Every year, let's have people submit ideas on what can be done to the Astrodome, vote for those ideas, and then do absolutely nothing about it. This way, every year we give ourselves something to aim for, something to look forward to, something awe-inspiring, but we don't have to shell out ****loads of money to do these things.
Real, I'm good with that. It's a global landmark. The roof sparkles like a diamond when the sun hits right. NRG can't say the same. I'm really surprised people older than me, people who actually lived its prime, talk so badly about it. It's literally the COMPLETE opposite of what usually happens among age-difference conversations. Oscar (and whoever played 50's-60's) can't not be lower than 5, if you actually lived to experience him. Ask somebody age 20-30, though.
I think tearing down the scoreboard and bringing the 42,000 seat stadium up to 55k made it lose its charm for a lot of people who grew up with the dome.
Of course it did... and in the end it became obsolete like most old sports stadiums do, because it didn't possess the vital money-making amenities that newer stadiums now have. I don't know a single person who preferred watching baseball games at the dome vs. MMP (especially when you take into account parking, the roof/outdoor effect, seats literally right on top of the field, and downtown having more to offer than the mammoth Astrodome parking lot). I also would say that the Astrodome was one of the worst football venues in the NFL, even in its hey-day.... from the sightlines to the playing surface to the lack of tailgating. The experience at NRG is literally night/day (as most football games are more like major events now than just another game).
No question... I went to hundreds of Astros games in the dome. The experience at MMP is 1000X better. I miss the dome... all of it. The smells, sights, the giant concrete ramps... but I am SO GLAD we have Minute Maid. It's a real gem... and underappreciated outside of this city.
MMP is definitely one of the best venues in the MLB. I'd say just a tier below all of the historic parks such as Wrigley, Fenway, etc.
sorry but nothing will ever beat the $5 outfield in the dome. it would be packed and full of crazies!!! i used to love that and sadly MMP hasn't recreated that space.
The only good thing about the dome was the $4 general admission outfield tickets (you could sit in the front row if you got there early enough). Right on the field.
At one point some of the days were only $1.00 I remember my parents dropping me and my friends off so we could go get tickets and hang out for batting practice etc.
I seem to remember field boxes being $8 on Sundays. But yeah, putting aside all the sentimental memories, it was actually a miserable place to watch a baseball game compared to MMP.
That was my day game ticket when I could get away from work. Sometimes solo, sometimes with the boss. Change from suit to shorts in parking lot, pound 2 tallboys, smoke a bowl, head inside. Read the paper, have some dome foam, chill for a couple of innings and then move into the field boxes right past the 3B dugout and make new friends. "General Admission" was badass (tried googling but couldn't find a pic, so here's this one)
Lefty's Pub on the floor in the corner was all kinds of kickass. Dante Bichette and I are close personal friends. One of my 2 or 6 greatest heckling events ever.
i was there every Sunday afternoon in the GA outfield. so much fun!!! i was also there the first time randy johnson walked out of the dugout. i'v had never seen the dome FULL before the game started. when he walked out the dugout just to warm up in the pen the place went crazy!!! the energy and buzz was electric, you had to be here!!!
I was there for that game as well. In Lefty's Pub. We traded for him and started him the same day, which added to all the excitement. I was also there for the division clinching game in 99 that was on the TV during the live episode of ER. We stormed the field after it was over and I almost gave myself a hernia trying to slide into 2nd base without spilling my dome foam...
Live ER/division clinger was 97, IIRC. Hoping memory doesn't fail me yet... I'm not that old, am I? The Randy Johnson/97-99 era of the Dome was by far the best years of the post renovation dome (for baseball). But by then, I was also brimming with anticipation for MMP, which made the final years of the dome that much more palatable.
