Astrodome gets due at renamed rail stop

Just in time for Super Bowl LI in Houston, the so-called Eighth Wonder of the World is set to become the No. 1 light rail stop for the thousands of visitors to NRG Park, the complex that includes the football stadium.

Metro officials are prepared on Thursday to rename the Reliant Park light rail station along the Red Line near NRG Stadium — the site of the game — the Stadium Park/Astrodome station.

When Reliant Park was renamed NRG Park in 2015, transit and power company officials couldn’t agree on changing the station’s name. With the Super Bowl three months away and the potential that visitors could be confused, Metro officials made changing the name a priority, stripping the Reliant name.

Using the 51-year-old Astrodome as a rail stop name quickly became the consensus choice, though Metro and Harris County officials agreed on a plan to use Stadium Park as well.

“I think that is a wonderful compromise,” Metro board member Jim Robinson said. “It preserves the historic significance of the Astrodome.”

The change would happen before the Super Bowl by using temporary decals and changes to maps and signs, officials said. That would cost about $2,000, just to get transit officials through Super Bowl weekend in February. A permanent replacement of rail station signs and an overhaul of all maps and signs would come later.

Metro considered a host of possibilities, but from the start focused on something related to the Astrodome, noting the building’s historic significance and role as an easy locator of the stadium area. A public process to gauge reaction, however, led to a flurry of other names, though many were unusable because they failed to denote the area and instead focused on honoring a local person, such as Astrodome visionary Roy Hofheinz and former Harris County Commissioner El Franco Lee.

The rail station renaming comes as Harris County is moving ahead with a $10.5 million plan that would raise the floor of the Astrodome two levels and put 1,400 parking spaces underneath. County officials think that would make the Dome suitable for festivals or conferences and usher in potential commercial uses in the more than 550,000 square feet that surround the core.

Renaming stations is rare because the names commonly are well-known locations, and transit officials are reluctant to re-brand and pay for the changes. Typically, changing a single Metro station name costs more than $300,000, including replacing all maps and signs and reprogramming the automated announcements on trains and buses to correctly route riders.

To maximize the value, Metro officials said they are planning permanent changes to the coming Stadium Park/Astrodome stop along with other modifications to the system, including other requests for renaming rail stations. The other requests would be paid for by the agency asking for the name change.

Not all of the requests to change names, however, are as likely, and they still would have to go through a process that allows the public to comment before the board formally approves them.

Two other requested changes could occur, though transit officials said they need much more information.

Houston First Corp., which owns and manages the George R. Brown Convention Center, suggested replacing the Convention District stop with the Avenida Houston station. The change is based on Houston First wanting to re-brand the area so it might be more attractive to Houstonians as well as visitors.

“This is a chance to make this something different and unique to Houston,” said John Harris, manager of corporate affairs and marketing for Houston First.

The area around the convention center is growing, with five new restaurants along Avenida de las Americas, the street where Houston First is focusing its branding efforts, along with new hotels. Discovery Green anchors the area.

Metro officials, meanwhile, worry riders wouldn’t know where the convention center was if the station were renamed Avenida, with no mention of the George R. Brown Convention Center. There was similar skepticism to a proposal by the Midtown Management District to rename the McGowen Street station to refer to Midtown Park, which the management district has trumpeted as a hub of the neighborhood.

“Nothing about the current names is obsolete or incorrect,” Metro board member Christof Spieler said. “There is definitely a convention district, and there is definitely a street called McGowen.”