Harris country really need to knock the dome down. (Houston: apartment, calculation)

[Double L]

The Astrodome is an engineering breakthrough, being the worlds first domed stadium. It also has good space age architecture and is at the intersection of a highway and connected to the light rail system. We should invest in it and make the money back by its positive impact on our economy.

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by ScrappyJoe

Of all the ideas for repurposement, this is the best:
https://adomepark.org/

This would probably hold up until the first big hurricane.

In theory, the Dome roof was designed to withstand at least 115mph winds sustained, but that was as a finished, closed dome, not the bare frame where the wind would be blowing through and creating lift from within. Houses don't generally lose their roofs in storms like that until they lose the windows and the wind gets in.

[Mr. Clutch]

I'd love to see it repurposed, but cynically, I think what will happen is we will debate about this for another 5 years or so until the Texans decide they want to replace their stadium and tear the Dome down to make room. Honestly, given the setup, I can't ever see football leaving the Astrodomain, having it there makes too much sense.

I guess, alternatively, they could put a new stadium on the old Astroworld site as well, I believe the HLSR/Texans still own the land. Plenty of room there if they wanted to go that route, and they would still have train access. Downside would be you have two empty stadiums on the other side of 610 to deal with.

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by Mr. Clutch

I'd love to see it repurposed, but cynically, I think what will happen is we will debate about this for another 5 years or so until the Texans decide they want to replace their stadium and tear the Dome down to make room. Honestly, given the setup, I can't ever see football leaving the Astrodomain, having it there makes too much sense.

I guess, alternatively, they could put a new stadium on the old Astroworld site as well, I believe the HLSR/Texans still own the land. Plenty of room there if they wanted to go that route, and they would still have train access. Downside would be you have two empty stadiums on the other side of 610 to deal with.

No man put the new stadium on the other side (east) of the Dome then use the Dome as a center piece and media center leaving NRG as is. NRG then could be used for a multitude of other uses...

[Mr. Clutch]

Originally Posted by Jack Lance

No man put the new stadium on the other side (east) of the Dome then use the Dome as a center piece and media center leaving NRG as is. NRG then could be used for a multitude of other uses...

Ha, that's a cool idea, only problem is you wouldn't be able to see the Dome! I'm sure whatever they build next is going to be some sort of palatial monstrosity anyway, that would be a super tight fit to put it east of the Dome.

Whatever they do, they should bulldoze NRG when the time comes. It's a pretty nice stadium but nothing that special where it should be kept for any particular reason.

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by Mr. Clutch

Ha, that's a cool idea, only problem is you wouldn't be able to see the Dome! I'm sure whatever they build next is going to be some sort of palatial monstrosity anyway, that would be a super tight fit to put it east of the Dome.

Whatever they do, they should bulldoze NRG when the time comes. It's a pretty nice stadium but nothing that special where it should be kept for any particular reason.

I think building around the Dome is the main reason NRG is as vertical as it is, which has its advantages instead of being spread out like Jerry world the fans are more on top of the action..

P.S. I certainly agree NRG is not historical in any way but it is a sturdy building that will still have some utility...

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by Jack Lance

P.S. I certainly agree NRG is not historical in any way

Why not? It hosted two more Super Bowls than the Astrodome did.

If it's only about the Astrodome being the first domed stadium, what makes it any more historic than, say, Rogers Centre/Skydome in Toronto which was the first functioning retractable roof stadium and no less an engineering marvel than the Astrodome? There's been talk of the Blue Jays building a new park and, if they do, that thing comes down not long after the last game is played there, guaranteed. It's sitting on some of the most prime real estate in all of Canada. It's not going to sit there empty for two years, let alone twenty. It's privately owned by Rogers who owns the naming rights and the team, so they will sell and they'll build apartments or whatever there.

Of course, I say "functioning" because Montreal had the first non-functioning retractable roof at their Olympic Stadium, which the Quebec government keeps pouring money into in hopes that it'll be a 2026 World Cup venue. That place is the kind of money pit that Houston is better served not following Montreal down. And at least Montreal still uses the thing for something, even if it's nothing worth the money they've pumped into it over the last 40 years.

The redevelopment ideas are pipe dreams. Pontiac, Michigan went down that road with the Silverdome, had a similar parade of people with big ideas and little else as Houston has seen with their dead dome, cut bait within a decade later and they moved on with life while it got torn down to eventually make way for an Amazon sweatshop/warehouse.

I like the park under the dome frame idea in theory but the hurricane factor along with the more common weather elements working on that bare steel frame over the years give it a limited lifespan.

Lina Hidalgo was right to the extent that she knew the commissioners' cockamamie plan was not going to result in a venue that anyone was going to use. I said here over a year ago that it was going nowhere.
The plan of filling in the field level for parking was sound. They should do that, tear the structure down, build a park over the parking underneath, make something that's nice to walk through on that trek from the light rail stop that's on the wrong side of the NRG complex.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by jfre81

This would probably hold up until the first big hurricane.

In theory, the Dome roof was designed to withstand at least 115mph winds sustained, but that was as a finished, closed dome, not the bare frame where the wind would be blowing through and creating lift from within. Houses don't generally lose their roofs in storms like that until they lose the windows and the wind gets in.

I don't understand - the proposed concept doesn't have a roof to lift off. Seems like the concept would be more like the Eiffel Tower or a steel structure bridge.

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

I don't understand - the proposed concept doesn't have a roof to lift off. Seems like the concept would be more like the Eiffel Tower or a steel structure bridge.

The Eiffel Tower wouldn't still be standing if Paris got hit by a >Cat 3 hurricane every 20 years or so. It doesn't. Houston does.

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by jfre81

The Eiffel Tower wouldn't still be standing if Paris got hit by a >Cat 3 hurricane every 20 years or so. It doesn't. Houston does.

Have you done the calculations on that?