March 16, 2005
What will the Astrodome be today?

Haven't we heard this story before?


Astrodome Redevelopment Co. is continuing to look at whether it makes good business sense to spend hundreds of millions to turn the building into a mammoth, luxury convention hotel.

The company, selected by the county to propose a plan for the Dome, is waxing positive about the hotel but will not issue a report on whether it can obtain financing until summer, county officials said Tuesday.

"They are working vigorously to nail down the final piece of the feasibility study," said Willie Loston, director of the Harris County Sports and Convention Corp., which oversees the Reliant Park complex.

Astrodome Redevelopment is considering leaving the shell of the building intact and essentially gutting the inside. Seats might be replaced with about 1,000 hotel rooms, convention-type meeting rooms, restaurants and possibly retail stores, a cineplex and other entertainment sites.


Let's see...casino, repurposed sports venue, space museum/theme park, and finally convention center/hotel. I think that about covers it.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on March 16, 2005 to Elsewhere in Houston | TrackBack
Comments

Mammoth, luxury convention hotel? Wouldn't it have been more cost effective to install luxury boxes? Harris County taxpayers are still paying on this thing aren't we? Where is that good business sense* when we need it?
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* "good business sense" being your apparent quote from County officials.

Posted by: Charles Hixon on March 16, 2005 10:55 AM

I'm rooting for prison.

Posted by: Laurence Simon on March 16, 2005 11:13 AM

let's see...it will cost as much as $30 million to knock it down, while we still owe $50 million for renovations done in the '80's. Can you imagine the holy hell that would have come down on any local politician had that much money been wasted on any other sort of project? But this is football we are talking about here, and it is Texas and we need the boost to our self esteem that accompanied having an NFL team.

Posted by: Dennis on March 16, 2005 1:11 PM

I say it should be a giant flophouse.

If not that, turn it into an enormous, self-contained University--The Dome of Knowledge.

Can the Lakewood people use another church?

Posted by: Robert Boyd on March 16, 2005 1:50 PM

I've got an idea that hasn't been tossed around yet.

If they really are focused on complete jackassery that benefits no one as much as it seems, they need to go all out. They could turn the Dome that made Houston famous into the worlds largest strip club. After all, Houston is the birthplace of the silicone breast implant. Think about it, they could even top the Dome with a glowing neon nipple.

Oh and while they are at it, they can take all the $2 bills slipped into g-strings and use it to fund education.

Sometimes, my genius overwhelms and frightens me.

Posted by: CM on March 16, 2005 2:12 PM

Move the legislature into it. More rooom for the hot air. Is a large,empty lot too much to ask for? I'm in Honolulu, so not familiar with surroundings.

Posted by: palolo lolo on March 16, 2005 7:45 PM

Brainstorm! what if we did some minor renovations and turned into some kind of....sporting facility?

Nah, forget it; that's too wacky even for me.

Posted by: HWRNMNBSOL on March 18, 2005 8:46 AM

blow it up its useless. Im not from texas but ive been looking the AstroDome for the past year

Posted by: John Limato on July 1, 2005 3:30 PM

Who really cares?

Posted by: Chico on December 11, 2005 8:34 PM

blow it up or gut it and make it a mall

Posted by: jc on September 1, 2006 10:25 PM