Craig Hlavaty rounds up more detail on plans to implode the Astrodome’s 4 exterior ramp towers, which brought to the monolithic stadium structure a more castle-like appearance when they were added for upper-deck and wheelchair access in the late eighties. Cherry Demolition will knock the circular structures down after dark, beginning just after 9 pm on Sunday, December 8, though the weather may require changes to the schedule. Only 3 of the towers will be dynamited and dropped, however; the fourth tower will be brought down piece-by-piece with demo equipment. There won’t be a Texans game going on in Reliant Stadium, so viewing vantage points may be hard to come by.
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If county officials aren’t prepared to declare that they intend to demolish the Astrodome or announce any possible future plans for it, why is the ramp demo proceeding? “[Reliant Park general manager Mark] Miller says the ramps were always on the chopping block, and were due to be removed no matter the outcome of the Nov. 5 vote. They weren’t part of any future plans of the Dome.”
Included in the demolition work now continuing in around the Dome, reports Hlavaty: disconnecting the ramp bridges from the main structure; lowering the surrounding grass berms and removing the ticket booths; and removing interior seats. The building’s Reliant Stadium-facing plaza on the northwest side is being left alone.
- Four recognizable sections of Astrodome to be destroyed in days [Houston Chronicle]
- Astrodome coverage [Swamplot]
- Previously on Swamplot: We’re All Set Now To Implode the Astrodome Towers
Photo: Candace Garcia
This is starting to feel like the Johnny Cash song where he steals the car one piece at a time. Only in this case, its the dome.
Just blow up the whole thing already, why tease, it’s already a foregone conclusion that it’s coming down in the very near future.
P.S. when they do blow it up, they should have Homer Simpson scream “Dhhhhoooome!”
Two things going on here with the Sports Authority. The first thing why are they spending the money to perform this work? The second, they did not competitively bid this work out. This work was handed to the Contractor. The Dome will come down eventually, that’s just the reality of the situation. Why spend this money now? It would be cheaper for the County to perform this work in a bigger package that includes the whole building. If the County is going to be doing work at the site, it needs to be put out for bid, publicly, not handed to a Contractor. Doesn’t smell right……
They cant just blow it all up already. They have to do it as slowly and as expensively as possible; it’s government after all, duh!
The building belongs to the taxpayers of Harris County who financed the building of the facility in the 1960’s.
The building is on the National Registry of Historic Sites. It is structurally sound. And it is completely paid for.
Look at Atlanta and the Falcons attempt to build a larger football stadium. They would love to push the taxpayers of Georgia around and help them finance the costs of a 800 million dollar stadium. And all of this at the demise a fully functioning modern stadium complex, that was also built upon the backs of the citizenry.
Houston, don’t make the same mistake, and destroy that which belongs to taxpayers of Houston.
Save the Astodome!