Astrodome Response
Thanksgiving Day is two weeks from today.
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As I speculated a few weeks ago, this morning, Craig Melvin was named Co-Host of “Today” following the departure of Hoda Kotb. Craig will officially take his seat by Savannah Guthrie on January 13, 2025. Congratulations to Craig.
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I mentioned a few days ago about the sh_tshow coming our way. We sure got a couple of shovels of the crap yesterday with appointment announcements. See the featured photo. Commentary is not surprised. I also won’t be surprised if the appointments are confirmed.
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Here is from the Chron on how Harris County responded to the Astrodome vision proposed by the Astrodome Conservancy:
“We respect the efforts of the Astrodome Conservancy and have seen their proposed concept. Over the last few years, we have seen several concepts that, while thought-provoking, haven’t resulted in viable funding and maintenance solutions,” said Bishop James Dixon, chairman of Harris County Sports & Convention Corp., in an email statement to the Chronicle Wednesday.
“We are currently working with Harris County and a team of industry-leading experts to plan for the future of NRG Park. The solution for the Astrodome must be decided within that context. In addition, we cannot consider any future vision for NRG Park without first understanding certain baseline financial information related to the Astrodome,” Dixon said.
The Harris County Sports & Convention Corp. is working to obtain data to use in evaluating proposed plans, he said.
“This critical information will provide us with the most viable path forward, ensuring NRG Park continues to meet the needs of its stakeholders and the public for now, and for the future. We are taking this approach because we are accountable to the public. Accurate and data driven information on financial costs and maintenance will inform responsible, realistic decisions that will eventually involve taxpayer dollars.”
Harris County Sports Corp. manages, operates, maintains and develops NRG Park. The county-owned property includes NRG Stadium, NRG Center and NRG Arena in southeast Houston. NRG Park hosts more than 500 events and 5.5 million people annually on its campus.
Here is the entire Chron read: RodeoHouston, NRG Park operators respond to $1B plan to save Astrodome.
I pretty much expected James to say what he said. Whatever is going to happen with the Astrodome is going to cost serious dough.
I have a ton of memories of the Astrodome. I attended a game against the Yankees on Opening Weekend back in 1965. I went to a bunch of games and had Astros season tickets. I went to Oiler games and the Rodeo. I saw Elvis, Selena, and Garth Brooks among others. I saw two Ali fights there. I was at the last Astros game played at the Astrodome against The ATL in the NLDS in 1999. The Astrodome has always been a huge part of my H-Town life.
Heck, I could go for a renovation. I could also let it stand as a historic remnant of what once was called the Eighth Wonder of the World, if they had it set up for tours like they do the Coliseum. I could even go for a total demolition that I have called for in years past.
The Astrodome has pretty much sat empty for the last 20 years. We have had a GOP and Democratic controlled Harris County Commissioners Court during this time frame and nothing serious has come out of Harris County on what to do with the Astrodome. It is like one big passing of the buck.
H-Town has a worldwide reputation for getting big things done. We got NASA. We built the Port. We built the Medical Center. We’re the Energy Capitol of the world. We built the Astrodome.
Now we are letting the Astrodome just sit there. Where is the leadership on this?
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Nothing new to report on the Alex Bregman situation.
