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Culture / Sporting Life

Party in the Astrodome One Last Time Before It’s Changed Forever: Free Bash to Celebrate $105 Million Transformation and Second Life

BY // 03.20.18

Bust out your vintage Oilers and Astros gear, because it’s time to party at the Astrodome. On April 9, you can get your last glimpse of the 8th Wonder of the World before its $105 million transformation. The “Domecoming” bash is a free event, but tickets are limited.

You can register for tickets starting tomorrow, March 21, at 10 am on Ticketmaster. The Astrodome event will begin at 5 and lasts until 8 pm on April 9. Gates open at 4 pm. Hosts Astrodome Conservancy and Harris County are planning to knock this one out of the park.

April 9 is a significant date because it marks the iconic stadium’s 53rd anniversary. Of course, the Astrodome has been closed to the public since 2009 — and the once pioneering showpiece has sat vacant. It’s past time to celebrate this important hunk of Houston history.

The Astrodome was recently officially recognized as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, one year after it was designated as a State Antiquities Landmark.

“The Astrodome is an important landmark to Harris County and Texas and is part of our unique culture. As the first fully enclosed, domed stadium, it was once home to professional sports teams like the Houston Oilers and Astros, organizations including the Rodeo, as well as hosting countless signature events that shined a global spotlight on our area,” says Phoebe Tudor, chair of the Astrodome Conservancy.

“Our mission is to preserve its legacy and creatively engage Houstonians at the Astrodome once again.”

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The previous attempt at engagement did not go so well. Astrodome renovation supporters were thrown a curveball back in 2013 when Harris County voters decisively shot down a proposal to save the Astrodome from demolition. The goal was to convert the icon into a massive convention, exhibition space and event center. While many Houstonians have a soft spot for the old stadium, the majority balked at the $217 million bond price tag.

More than half of the voters struck down the possibility of “The New Dome Experience.”

The Harris County Commissioners Court went to bat for the Astrodome again in February, voting to proceed with a new, $105 million renovation plan that will not go through a public vote. The plan will transform the building into a multi-purpose event space, dramatically changing the interior of the Astrodome.

The vision includes creating a parking garage with an additional 1,400 spaces and raising the ground level of the Astrodome two floors. This will open up almost eight acres of open space for event and festival use.

The funding for the renovation will come from the county’s general fund, hotel taxes and county parking fees. Construction is scheduled to start in October, and is projected to take a total of 17 months to complete.

Opened in 1965, the Astrodome has seen it all. It featured the first animated scoreboard, “Astrolite,” and was the first major sports stadium to use AstroTurf — in fact, it was called ChemGrass before the stuff became so closely tied to Houston’s new space-age stadium. It hosted the 1973 “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King, the Game of the Century where the University of Houston snapped storied UCLA’s 47-game winning streak and four Muhammad Ali boxing wins, including one of the most iconic bouts of The Greatest’s career. In 2005, it was used as a shelter for Louisiana residents after Hurricane Katrina.

As time went on, it the once state-of-the-art stadium was no longer batting a thousand. But now, with the Astrodome moving into a new older age, it’s time to party in it.

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