Dome spending stirs debate
Critics question expenses for renovation as county pushes bond on flood control
Viewed by many as a shrine to Houston sports history and by others as a dilapidated eyesore, the Astrodome continues to stir deep passions in Houstonians. And ideas of what it could be — a Gulf Coast movie studio or an indoor amusement park or a massive parking garage — provoke similarly strong sentiments.
If Harris County Commissioners Court votes on Tuesday to move forward with a $105 million renovation of the world’s first multipurpose domed stadium, officials envision a more practical use for the now-shuttered facility: as revenue-generating event space.
The vote would be the final go-ahead before design and eventual construction of a project that would raise the ground level two floors to fit in roughly 1,400 parking spaces and transform the former Eighth Wonder of the World into a venue for festivals and conferences.
Commissioners Court effectively signed off on the project in September 2016 when it voted in favor of designing and engineering the project.
News of the planned vote drew immediate reaction on social media from individuals who questioned the spending of millions of dollars on the project when regional leaders, including county officials, have called for increased investment in local flood control in the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey less than six months ago.
“Spending decisions in
the aftermath of a crisis take on heightened complexity and heightened criticisms,” said University of Houston political scientist Brandon Rottinghaus, adding that decisions and proposals over the stadium’s future have been particularly scrutinized. “The Astrodome is like a double whammy. Not only is it a contentious policy fight, but it also comes in the aftermath of a major crisis.”
In response to Harvey, the county is poised to put a bond referendum of at least $1 billion on the ballot to pay for flood control projects, and Commissioners Court has imposed tougher regulations on new development in floodplains, as well as authorized up to $20 million to facilitate buyouts of Harvey flooded homes.
Hotel taxes, parking revenue
Of the $105 million cost to renovate the Dome into convention and meeting space, about a third would come from the county’s general fund, largely made up of property tax revenue. The other two sources — hotel occupancy taxes and parking revenue — would not be used for flood control Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said.
“We’re the third-largest county in the country. We’re having to renovate a lot of buildings. This is another building,” Emmett said. “We need to renovate it and make it usable.”
He added that $35 million “does not go very far flood controlwise” when billions of dollars in improvements and repairs are needed.
If approved Tuesday, construction would begin later this year.
County officials say the renovation would make the Dome suitable for festivals or conferences and could help usher in potential commercial uses in the more than 550,000 square feet under the Dome roof.
The project has drawn the support of the Houston Texans and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, two major tenants of NRG Park, who commissioned a 2013 study to estimate the cost of demolishing the building, which it concluded was about $29 million. A year later, the two tenants had proposed demolishing the Dome and turning it into an outdoor space like Discovery Green. They said they would be willing to chip in on the project, but did not specify how much they would offer.
“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.”
Joel Cowley, president and CEO of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo said Monday that space is a “major concern” for his organization’s future. He said attendance at the rodeo continues to grow, and that while the show can accommodate about 300 commercial exhibits, there is an approximately 200-exhibitor-long wait list.
Cowley likened the Dome to “nine acres of dead space in the middle of Disney World.”
“To bring that space back into play, that would be a tremendous opportunity for us,” he said.
The Dome project comes more than four years after Harris County voters rejected a $217 million bond proposal that would have paid for massive renovations to the 53-year structure.
Many interpreted the vote as a public mandate to demolish the stadium that once was home to the Oilers and Astros, hosted countless major sporting events, including four of boxing great Muhammad Ali’s matches and the 1968 NCAA “Game of the Century” between the University of Houston and UCLA. In 2005, it housed evacuees from New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.
Vacant since 2009
The Astrodome has not housed a professional sports team since the Astros moved to Minute Maid Park in 2000. Two years later, NRG Stadium opened in the Dome complex to serve as the home of the NFL’s Texans.
The massive building has sat vacant since being declared unfit for occupancy in 2009. Since then, the county has sold off thousands of Dome seats and pieces of Astroturf to longtime fans and collectors.
In September 2016, Commissioners Court voted unanimously to move forward with the “design phase” of the renovation. Four months later, the Texas Historical Commission voted in January 2017 to designate the Astrodome a state antiquities landmark, giving the stadium special protections against demolition.
Currently, the Dome costs about $170,000 a year to maintain, county officials have said.