COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE TEAM THAT’S TRYING TO TEAR DOWN THE ASTRODOME “The more this saga continues, the more I’m inclined to agree with the opinion that the dome should become the Rodeo’s and the Texans’ problem, since they seem to shoot down every idea that’s ever been proposed for the reuse of the dome. Clearly their goal is to be rid of the place, so they’ve dragged the repurposing process out long enough for the place to fall into disrepair in order to seal the dome’s fate. Both the Rodeo and the Texans are flush with cash, so if they want it gone, let them pay for the demolition.” [KC, commenting on Judge Emmett Not Impressed by Texans, Rodeo Plan To Demolish the Astrodome]
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Totally agree!
Why didn’t Bob McNair assume the debt of the Astrodome when he purchased the Texans?
He got a $300 Million deal for the entire park from Reliant Energy. Why not make it $330 Million and assume the debt of the Astrodome?
Who in the county is making these decisions anyway?
The Astrodome has rot because of no annual upkeep. They could have hosted parties in the Astrodome like New Orleans does in the Superdome with Mardi Gras.
If they do tear it down, how is the county going to pay off the rest of the debt of the Astrodome? Is there a plan in place to pay it off now?
The more they advocate tearing it down, the more I am in favor of having them pay for whatever solution the City of Houston Preservation Department comes up with for the dome. I’d prefer if the cost is in the mid-nine figures.
Frankly I have had enough of the rodeo,I no longer attend that event and have no intentions of going in the future. Yes they do give children scolarships, AFTER they take their cut off the top. They have blocked every attempt to re-purpose the dome because they want a bigger parking lot. Just what Houston nees more parking lot..
Lack of those 2500 parking spaces did not keep 80,000 people from going to see George Strait this past Sunday. It did not keep 75,000 people from Go Tejano Day, Luke Bryan, or Pitbull. It has not kept the Texans from selling out just about every home game in the Fall of 2012. Reliant Stadium is just about packed out when you get 80,000 people in there, so I don’t think using the land the Astrodome sits upon for more parking is really going to make a bit of difference in how many tickets are sold.
So maybe the HLSR and the Texans are looking at the dollars. If they sold each of those parking spots for, oh, $25 per event, that would bring an extra $62,500 into their coffers every single night. Never mind that that land belongs to the Harris County taxpayers, and has for over 40 years.
Hell yeah
Not sure how the contracts are structured, but if the County tears it down and we, the taxpayers, bear the cost of it, the County/we ought to get the money for charging to park there.
I think all the Texans and Rodeo are interested in is killing any chance that something could be done with the dome that might possibly draw people there instead of one of THIER venues. If they aren’t careful, the Texans and the Rodeo will be associated with corporate greed – Enron style. They seem to have no problem destroying the only architectural icon this city has for their own personal gain. Trade the Astrodome for another parking lot, which is surrounded by parking lot? HELL NO!
love the idea of the Texans and Rodeo having to pay for whatever the preservationists come up with…let McNair try to move the Texans..we’ll take his last three hairs!..and the Rodeo is not going anywhere..i mean where would they go!!!!..we hold all the cards and Emmett knows it..good for him…he’s looking out for the Tax Payer..we all know McNair only looks out for..McNair..you’d think with all his money, he’d get a good toupee or hair plugs or shave that mess..he looks like grandpa munster
I think a lot of people are romanticizing the Astrodome just a bit much. Was it historically significant? Yes. Is it now? No, not in the condition it is in.
The longer this drags on the more indecision that results and the further into decay the stadium falls until the ONLY option is to tear it down.
I feel everyone’s pain on this, I’m a native Detroiter and watched the same thing happen to historic Tiger Stadium. A stadium my family had vested interest in due to work my grandfather did at that stadium, it meant a lot to the city and to us personally.
But at the end of the day it comes down to simple financials. Unless someone steps up with the cash to fix up the Dome and turn it into some sort of revenue generator that can pay for the upkeep, it will continue to fall into further disrepair until it becomes too unsafe to do anything with. Sad but true.
I realize that it is probably in one’s nature to over-romanticise anything close to them, but the Astrodome was a lot more than the place that the Astros and Oilers used to play in. It changed the entire nature and landscape of baseball and football. Before the Astrodome came along, those were OUTDOOR sports ONLY. The Astrodome was a first of it’s kind. I don’t want to diminish the historical value of other stadiums that were torn down, but really the Astrodome is about much more than sports. It should be recognized as probably the single most important architectural achievement that was EVER build in Houston. That alone is reason enough for preservation.
Let the Texans and Rodeo Snobs pay for the demolition.
evel knievel did a jump in the astrodome
Rodeo and Texans would sell tickets for $30 a piece to watch demolition and have tailgate watching party.