Houston Astrodome: Conservancy announces $1B vision for redevelopment

HOUSTON - The Astrodome officially closed its door 15 years ago, and it has sat empty ever since despite many ideas about what to do with it.

On Wednesday morning, the Astrodome Conservancy announced their vision for the future of the Houston landmark.

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The private, non-profit organization will share its plans for "Vision: Astrodome", which they call an innovative and viable redevelopment concept.

Planners have noted the sheer size of the space, nine acres of internal space, is what has stumped some developers on what to do with the Dome. The primary solution was to scale down.

Through the announcement, Houstonians learned the Astrodome redevelopment has three proposals. These proposals include building a new ring of buildings inside the dome, slicing a boulevard through the Dome to connect NRG Center and NRG Stadium for pedestrian traffic, and activating the main level concourse for restaurants and retailers.

Through the first proposal, the new ring of buildings will have one ring with tenants, office space, as well as an internal ring for arena, event, and entertainment venue space. The secondary proposal externalizes the Dome with Astrodome Boulevard. Activating the main level concourse allows users to access the Dome year-round with restaurants and shopping.

All three of these proposals would be implemented into the Dome to create a "dynamic, desirable, destination" for conferences, offices, and more.

A grand multi-purpose event space would be put in the center of the Dome big enough for a music venue, equestrian activities, a partial football field, and other possible events.

The total cost of this redevelopment is estimated to be around $1 billion. Split into two components, $250 million for the events arena and $750 million for the commercial development of hotel, offices, retail, and parking.

The plan has been submitted as a key component of the NRG masterplan.