Capps: Houston considering replacing Astrodome with smaller Astrodome
From Kriston Capps at The Atlantic on July 29, 2014:
The Eighth Wonder of the World could get a little more wondrous, if Houston carries out a scheme to replace the Astrodome with… a tiny Astrodome.
Under a new $66 million plan devised by Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the Houston Texans, the bones of the world-famous Astrodome would be preserved. The rest of the structure would be demolished to make way for an urban park modeled after Discovery Green, a vibrant green-space that opened in downtown Houston in 2008. At the center of the new park would be… a tiny Astrodome.
Houstonians are clearly having a hard time letting go of the stadium, an historic marvel that opened in 1965 and the site of some of the city’s best memories. In November, Harris County residents rejected a proposal for preserving the Astrodome and converting it into a convention center—a proposal that many observers expected to pass. Eight months later, as if the city might be having second thoughts, Houston is no closer to demolishing the world’s first and greatest domed stadium.
This new proposal, featuring a design by the Houston office of global architecture firm Gensler, puts the city one step closer to move forward with the Astrodome. Or a step backward, depending on how you look at it, seeing as the plans call for replacing it with… a tiny Astrodome.
Read the full article here: http://www.citylab.com/design/2014/07/now-houston-is-considering-replacing-the-astrodome-with-a-smaller-astrodome/375196/
Related link: Learn more about SABR 44 in Houston, including a complete schedule, at SABR.org/convention.
Originally published: July 29, 2014. Last Updated: July 29, 2014.