Houston Astrodome To Get $105 Million Makeover

HOUSTON, TX — The Eighth Wonder of the World will get a makeover. Harris County Commissioners Court Tuesday morning unanimously voted to renovate the Astrodome into a space that can generate revenue through events, offices and perhaps even convention and hotel space. The dome has sat dormant since 2009, avoiding a demolition along the way.

County commissioners almost a year and a half ago showed intentions of moving forward with this during September 2016 when they approved the design and engineering of the $105 million project.

Tuesday's decision was the final nod for eventual construction of a project that would raise the ground level two floors to fit in roughly 1,400 parking spaces, and turned the famous dome into a venue for festivals and conferences.

"The plan to restore the Astrodome as a revenue-generating facility is a positive step forward for the entire complex," a statement from the Houston Texans on the county's latest proposal states. "We applaud Commissioners Court for moving this plan forward and having a long-term vision for NRG Park."

The "iconic" Astrodome opened in the 1960’s as a multi-purpose dome that served as the home-field advantage to the Houston Astros and Houston Oilers. It sported a snazzy artificial turf long before other venues installed it, and the dome hosted a ton more major sporting events and milestones like:

Four Muhammad Ali fights
The “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match
The 1968 NCAA men’s basketball “Game of the Century” between Houston and UCLA

The Astrodome sat vacant by 2009 and, though deemed unfit for use, costs $107,000 a year to maintain. Judge Ed Emmett led a group to keep it standing.

Harris County voters rejected a $217 million bond for renovations three years ago. Commissioners approved $10 million to design parking space under the dome’s floor last fall.

Roughly a third of the $105 million will come from the county's general fund, which is funded by local property tax. Other sources include hotel occupancy taxes (HOT Funds) and parking revenue.

Construction is expected to begin later in 2018.

Two major tenants of NRG Park — the Houston Texans and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo —commissioned a 2013 study to estimate the cost of demolishing the building, which it concluded was about $29 million. The Texans and HLSR later proposed transforming the space into something similar to Discovery Green, even offering to help fund the project.

Officials from HLSR have said the Rodeo has grown so much larger by the years it could use the dome's space for more vendors and exhibit space.

Image: General exterior view of the Houston Astrodome. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)