That's probably do to lack of vision. I'm not familiar with the operations of the NRG complex but my own experience from the Meineke Bowl two years ago was that having a good hotel adjacent to Reliant Stadium and Center would've been a big bonus. Instead we had to hike it from the Quality inn for about 1/2 a mile to Reliant. As I've said I've worked on these type of projects before and one of the big demands of major events is high quality hotel space near the facility they are holding them. For instance the Minneapolis hosted the MLB All Star game this year and I saw that one of the factors that helped Minneapolis get it was hotel space very near Target Field. Minneapolis has won the 2018 Super Bowl and while the biggest reason for it is the new Vikings' stadium under construction having a lot of new development including hotel adjacent to the new stadium is also a plus.
Agreed. Imagine if there were a huge hotel development with restaurants and bars and a big water feature inside...it would make Houston a much more attractive venue for Super Bowls, Final Fours, etc if that sort of facility existed. Whether there's private money interested in that, I don't know....but taking a Gaylord type approach to the Dome would be interesting to say the least.
Calling it an indoor park made this sound like a really stupid idea, and a lot of people who glance at it are gonna see just that, another stupid idea, and all the headlines are reading that way. I've personally always thought a general use indoor facility was always the best idea. Concerts, gatherings and the such. Nobody wants to invest because it's a very nebulous idea at the moment, but once it were to get rolling I think business would start sprouting up and it would become a cool destination. God know us Houstonians hate being outside during the summer. Given the new maintenance figures, simply demolishing it no longer seems like a viable option to me. This plan obviously need much more detail though.
1) Superbowls, Final Fours, etc. don't come around enough to justify mega millions being spent to build convention and hotel space over there that will be useless throughout the rest of the ear. 2) Developers aren't interested in developing the dome into that sort of thing when the cost to do so far exceeds the cost to do so elsewhere. It isn't like the Dome has some special attraction to non-Dome fans that it would be some huge attraction to people wanting a hotel. 3) It's in a crappy area 4) The agreements with the Rodeo and the Texans would limit it's availability for good chunks of the year. I'm just baffled that people are so eager to keep the dome that they are willing to grasp for expensive straws that bring nothing to the city of any real worth.
Stadiums get more use than just Superbowls and Final Fours. They also provide unique convention spaces and can host a variety of other events. Without doing more study I can't say what the cost of repurposing the dome is verus doing another development somewhere else. To build a large building most of the cost is in the structure and the dome structure is there and sound. That said there are many other factors but I don't think for the adjacency to Reliant Stadium and Center that the costs are prohibitive. That is a hardly informed opinion but again you have to look at that it is within an area that is a draw. If we are weighing costs you have to consider for any event at NRG how much money and time is lost getting people from hotels in other parts of the city to there. As I note in my own proposal the dome is less than 300 feet from Reliant Stadium and 400 ft from Reliant Center. With skyways you could create an all weather connection for a hotel to those spaces. Also with a mixed use complex the area outside of NRG doesn't matter so much if you have amenities (shops, restaurants and entertainment) already within. Just citing my own example as someone who went to Houston two years ago specifically to see an event at Reliant Stadium I would be willing to pay more if I could've stayed right next to Reliant. How many times are that? Counting pre-season and playoffs the Texans only have 13 games at home. The rodeo takes only maybe two weeks out of the year. That is just for Reliant Stadium and you are ignoring that even when the Stadium is in use there still is the Center. Addressing that though is another reason why my proposal I made the first three levels of a repurposed dome parking. That would add more parking that could benefit the Texans and the Rodeo than just demolishing the dome and turning it into a surface lot while still leaving 100's of 1000's square feet for other development. I think you have a very narrow view of what is real worth. As the new facts show the dome isn't costing much and demolish might not be as cost effective as people think. The Astrodome is a very unique space and one that presents many opportunities. I don't know why those haven't been explored but it does seem like a lack of vision among many of the players.
This part really sucks. For the dome to be around for so long it's hard to imagine that no sort of entertainment or "destination" has developed.
Part of that is we have a political climate that doesn't allow for vision in even a semi-public project, it seems. If you have a vision for mass transit that involves any public funds you immediately get push-back. Visionaries in public office are not welcome in Houston, Texas at this point. And that is part and parcel of the whole debate over what government's role should be in ANYTHING. A guy like Hofheinz would move to another city today.
I'm all for keeping the dome if there was a good and viable idea/reason, but I just don't know if some of the propositions are viable long term solutions...other than a casino maybe. It's sad but it may be a harsh reality that it needs to go. Just because it's cheap to keep doesn't mean you keep it. That's a hoarders mentality.
I actually stayed in the Galleria area and sat in traffic to get to the Quality Inn where my friend was staying and then we walked a half mile to get into the Parking lot. I have nothing against rail but I would rather have the possibility of staying in NRG at a nice hotel with amenities than spend the time going back and forth from downtown even on LRT.
You probably walked less than people who drove from home. You didn't take 610 from Galleria right? I agree a hotel would be nice but I don't see how the security issues could be worked out, and it doesn't have public support. I am thinking if this thing string out a few more years, a hotel WILL have greater support.
How about a King Solomon solution: cut it in half, turn it into an amphitheater/mall/offices with a park/parking lot in the other half.
The public should not be spending money to turn this into any private business. Companies should pay for this themselves and if it doesn't make sense financially then we should't do it. We are creating needs when they don't exist.
Economic activity, increased employment and tax revenue. Not so much for this particular project, but there's precedent and rationale for subsidizing commercial entities since our country's founding.
