Harris County OKs $105 million renovation of Astrodome ! (Houston, Center: leases, amusement park)

[usc619]

Originally Posted by Milton Miteybad

Not from an architectural standpoint. Yankee Stadium was, architecturally speaking, a fairly mundane stadium structure that lacked a roof.

The Harris County Domed Stadium, aka the Astrodome, on the other hand, was the first successful example of unsupported long span roof design since the construction of Hadrian's Tomb in the second century.

Another way of looking at it...the first time mankind was able to replicate (and surpass) previous iterations of this particular construction technique, which the Romans had mastered but which was lost after the fall of Rome (along with several other technologies known to the Romans but which disappeared during the Dark Ages), it happened 1,800 years later in Houston, Texas, in the form of the Astrodome.

In 1960, most would have thought it would be impossible to build a round stadium structure with a 710' roof without direct columnar support. Five years later, just such a structure was a reality.

The architectural achievement of the Astrodome inspired dozens of imitators, not all of which managed to remain standing as long as the original. The Kingdome in Seattle, Kemper Arena in Kansas City and Mottaqi Stadium in Sari, Iran, all suffered from roof collapses.

In my mind, the value in preserving the Astrodome is less about the teams and events it has hosted, and more about the astounding architectural leap forward it represented in its time. Whether that alone can serve to justify the cost of renovating/rehabilitating the structure is something each individual Harris County taxpayer will have to decide for him/herself.

Trust me, anyone outside of Houston could give a rats a$$ about the dome, Yankee Stadium on the other hand was an icon nationally.

[Double L]

They didn’t give a rats ass about the dome because they didn’t know what it achieved. If they had known, they would recognized it respected it.

[Texyn]

Originally Posted by Jack Lance

BTW nobody voted for the Domes demise just one renovation that was proposed.

Precisely. These critics: highly adamant, yet clueless as to the details.

Originally Posted by usc619

Trust me, anyone outside of Houston could give a rats a$$ about the dome, Yankee Stadium on the other hand was an icon nationally.

Originally Posted by Double L

They didn’t give a rats ass about the dome because they didn’t know what it achieved. If they had known, they would recognized it respected it.

Double L's got it. All too often, these critics of Houston, while correct in pointing out the circumstances, often fail to consider the variety in depth regarding how they came to be. That Yankee Stadium was more of an icon could just be as simple as the greater exposure it received, rather than any intrinsic superiority. Exposure not only coming from storied media events, but just general connection to the citizens at large...easier to accomplish in a dense city compared to a sprawled out one.

[Milton Miteybad]

Originally Posted by usc619

Trust me, anyone outside of Houston could give a rats a$$ about the dome, Yankee Stadium on the other hand was an icon nationally.

Gee...I never thought about it quite that shallowly or superficially. I suppose if I had, I might have come to the same lightweight conclusion.

[Dopo]

Astrodome might be the most iconic thing in Houston
Reality is that it cost WAY too much money to keep

Tear it down, and move on

[Spartacus713]

Originally Posted by Dopo

Astrodome might be the most iconic thing in Houston
Reality is that it cost WAY too much money to keep

Tear it down, and move on

If they do that, then the politicians cannot use it as a slush fund for them and their buddies to pay themselves off out of when a "renovation" project is rammed through against the wishes of the people of Houston.

Which they have apparently decided to do now.

[jfre81]

Outside of Houston, the Astrodome is generally regarded as a mid-20th century novelty at best and an abject crime against nature at worst. Many assume the thing was torn down after the Astros moved out.

Even within Houston, I'm hardpressed to find somebody at a game at Minute Maid Park who can honestly say "hey, you know what, I sure do wish I was watching a baseball game played on plastic instead." The gameday experience there was dull, with sightlines optimized for absolutely no event that takes place there. The best thing going for it was the seats, but gradually less so over the years as they started getting torn up. I won't even get started on the visual ants-on-stage and tin-can acoustics of the Dome concert experience.

It's as much a part of my childhood as anyone else's over age 35 or so, but there is a generation of young adults who never saw it on the inside, and if they did they wouldn't understand why it matters. Nobody really wants to watch outdoor sports indoors if they can help it. It was necessary for Houston to become a major league sports city, but it should say something that nearly every fixed-roof sports stadium in America ran its course just like the Astrodome did, and we're past needing one here.

Kingdome in Seattle? Dump. Gone. Replaced by an infinitely better facility.

Hoosier/RCA Dome in Indianapolis? Dump. Gone. Replaced by an infinitely better facility.

HHH Metrodome in Minneapolis? Dump to the nth degree. Gone. Nobody misses it, not even in Minnesota. Replaced, too, by an infinitely better facility.

So why is the Astrodome different?

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by jfre81

Outside of Houston, the Astrodome is generally regarded as a mid-20th century novelty at best and an abject crime against nature at worst. Many assume the thing was torn down after the Astros moved out.

Even within Houston, I'm hardpressed to find somebody at a game at Minute Maid Park who can honestly say "hey, you know what, I sure do wish I was watching a baseball game played on plastic instead." The gameday experience there was dull, with sightlines optimized for absolutely no event that takes place there. The best thing going for it was the seats, but gradually less so over the years as they started getting torn up. I won't even get started on the visual ants-on-stage and tin-can acoustics of the Dome concert experience.

It's as much a part of my childhood as anyone else's over age 35 or so, but there is a generation of young adults who never saw it on the inside, and if they did they wouldn't understand why it matters. Nobody really wants to watch outdoor sports indoors if they can help it. It was necessary for Houston to become a major league sports city, but it should say something that nearly every fixed-roof sports stadium in America ran its course just like the Astrodome did, and we're past needing one here.

Kingdome in Seattle? Dump. Gone. Replaced by an infinitely better facility.

Hoosier/RCA Dome in Indianapolis? Dump. Gone. Replaced by an infinitely better facility.

HHH Metrodome in Minneapolis? Dump to the nth degree. Gone. Nobody misses it, not even in Minnesota. Replaced, too, by an infinitely better facility.

So why is the Astrodome different?

Because the Astrodome was the first of its kind and a forerunner of most indoor stadiums today including AT&T and Mercedes Benz for one, and the Dome will still have value once renovated for another.

The Dome contains over 400k sq ft of uninterrupted column free floor space with a maximum clearance of over 170 ft. That's with the proposed raised floor. That is a special space that would cost 5 times more at least to replace from scratch.

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by Jack Lance

The Dome contains over 400k sq ft of uninterrupted column free floor space with a maximum clearance of over 170 ft. That's with the proposed raised floor. That is a special space that would cost 5 times more at least to replace from scratch.

That's absolutely astounding. Now, what will that be used for, that isn't available at more modern facilities in Houston that have been built since 1965?

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by jfre81

That's absolutely astounding. Now, what will that be used for, that isn't available at more modern facilities in Houston that have been built since 1965?

Thank you !The OTC will use it as will the Rodeo who have both signed off on the renovation. The GRB has a maximum of 50ft of clearance and NRG doesn't have nearly the floor space. So I'm not sure of what facility you may be referring too?

Its a structurally sound building that is paid for. You know if it had been torn down within just a few years somebody would then propose a half billion dollar building be built to accommodate the rising need we have for convention and meeting space that the Dome would have easily handled.