The possibility of the Houston Astrodome being demolished is a topic of heavy discussion among Houstonians and the surrounding suburbs. Events like baseball games and rodeos in the Astrodome made the privilege of growing up in and around Houston a memorable experience.
The Astrodome, nearly named the Harris County Domed Stadium in nineteen sixty-five, was set to be the home of the three-time American Football League champions, the Houston Oilers. Due to the team’s rejection of the lease, the team moved to the Rice Stadium and the Astrodome looked for a new tenant.
The Houston Astros quickly moved to become the new team on the highly talked about sports turf. Once the baseball team moved in, the owner nicknamed the park, the Astrodome, and it stuck. The weather controlled establishment and theatre seating did allow fans a nicer place to watch their home team play, but it did come at some scrutiny to some baseball fanatics.
Memorable moments in the Astrodome did not just occur on the field, but for many “Houstonians” the Astrodome holds a unique place in their hearts for other reasons. Creighton Holub, a senior at the University of Houston describes his most memorable moment at the dome as,
I spent some of my better days of high school at the Astrodome with high school football going on those late nights.Many little tidbits of Texas high school football history happened there. For instance, during my senior year at Sealy HS, the last class day of the 1997 winter semester also coincided with the winning of an unprecedented fourth straight football championship. Sealy had won the 1994, 1996, and 1997 titles all at the Dome.That fateful Dec. 19, 1997, evening saw me with a VIP pass since I was the high school yearbook’s sports editor and lead photographer.For a high school kid, having that VIP pass was a BIG thing. I remember getting to ride in the Astrodome’s elevator. Even for a high school game with only 8,000 fans in attendance, the Dome had a man whose job was sit on a stool, ask what floor/where you were going, and he pressed the button for you.Talk about service!
Rodeo fans were also treated to the extravagance that the world’s first domed stadium offered. The Houston Livestock and Rodeo was established in nineteen thirty-two, and quickly became a highly successful fundraiser for the youth of the Houston area. Each year the rodeo awards millions of dollars in scholarship money to graduating high school seniors, and it provides an agricultural education for the general public. The halls of the Astrodome are filled with memories of this vital part of Houston’s success, and fitting to the greatness and legacy of the building, Country music legend George Strait played the last rodeo concert there in nineteen ninety-seven.
The Astrodome was used for more than entertainment and sports purposes in Houston. In two-thousand and four hurricane Katrina ripped through the southern portion of the United States coastline and devastated cities like New Orleans in its path. Evacuees from the storm quickly made their way to Houston, where over two thousand people lived in the dome. The openness and generosity of the city brought the attention of celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey.
The Houston Astrodome has been apart of more memorable moments than anyone has the time to count. The “eighth wonder of the world” deserves to be preserved, protected, and recognized as one of the most recognizable buildings in the city. It was a first by so many things, including the ever unpopular Astroturf, that we owe it to future generations to protect the long-standing Houston tradition.
Keeping the Astrodome will cost money, and that’s an established fact. In the dome’s current state, it is costing around thirty-two million dollars, and most possibilities that have been proposed for the building in the past is reaching close to a half of a billion dollars. Texas Stadium, the complex before the Dome was demolished fifteen months after its closure, and the Astros have left the Astrodome over a decade ago.
Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said there is a reason why the Texas Stadium plan formed and moved quickly. That was a single-purpose stadium for a single team sandwiched between two freeways. It had no other purpose. The Astrodome is much more iconic,” he said. Without that distinction it would be long gone, he said. Instead, it costs taxpayers millions in upkeep and debt payments.The latest pitch is using part of the building as a math, science and technology institute, keeping the open space public as a place for festivals and other activities and leaving open the rest of the building for development.
Whatever the city officials decide, the removal of this iconic building would rob Houston of a part of its rich history. Instead of choosing the easy way out of the financial problem, the city should be searching for others to take the Dome, re-model it, and bring it to its old glory days. This piece of Houston history deserves to be celebrated and protected from being just a bunch of memories
“The possibility of the Houston Astrodome being demolished is a topic of heavy discussion among Houstonians and the surrounding suburbs.”
Ashley, this is the kind of sentence that announces a topic but doesn’t say anything. The problem comes from the subject of the sentence “possibility” and the verb, “is”. The sentence can’t do any work. It’s bogged down in a concept. Make the writing ativie.
As of for finding someone to remodel the Dome, one company had a proposal for years, but couldn’t get the money. Money is very tight right now because of the recession. Hard for anyone to borrow the capital.
The Astrodome is costing the Harris County taxpayers two million dollars a month in maintenance fees. If something isn’t done, the county will have to tear it down soon.
One other thought. I’d like to see you write about your small town. What goes on in your town?
Have you ever heard Garrison Keillor tell the news from Lake Wobegone? Check it out below
http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/about/podcast/
Yes sir, I was planning to work one in about Liberty. I understand what you mean about the Dome, this was just for me to vent a little bit of the sadness that I felt to see it go. My first one that I intend to use is the one below about a my friends’ time with a nonprofit group that sails in aide on WWII vessels. Also I plan to write about another friend whose parents adopted six kids through the CPS process after her and her 3 siblings left the house. I guess that my theme is “helping others”? Does that work?