Light show could make Astrodome dazzle again
Rice grads’ plan might be ready for Super Bowl
The future of the Astrodome still might be in the dark, but that doesn’t mean the iconic building can’t return to the spotlight for at least a few minutes.
A pair of 25-year-old Rice University graduates came up with an idea to display a light show on the building’s roof that could come to fruition for the Super Bowl in February. The technological feat would use “projection mapping” to cast images of Houston culture onto the ceiling and through the hundreds of windows of the long-vacant Astrodome in yet another effort to redefine the structure as its fate is debated.
“I was just so interested that we not tear down the Astrodome, that we find a way to repurpose it and make it exciting again,” said Phoebe Tudor, who heads a group called Friends of the Dome and has worked on the light show initiative. “There are probably other things that could potentially happen in it in the future, but this would be such a great thing for now, and relatively easy and relatively
inexpensive, compared to other things that may have been considered.”
The Texas Historical Commission considers the Astrodome an antiquities landmark, which means it would be illegal to alter the 1965 stadium without the state’s permission.
County Judge Ed Emmett, a champion for repurposing the one-time architectural marvel, has warned that its demolition would cost tens of millions of dollars. Meanwhile, support is low for using tax money to make significant alterations. Voters in 2013 rejected a $217 million bond to turn the Dome into an energy-efficient events center.
Emmett since has suggested funding a proposal to turn the building into an indoor park through a publicprivate partnership. Others want to raise the floor to make space for revenue-generating parking.
Even if the light show doesn’t come to fruition for the Super Bowl, Emmett said he can see the Astrodome providing a canvas for art shows and more.
“You can literally turn the inside of the Dome into a planetarium, you could show movies, you could show Star Wars,” Emmett said.
Several other possible uses
County commissioners voted April 26 to spend $65,000 on a feasibility study — paid for through Emmett’s share of hotel-occupancy taxes — to see how much the full Super Bowl light show would cost and what other resources may be needed.
Emmett and other local officials saw a demonstration of the show on a portion of the Dome’s roof in March. An NFL spokesman said the league had “been briefed on the concept” and “will take some time to evaluate it.”
Sallie Sargent, president of the Super Bowl Host Committee, declined to comment.
Beyond the general concept of Houston history, show specifics have yet to be determined. During the demonstration in March, projectors cast Astros and Oilers logos onto the ceiling and even a picture of an astronaut.
People could come inside to watch a show, while images also could shine through the roof to the outside as nationally televised cameras pan over NRG Stadium during the Super Bowl, Emmett said, potentially creating advertising revenue.
If successful, it likely would be only one of several possible uses of the Astrodome during the Super Bowl festivities, including another proposal to project images onto the outside walls.
The two Rice grads, one with expertise in engineering and the other familiar with projection mapping — a technique that uses multiple projectors to cast shapes and images onto uneven surfaces — came up with the light show idea.
One of the men, Alex Weinheimer of Houston, said he’s always had an interest in baseball, architecture and history. He said he was watching a Texans game one night when the broadcast showed a blimp passing over the Astrodome with its white indoor lights on.
“It’s a very pretty, geometric design,” Weinheimer said. “It’s also fairly unique.”
Weinheimer thought that something more could be done with the stadium. He got in touch with Joshuah Jest, and they began working up a light-show concept.
Tudor took notice of their work and helped put them in touch with the county. Over the past year, they’ve been working out the particulars of the show on a scale model, Tudor said, until they tested their idea in the Dome in March.
“We’ve sort of tried to prove the concept,” Weinheimer said.
Once details of how much a full show will cost and how many personnel and equipment it might require come together, Emmett said it likely would have to be approved by county commissioner, the NFL and the Super Bowl Host Committee.
‘Even more unique’
The idea of repurposing old infrastructure is growing in popularity, said Matthew Tinder, spokesman for the American Institute of Architects.
“The light show use is not entirely uncommon, though the scale of the Astrodome show is certainly unique,” Tinder said.
In 2012, Rice University held a 20-minute animated sound and light show for its centennial — called “The Spectacle” — featuring waves splashing across building facades and an image of an owl flying toward the crowd. Structures like the Empire State Building are routinely bathed in different colors.
Regardless, Emmett said he hopes the light-show concept can move forward.
“The county owes it to the owners of the building, namely the taxpayers of Harris County, to put it back into functional use in a minimal sort of way,” Emmett said. “The light show I think makes it even more unique.”