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The Astrodome was the dream of Judge Roy Hofheinz when he promised the National League perfect weather in order to secure a baseball team.
Announcer: “Ground ball to short…Lillis back in the hole…go to second…It’s all over, and Houston wins it 3-2, and Dierker has his first complete game of his major league career.”
The Dome was home to the Oilers football team & hosted major sporting events. It also featured the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and It even served as a refuge for thousands forced to flee New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.
More than 40-years after it opened it now sits vacant, and at an expense.
“To maintain the Astrodome in its current state, is about two million bucks a year.”
Willie Loston is executive director of the Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation. He says officials will unveil a list of possibilities for the structure.
“Anything from razing the building and using that area for a festival like greenspace, with a variety of interactive attractions, meeting rooms, laboratories, office space, the potential for a museum development, and it really speaks to the vision that we’ve been able to accumulate for a building that is very unique and very meaningful as well.”
Loston says the scenarios to be unveiled on Monday are conceptual, but will help to determine the future of the Astrodome, which will ultimately be decided by Harris County Commissioners.