The NFL would like us to spruce things up for the Super Bowl

Posted on March 1, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s only $50 million. What else do we have to spend it on? Before Houston hosts Super Bowl LI in 2017, NRG Stadium needs upgrades, including Wi-Fi installation and improvements to suites and club seats, according to Peter O’Reilly, the … Continue reading →

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State of the county 2015: Please cooperate more

Posted on February 21, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Harris County Judge Ed Emmett makes his eighth State if the County address. In his eighth State of the County address, Emmett had choice words for both Austin – which is weighing a reduction in property taxes that form the … Continue reading →

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Losing our sports history

Posted on February 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This is sad. The original championship banners for the Rockets and the WNBA’s defunct Comets remain on display at Toyota Center, as do banners saluting both teams’ representatives in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. After that, Houston’s legacy … Continue reading →

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More on the ULI Astrodome plan

Posted on January 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From Tory Gattis: This was not a presentation of, “well, if the all the stars line up you might be able to make this work.” The theme was more, “this is an absolutely incredible opportunity and you would be fools … Continue reading →

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Urban Land Institute report on the Astrodome

Posted on December 21, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Is this, at long last, The Plan for the Astrodome? The iconic, yet aging Astrodome is worth saving from the wrecking ball and could find new life as a massive indoor park and green space, a national land use group … Continue reading →

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KHOU poll shows little support for Astrodome Park plan

Posted on October 25, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Another result of interest from that KHOU/KUHF poll. The plan to turn the Astrodome into the world’s largest indoor park is politically unpopular with Harris County voters if the transformation requires any taxpayer dollars, according to a new poll released … Continue reading →

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KHOU: Abbott 47, Davis 32

Posted on October 21, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

A new poll to open Early Voting. As early voters head to the polls for a landmark election in Texas, a new survey conducted for KHOU-TV and Houston Public Media shows Republican Greg Abbott with a commanding lead over Democrat … Continue reading →

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The Historical Commission, the expert panel, and the Dome

Posted on September 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

And Judge Ed Emmett, the connection between them all. As a group of national experts convenes to figure out what is best to do with the Astrodome, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett on Tuesday briefed the chairman and staff of … Continue reading →

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More on the Emmett Astrodome Park plan

Posted on August 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good to know that an architect thinks its feasible, but it will need more than that to become reality. Kinder Baumgardner, president of SWA Architects, the firm behind several public projects in Houston involving parks, said plenty of big-idea architectural … Continue reading →

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How about Astrodome Indoor Park?

Posted on August 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

County Judge Ed Emmett gives his vision for the Astrodome. Harris County Judge Ed Emmett on Tuesday proposed turning the Astrodome into “the world’s largest indoor park” and recreation area, a concept he said would honor the reason his predecessor … Continue reading →

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Astrodome Park proponents tout a survey showing people like the idea of Astrodome Park

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

How can you argue with that? The NRG Astrodome should be turned into a green space similar to Discovery Green downtown, said a majority of people recently surveyed about the future of the former sports arena. The survey, ordered by … Continue reading →

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A second chance to get a piece of the Dome

Posted on August 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

There’s going to be another Astrodome memorabilia sale in the near future. The Harris County Sports and Convention Corp. is considering selling more seats out of the Astrodome after raking in $1.5 million late last year during two online auctions … Continue reading →

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The Astrodome isn’t officially a historic landmark just yet

Posted on August 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The decision has been delayed until there can be a meeting to discuss it in Houston. Honoring a request by Harris County officials to table the vote and meet much closer to Houston, the Texas Historical Commission voted Wednesday at … Continue reading →

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Chron agrees that the Astrodome Park plan is silly

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

So there you have it. There is something uniquely Houston about tearing down an historic structure to build a memorial commemorating the history of that very structure. But that is exactly what the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the … Continue reading →

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Emmett doesn’t like Astrodome Park

Posted on July 19, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

And he’s not afraid to say so. Hoping to jump-start another discussion about redeveloping the Astrodome, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett on Thursday called the Houston Texans and the Rodeo’s proposal to demolish the iconic stadium and replace it with … Continue reading →

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Astrodome Park: The population isn’t the problem

Posted on July 16, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Greg Wythe addresses one of the central questions about the proposed Astrodome Park in this comment that I thought was worth highlighting on the front page. As it turns out, there are a number of apartments situated to the east … Continue reading →

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Could Astrodome Park actually work?

Posted on July 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Lisa Gray asks a good question about the proposal to turn the Astrodome into green space. Could that really be a park like Discovery Green? It’s easy to imagine that green space being useful, say, for a Super Bowl party, … Continue reading →

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The Rodeo and the Texans would like to demolish the Dome now, please

Posted on July 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Yeah, I don’t know how well this will go over. County leaders said Thursday they are open to considering a $66 million plan devised by the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the NFL’s Houston Texans to demolish the iconic … Continue reading →

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Astrodome preservationists make their case for historic landmark status

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Ted Powell and Cynthia Neely, the driving forces behind the push to designate the Astrodome as a national and state landmark, write an op-ed outlining their reasoning. As the Texans and the Rodeo view a third-party investor as not boosting, … Continue reading →

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They don’t make historic landmarks like they used to

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

If it can still be demolished, it’s fair to ask what was the point. The impending designation of the Astrodome as a so-called “state antiquities landmark” has offered new hope to those who want to save the iconic stadium, but … Continue reading →

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Let’s talk about the Dome

Posted on May 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Time for a come to Judge Emmett meeting about everyone’s favorite historic yet threatened local landmark. Emmett said he wants to use the meeting next Wednesday to clear up any confusion surrounding last week’s unanimous vote by the state’s Antiquities … Continue reading →

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A step forward for the historic Astrodome

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From CultureMap: Efforts to make the Astrodome a State Antiquities Landmark took a key step forward Tuesday as the state Antiquities Advisory Board voted unanimously to forward the application to the Texas Historical Commission. Such a designation would prevent the … Continue reading →

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Astrodome: Deep Space Nine

Posted on April 5, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This is now my favorite idea for What To Do With The Dome. Right now the folks in Houston are trying to figure out what to do with the Astrodome, which has been sitting vacant for several years. Many plans … Continue reading →

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The historic Astrodome

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Not sure what effect this will have. The National Park Service has added the Astrodome, the world’s first domed stadium, to the National Register of Historic Places, making it eligible for tax breaks to aid in its rehabilitation but offering … Continue reading →

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Saving Rice Stadium

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Houston has another historic stadium in it that’s seen better days, but this one is still in use and has some hope of being restored to its former glory. As a place to watch a game, there are few better … Continue reading →

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The Dome’s status is complicated

Posted on December 13, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Is it a landmark or not? If so, what kind? Mayor Annise Parker this week called an effort by the city historical commission to designate the Harris County-owned Astrodome a city landmark “ill-advised,” and said she had no plans to … Continue reading →

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