Tag: Stadiums

Mixed Use, Proposed Developments, Public Transportation, Redevelopment, Restaurants, Retail, Strip Centers, Third Ward, TSU, University of Houston

44 Comments

Here’s a plan that looks to plug in to Metro’s still-under-construction Southeast Line and redo about 8 blocks along Scott St. in the Third Ward between UH and TSU. Though the plan, drawn up by LAI Design Group and dubbed “University Place Redevelopment,” is provisional, it appears to have in mind something like what the rendering above shows: A reshaped streetscape on Scott St. that would combine apartments, restaurants, shops, offices, and community buildings.

The first phase appears to call for a strip center facing Scott between Holman and Reeves, withÂ 289 1- and 2-bedroom apartmentsÂ and a parking garage in the rear:

77204, Apartments, Light-Rail, Mixed Use, Proposed Developments, Stadiums, Strip Centers, Third Ward, TSU, University of Houston

New Construction

07/17/13 12:00pm

Bigger Ed: How UH Is Shaping Up

Renovations, Stadiums, University of Houston

23 Comments

There’s more going on at U of H than thatÂ new McDonald’s, apparently:Â A reader sends these photos of many of the construction projects scattered across the campus.Â This photo shows the pylons of the still-unnamed bowl with a Downtown view that’s replacing Robertson Stadium, demolished back in December. And in the background of the photo you can see the new Cougar Place apartments. KUHF’s Jack Williams reports that the new stadium is already about a third done; more photos after the jump illustrate the below-grade playing field.

77004, New Construction, Renovations, Restaurants, Stadiums, University of Houston

Attractions

06/14/13 3:00pm

Houston’s Most Technologically Advanced Charity Playhouse Yet

Homebuilders, Minute Maid Park, Real Estate Marketing, Stadiums

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Houston builders Westin Homes seems to be expanding into the luxury replica spaceship playhouse market — at least this summer, anyway, hooking up withÂ HomeAid Houston to imagineer something like what you see here and display it this June and July at Minute Maid Park. (That’s Astros mascot Orbit peeking out,Â as though a tad reluctant to deboard.) Of course, the playhouse isn’t just for show: It’ll be raffled off, with proceeds going to HomeAid,Â and it’ll eventually find its way to someone’s backyard, where the lucky winners will enjoy its

. . . space-themed amenities such as a cockpit complete with swivel seats, ‘rocket booster’-framed windows, a 32â€ wall mounted LCD TV, an XBox, an MP3 player, an iPod docking station with speakers and interior detailing . . . air conditioning and electricity.

It doesn’t appear that the playhouse will be suitable for actual space travel — but there’s always next year. (As Astros fans well know.) Most recently, the nonprofit HomeAid started construction on those 8 single-mothers’ duplexes on W. Bellfort in Meyerland on St. John’s Presbyterian property.

2013 Project Playhouse [HomeAid Houston]
Westin gets on board to build HomeAid Project Playhouse [Westin Homes]
HomeAid Houston and Westin Homes launches Project Playhouse [Houston Chronicle]
Previously on Swamplot: The Meyerland Duplexes for Single Mothers

Rendering: Westin Homes via HomeAid Houston

Attractions, Homebuilders, Minute Maid Park, Sports, Stadiums

Proposed Developments

05/15/13 11:00am

Let the Designs Begin: UH To Renovate Aging Basketball Arena

Stadiums, University of Houston

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Let’s do 2: As construction at U of H on the $105 millionÂ no-name replacement football stadium plows on, the regents have decided to go ahead and redo the basketball arena, too. It probably won’t look like this; the rendering shown here has been circulating since February. No, the regents’ decision this past Monday really means that other, newer designs will be undertaken to freshen up the 43-year-old Hofheinz Pavilion — where fashion mogul and Houston real estate player Hakeem Olajuwon first honed his shakes before opening his DR34M store in the old Jim West Mansion in Clear Lake.

The Houston Chronicle reports that, if approved, the project — which some reports have costing as much as $77 million — would introduce nicer locker rooms for the players and “premium seating” for fans, as well as a new sound system and video boards above the court. UH athletic director Mack Rhoades tells the Chronicle that as many as 9 other schools in the newly formed American Athletic Conference have, or are building, new arenas.

UH board approves first phase of Hofheinz renovation project [Houston Chronicle]
Board of Regents approves design phase of Hofheinz Pavillion [The Daily Cougar]
UH set to vote on possible Hofheinz renovations [KHOU]
Previously on Swamplot: New UH Football Stadium Will Point Team in a Slightly Different Direction, Hakeem Olajuwon Launches New Showcase Clothing Store in Former NASA Moon Institute, Goodbye, Robertson Stadium: Replacement UH Football Venue Gets Go-Ahead, UH: Fundraising for Robertson Stadium Replacement Halfway There

Rendering: UH Athletics

77004, Proposed Developments, Renovations, Stadiums, University of Houston

Development Strategy

05/01/13 10:00am

Astrodome Stripped Bare By the Architects, Even

Historic Preservation, Houston Landmarks, Parks, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Reliant Park, Stadiums

31 Comments

ASTRODOME STRIPPED BARE BY THE ARCHITECTS, EVEN With theÂ June 10th deadline to submit the Astrodome proposals that the Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation kind of forgot to ask for approaching, architect Ben Koush pens some poetic support for UH grad student Ryan Slattery’s idea to open the Dome up for public use and reduce it to a shell of itself: “Architects, myself included, often tend to like ‘structure’ and buildings that are under construction better than those that are finished. Even crappy suburban spec houses have a noble purity when they are just a concrete slab and 2x4s, before the pipes, wires, and air-conditioning ducts go in and clutter everything up.”Â Noble purity notwithstanding, Koush does recognize at least one problem: “Since the Astrodome is essentially in the center of a giant parking lot with gates as well as a long, un-shaded walk discouraging the public from visiting, one wonders who would actually use [it].” [Arts + Culture Houston; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Save the Astrodome

77054, Adaptive Reuse, Astrodome, Houston Landmarks, Parks, Public Space, Stadiums

Fort Bend County

04/09/13 10:00am

No Lumps: A Look at Master-Planned Imperial Sugar Land

Land Development, Master-Planned Communities, New Construction, Proposed Developments, Restaurants, Retail, Sugar Land

25 Comments

First things first: A sign off Hwy. 6 welcoming you to Imperial Sugar Land is so far the only part of theÂ 716-acre master-planned community that’s under construction, touts a press release from the end of March. Up next? Starting this summer, adds the press release, something like theÂ spout-centered roundabout shown here and a 254-unit apartment complex will begin going up around the minor-league Skeeters’ Constellation Field in the so-called Ball Park District. Plans show that that district will be flanked by a mix of uses:

77498, Apartments, Fort Bend County, Land Development, Master-Planned Communities, New Construction, Proposed Developments, Retail, Stadiums, Sugar-Land, Townhomes

Downtown

04/03/13 2:00pm

Could The X Games Be Coming to Houston?

Parks, Quicklink, Stadiums, Tourism

5 Comments

COULD THE X GAMES BE COMING TO HOUSTON? Even if the Astrodome’s still around and Houston’s bid to host the 2016Â Super Bowl fallsÂ through, an important international competition might still be staged here: “ESPN said in January [that] Houston was one of 13 contenders it was considering as a host” for the 2014-2016 X Games, reports the Houston Business Journal’s Bayan Raji. The Lee and Joe Jamail Skatepark on Sabine St. (shown here) is at the center of the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority bid to put on the tricksters’ event that’s been in L.A. the past 9 years, writes Raji, along with Reliant Stadium and the Dynamo’s BBVA Compass Stadium. Whether the skatepark going up in Greenspoint, billed in January as the largest in the U.S., also figures in the bid Raji doesn’t say; ESPN will announce which of the 13 cities are finalists this spring. [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot] Photo: David Fross

77024, Dynamo Stadium, Parks, Reliant Stadium, Skate Parks, Sports, Stadiums, Tourism

Attractions

02/28/13 11:00am

Sportswriter: Tearing Down Astrodome Would Help Houston ‘Move On’

Demolitions, Houston Landmarks, Quicklink, Reliant Park, Stadiums, Tourism

33 Comments

SPORTSWRITER: TEARING DOWN ASTRODOME WOULD HELP HOUSTON ‘MOVE ON’ Depending on which city gets the Super Bowl in 2016, Houston will be vying with either Miami or San Francisco to host the big game in 2017, reports Culturemap’s Chris Baldwin, and Houston’s in great shape to put together an attractive proposal — but there’s still one thing standing in the way: “When the Astrodome opened in 1965, it deserved its Eighth Wonder of the World moniker. It screamed innovation. Now, it screams . . . embarrassment,” Baldwin writes: “There have been more than enough multi-million studies. There is no need to put off a decision yet again. Sometimes, the simplest choice, the most obvious choice, is the best one. Put together a demolition crew. . . .Â This isn’t Fenway Park. It’s not Wrigley Field. It’s not that old Yankee Stadium that went through all those remodels. It’s a relic that long ago lost its last bit of charm.” And if you want to save the “rotting giant,” Baldwin suggests, you’re “showing as much sense as someone featured on Hoarders.” [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Swamplot inbox

77054, Astrodome, Houston Landmarks, Quicklink, Reliant Park, Sports, Stadiums, Tourism

Commercial Real Estate

02/19/13 10:00am

Grand Texas Theme Park: Riding a Cartoon Horse to New Caney

Hotels, Land Development, Montgomery County, Proposed Developments, Restaurants, Stadiums

29 Comments

Meet Lasso, yourÂ mascot for the newÂ Grand Texas Theme Park! The armed-and-friendly blond stud has been revealed as the long face of the Texas-themed theme park’s second-go-around in Texas. Back in July 2009, developer Monty Galland announced that he had a spot in Tomball for the park’s first phase to open byÂ April 2010. Well, that was then. Now, Galland’s back — with Lasso in tow — and presenting a revised proposalÂ to Montgomery Country leaders,Â reports the Tomball Potpourri: The developer’s eyeing property nearÂ New Caney, where Grand Texas might better hitch its wagon toÂ dinosaur-friendly EarthQuest.

77357, Attractions, Commercial Real Estate, Hotels, Land Development, Montgomery County, New Caney, Proposed Developments, Restaurants, Splendora, Stadiums, Theme-Parks, Tourism

Demolitions

01/03/13 3:31pm

New UH Football Stadium Will Point in a Slightly Different Direction

New Construction, Proposed Developments, Schools, Stadiums, University of Houston

14 Comments

If you look closely at these new renderings of Robertson Stadium’s replacement that UH released a couple of weeks ago, you can see the Downtown skyline. UH, a member of the Big East starting in 2013, says that this 40,000-seat, $105-million stadium — whose naming rights are still being shopped around — will be built with a new east-west orientation, at least in part because that’ll make the skyline look real nice on teevee.

More details and even more renderings:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

77004, Demolitions, Proposed Developments, Robertson Stadium, Stadiums, University of Houston

Attractions

03/27/12 12:23pm

Goodbye, Robertson Stadium: Replacement UH Football Venue Gets Go-Ahead

Demolitions, Proposed Developments, University of Houston

24 Comments

UH’s new $120 million football stadium will go up on the current site of Robertson Stadium at Cullen and Holman Sts., the university’s board of regents decided today. An alternate plan to build the facility instead on intramural fields along Cullen Blvd. next to I-45, which would have cost an additional $40 million, was rejected. According to a timeline announced previously, Robertson Stadium will be demolished this December; construction of the new stadium would be complete by the summer of 2014.

77204, Attractions, Demolitions, Proposed Developments, Stadiums, University of Houston

Air Quality

11/08/11 1:21pm

And the Band Didn’t Play On: The Sickness at Barnett Stadium

Hazards, Southeast Houston, Stadiums

10 Comments

HISD has now contracted with an industrial hygienist to evaluate the drainage systems, mechanical rooms, and plumbing and electrical systems at Barnett Stadium in an attempt to determine what might have caused 22 band or dance-team members from Stephen F. Austin High School to become mysteriously ill during a football game there Friday night. Several students displayed what appeared to be symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. Epidemiologists have been interviewing students and school officials “to get information on the whereabouts of the band members within the stadium and collect other health related-factors that could have played a role in the event,” the school district announced. The HISD Athletics Department is expected to announce tomorrow morning whether 2 UIL playoff games scheduled for this week at the 6800 Fairway Dr. location will be moved to a different field.

Questions still remain about sick students at football game [abc13]
HISD hiring own investigator in stadium illness case; facility may stay closed, games switched [West U Examiner]

Photo: Paragon Sports

77087, Air Quality, Hazards, Southeast Houston, Stadiums

Demolitions

08/31/11 1:46pm

Is Texas A&M Ready To Knock Down Kyle Field, Too?

Quicklink, Stadiums

32 Comments

IS TEXAS A&M READY TO KNOCK DOWN KYLE FIELD, TOO? A source tells the Texas Monthly‘s Paul Burka that Texas A&M has plans to jettison more than just its affiliation with the Big 12 in its quest to join the NCAA’s Southeastern Conference. The university has plans to tear down Kyle Field on the A&M campus in College Station and rebuild it “as a modern stadium, with a seating capacity of 90,000-plus. The only part of the current stadium that will be retained is the north end zone.” The Zone is the most recent part of the 1927 football field; it opened in 1999. [BurkaBlog] Photo: Coaches Hot Seat

College Station, Demolitions, Stadiums, Texas A&M

Proposed Developments

03/02/11 11:44am

UH: Fundraising for Robertson Stadium Replacement Halfway There

Stadiums, University of Houston

28 Comments

University of Houston athletic director Mack Rhoades reports the university has raised $40 million of the $75 to $80 million it thinks it needs to raise by next spring in order to begin construction of a new 40,000-seat football stadium on the current site of Robertson Stadium at Cullen and Holman streets. The university’s plans for the new stadium — projected to cost $120 million — were announced last summer, along with an extensive renovation plan for the neighboring basketball venue, Hofheinz Pavilion. Construction cost savings, revenue from 22 luxury suites, 200 loge box seats and 650 club seats at the stadium, the sale of naming rights, and financing would make up the difference, Rhoades tells the Chronicle‘s Sam Khan Jr.