County Approves $105M Makeover for Houston’s Astrodome

By Anca Gagiuc, Associate Editor

Houston Astrodome

Houston—Harris County Commissioners have given the green light on a major renovation project that could save one former eighth wonder of the world from demolition—the Houston Astrodome.

Officials approved a $10.5 million renovation plan for the mixed-use development. This represents the first phase of the latest $105 million proposal, estimated to take between three to five years to complete. The revitalization consists of raising the floor two levels and creating a 1,400-spot parking garage underneath, which is believed to make the former sports venue a suitable location for conferences and festivals.

Around one-third of the $105 million project, roughly $35 million, will come from the county’s general fund, consisting largely of property tax revenue.

Built in the 1960s, the Astrodome was long home to the Houston Astros and Houston Oilers. The Astrodome was the first fully-domed and air-conditioned sports stadium in the world, the first stadium with luxury sky-boxes and the first stadium to install artificial turf. Owned by Harris County, it hosted cultural events ranging from sporting events to rock concerts, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, to the housing of evacuees from New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. In was declared unfit of occupancy in 2009.

Image courtesy of NRG Park