JUDGE EMMETT HAS AT LEAST 6 THINGS TO SAY ABOUT THE ASTRODOME 
It’s time again this Groundhog Day afternoon for the County Judge’s annual State of the County address. Judge Emmett’s speech was slated to include 6 points about the State of the Astrodome (which, as Astros historian Mike Acosta notes, is now fence-free and getting some new landscaping, as pictured above). The points, as summarized by the Houston Chronicle: “1. The Dome is iconic and revered by ‘a large majority’ in the county. 2. The Dome belongs to Harris County and is fully paid for. Upkeep costs are minimal. 3. The Dome is structurally sound, but a major repurposing will cost hundreds of millions. 4. Anything done to alter the Dome must be approved by the Texas Historical Commission. 5. The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the Houston Texans have contractual rights at NRG Park, and the county must keep its end of that bargain with maintenance. 6. No private interest has come up with the money to save the Dome.” The latest plans being batted around for the Dome: bring the first floor up to ground level to create parking or storage space underneath, then start talking about a public-private-retail-indoor-park space. [Houston Chronicle, previously on Swamplot] Photo: Mike Acosta
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I love that upkeep costs have suddenly become minimal, now that he is not trying to force-feed his pet proposal to the voting public. I also love that the county owns it, but any changes must be paid for with private money. Why would anyone pay to improve someone else’s property?
This dude lost my vote after the last election debacle where he tried to convince everyone that a “no” vote on his pet convention proposal meant imminent destruction of the dome. He played every trick in the book, included demolishing the wheelchair ramps and auctioning off the seats in the weeks immediately prior to the election to generate fervor and a sense of desperation. He also lied about the maintenance costs, greatly inflating them. He even flew to Germany on a taxpayer-paid junket to get ideas, and once again came up empty. I don’t see any leadership on his part.
How does Judge Emmet walk around with this raging Astro-boner?
I find it ironic that we can tear down all manner of “historical” buildings in a flash but we cannot get the albatross called the Astrodome demolished despite a roughly 50/50 split among voters.
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Don’t get me wrong: I’m all for history but, if the taxpayer-funded building cannot pay for itself (including maintenance), then let it go. I’m sure the HLSR and Texans would appreciate more parking space to rent out.
Few people will go to an indoor park unless it is truly spectacular. Think gangs, open carry, and mass shootings. Is Atlanta planning on saving the Georgia Dome? I’m betting no. I’m betting their number one concern is making the new stadium look its best. the Georgia Dome has plazas, parks leading up to its gates. NRG has a sea of concrete. A gateway park would be cool. But Emmet cares about what Emmet thinks. So there you go. It’s up to the voters to kick him out.
Emmet has lost his marbles. The astrodome is a joke to everyone that comes to this city. What is the press going to say next year when the SB is played next to a mold covered eye sore that no one has stepped inside of for years. This is no different than abounded rice silos immediate,y next to the prize stadium. Emmet please go away.
The real problem with any scheme to “save” the Dome is point 5. The Honorable Mr. Emmett needs to be spending his energy on getting these unaffiliated leeches, the Rodeo and the Texans, to either pony up real money to do something, or release the contracts that tie up the Dome. Nothing will ever happen until that issue is resolved.
Anyone who thinks the Astrodome is a “joke” to people from outside Houston is greatly mistaken. For most people outside Houston, it is one of the only two or three things in Houston they’ve heard of. I think if people see it on the way into the Super Bowl, they will wonder why it is sitting dormant and not an attraction that people can visit. I suspect that very few visiting fans will look at it and say, “Gosh, Houston is missing out on the chance for more parking here!” I’ve never heard anyone from outside Houston say that tearing it down is a good idea (see all the national press during the lead up to the 2014 vote); I’ve only heard philistine types from in Houston think that this was intelligent.
The Judge may be a good administrator, but he is not going to allow the demolition of the albatross to happen on his watch. If he is in office for another 20 years, it will be another 20 years of delaying, studying and (kind of) proposing. He is not going to have his name associated with getting rid of the place. It is a simple as that.
I thought we already voted to knock that sunuvabitch down?
Ed Emmett: Why do Harris County voters keep re-electing this unoriginal bureaucrat tool? He NEEDS to be gone. And people with FRESH ideas elected to office in Harris County. The Dome is an eyesore and a money pit. Why the F**K are we,the Harris County taxpayers propping up this unwanted relic. We voted to TEAR it down and Emmett ,in true republican hypocrite style tries to invalidate out votes and voices. He needs to be removed from office!!! And tear the Dome DOWN!!!
That is what I was trying to point out in my earlier comment. He tried to paint a “no” vote as a vote to tear it down, in order to force those who oppose demolition to support his convention center idea. In reality, amd if you read the proposition language on the actual ballot, the vote was simoky about whether to generate bonds to fund converting the dome into a convention center. Voting no meant not issuing bonds. Nothing more. I voted against his plan, but I don’t want it torn down. I love the Eiffel tower idea bu the UH grad student. But Emmett didn’t like it so here we are.
Ed Emmet is a tool. Mr. Emmett DISOBEYED the Harris County voters and is doing whatever his pea sized brain wants to do with OUR fricking tax $$$$. Another republithug a-hole. ED we DON”T want the Dome saved. Tear it down like we TOLD you to do. You miscreant jerkoff.