proud of our city for not participating in this boondoggle We aren't Detroit, going bankrupt funding wasteful public works projects with kickbacks to unions and politicians. If the Dome is worth saving, people with means can put their capital at risk (or persuade others to) to save it.
Maybe it's something you need to see in person -- it's still a large structure and if Austin had the funding at the time the roof could have remained. They could have done something cool with the Astrodome, but the ideas for it were poor and the voters have spoken. I'll miss seeing it and have some great memories, but as others have said if they can raze Yankee Stadium they can tear down the dome.
The new dome would have not been the original dome. The look and feel of the proposed dome was nothing but a shell of its old self. Life goes on Its time for it to go......
Welp Houston showing once again why it will never be a world class city. History and preserving history is important to the culture and appeal of a city. London, Paris, Chicago, NY and Chicago all protect their history ... Not Houston, build a parking lot and relax environmental laws and we are good to go. When the economy finally slows in Houston it will be Cleveland.
What? Money didn't stop them from doing that. It would have been dumb and impractical. The rebuilt it because the core design needed to reflect the contemporary needs for the space. I don't know of any national convention centers that are circular. It's wildly impractical.
There's a lot of reasons why Houston won't match up to those above cities... but tearing down the Astrodome isn't one of them.
I hope you people that voted no are happy. The one last thing this city has of any historical value could have been saved but I guess that's just how it is here. Lots of out of towners with no real connection to the landmark. I'm sure many were not informed about the details in the vote and many had a bad taste in their mouths from it being an eyesore the last few years. Those thinking that it won't be turned into a parking lot are kidding themselves. At least what was proposed would have gone to the community to use for events and given us something to set us apart from other cities with the proposed events that would have taken place. Then again, this is coming from the same city that turned down improved, modern transist systems, and chose to approve cruise terminals that have yet to be used. Hope everyone enjoys the newest personal Texans/Rodeo parking spaces that most people attending probably wont be able to use anyway. The Texans and Rodeo get what they want. Now we're paying off the millions left on the renovation project for something that no longer exists. Just par for the course in this city. For the cost of 2 beers at a bar in one year, this thing could have been saved. Welcome to Houston!
Saved for what though? I have no problems saving it if its for a decent use. The city doesn't need more convention space... and there's nothing "nostalgic" about turning an old stadium into a convention center in the first place. Honestly, the only "solution" would have been to refurbish it to use as a stadium. If Boston could get rid of the Boston Garden... Houston can get rid of the Astrodome. (and I used to LOVE the dome... I just can't see any practical use for it anymore... if there was, it would have already been developed).
If they would have permitted gambling and renovated it for that I would have voted for it. I'm happy it got voted down. Now knock it down and build a park.
But why waste time renovating it? If they permit gambling, and somehow are allowed to build a casino next to an NFL stadium (which would realistically never be allowed)... why not just build a state-of-the-art casino structure? I'll never understand the allure of renovating the Dome to be used for something other than a "stadium". Does anybody consider the Summit building "nostalgic" anymore? No, they don't... because its a glorified church now.
What makes Houston and Houstonians great is our industriousness. People come here to work, not to rest on our laurels or wax nostaligic over past achievements like sad has-beens. We don't prop up old things, we create new things. The Dome was a great achievement for its time, but it no longer holds up, functionally or aesthetically.
Sigh... it would have just been the roof and the current ring over the new building -- not a circular dome style event center. The same could have been done with the dome.
