HOUSTON, Texas – If you’re a Houstonian by birth or have lived here an incredibly long time, you know about or have heard about the Astrodome and what it once meant, and to many, still means to our community.
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Since the Astrodome was condemned in 2009, and frankly, even before that, many people have anticipated what’s next for the once billed “Eighth Wonder of the World,” and arguably Houston’s most iconic landmark.
On Wednesday, the Astrodome Conservancy is set to reveal its plans for the dome.
KPRC 2 asked how this newest plan is different from ones previously presented.
“The difference is we have gone out and built a capital stack that will support private investment in this public asset, so we have real dollars, real figures that we are bringing to the table,” said Beth Wiedower Jackson, the Executive Director of the Astrodome Conservancy.
In 2018, the Harris County Commissioners Court approved a plan to repurpose the Astrodome. Under the $105 million plan, the space was to be transformed into a multi-functional park and event space, but in November 2019, the project was scrapped.
“The plan that had been designed wouldn’t have yielded, truly a usable building,” said Hidalgo in 2019. “It’s just not something that would have made it competitive against convention centers elsewhere.”
Earlier this year, KPRC 2 sat down with historian Mike Acosta who said the dome, which has been pretty much abandoned for more than 20 years, should be turned into a multipurpose entertainment center.
“What the Astrodome becomes in the future is going to be a far longer story than it was as a stadium. They built the Astrodome as a multipurpose. It should remain remain multipurpose,” Acosta said.
The 9.5-acre building, known for its domed roof and electrifying scoreboard, debuted on April 9, 1965, as the world’s first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium.
For nearly 40 years, the gargantuan structure played host to baseball, football and basketball games, Muhammad Ali boxing matches, rodeos, and concerts by stars like Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Judy Garland, the Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Madonna and Selena, and memorable events like tennis champion Billie Jean King’s legendary triumph over Bobby Riggs in the “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match and the 1992 Republican convention where Houston resident George Bush won the Republican presidential nomination.
For a time, the Astrodome was among the most-visited man-made attractions in the country, outranked only by the Golden Gate Bridge and the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. But by 1996, the Houston Oilers had abandoned the Astrodome, and the state, for a new name and better prospects in Tennessee. And come 1999, the Astros ditched the stadium for Enron Field. The Astrodome fell into disrepair and has sat largely vacant since 2005, when it was briefly reopened as an emergency shelter for thousands of New Orleans residents fleeing Hurricane Katrina.
In 2014, the Astrodome was listed on the National Register of Historic Places both for its architectural and cultural significance.
In 2017, it was designated a state antiquity landmark, joining the auspicious ranks of the Alamo and State Capitol.