By Stephanie Earthman For many years, the Astrodome has been referred to as the "Eighth Wonder of the World," placing it in the company of such awe-inspiring structures as the Great Pyramids of Egypt. Since 1965, it has been Houston's sparkling jewel. When it opened, the designers and builders said that no other 20th century building had attracted more interest or fascination from the public. Today, the Dome continues to attract public interest in spite of having two major sports tenants vacate the complex, leaving many wondering about its future. Well, wonder no more. Home of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo since 1966, the Astrodomain is avoiding stagnation by taking on a new management structure. The recently created Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation has taken ownership of the Astrodome complex and will become the Show's new landlord in the spring of 2000. Precipitated by the departure of the Houston Astros, the local, non-profit governmental entity will manage and develop the complex and will focus on enhancing the facility. Rising 218 feet against the Texas sky on a once windswept prairie, the Dome made any other stadium seem obsolete the day it opened its doors in April 1965 for the first indoor major league baseball game. Inspired by another great edifice of the world, the Roman Colosseum, former Harris County Judge Roy E. Hofheinz conceived the idea of building a covered facility while touring the Colosseum in the mid-1950s. He was more intrigued by this renowned structure when learning that it had originally had a "velarium," or awning, which was pulled by slaves and machinery to cover the amphitheater during bad weather. Working with the inventor of the geodesic dome, Buckminster Fuller, Hofheinz learned that it was possible to cover any size space -- as long as you did not run out of money. When Hofheinz later joined a group seeking major league baseball for Houston, his original plans for a covered shopping center formed the basis for pioneering the domed stadium. Hofheinz worked persistently to make the Dome a reality. He also became president of the Houston Sports Association, a private enterprise that not only owned the Houston Astros franchise but held exclusive lease rights to the Dome. These lease rights gave HSA full rein to operate and to maintain the Dome as well as to operate subsequent buildings added to the Astrodomain. Today, Astros owner Drayton McClain serves as president of Astrodome USA (formerly HSA), which will relinquish the lease rights to the Astrodome complex when the Astros move into their new downtown stadium in April 2000. In a nod to other tenants of the complex, the Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation ends the monopoly held by Astrodome USA and provides a new opportunity for the Show to participate in shaping the future of the Astrodomain. "It no longer made sense for the complex to be run by a single tenant [the baseball team]," said Shea Guinn, executive director of HCSCC, who agreed with the county's effort to provide all tenants a larger voice in facility maintenance and development. The Harris County Commissioners Court, with each county commissioner appointing one board member, created HCSCC, which has been granted a 15-year lease agreement with a 15-year renewal option. HCSCC will manage all Astrodomain assets and position the complex for major improvements. According to Guinn, HCSCC will subcontract the day-to-day operations of the entire complex through a private management organization. Operating under a new fee-based arrangement will allow HCSCC to realize revenues from the Astrodomain operations. "The difference is that HCSCC's only purpose is to serve the public interest versus a private entity, which rightfully serves its own holdings and interests," explained Guinn. The profits will fund planned capital projects and ongoing maintenance. Jim Clepper, Show Executive Committee member who also serves as a director on the HCSCC board, views this as a "clean" business approach. "It makes good sense to have a business entity run the complex without any single interest," he added. "No dramatic changes are forthcoming as Astrodome USA has done a phenomenal job," said Clepper, but he noted that HCSCC will reshape the complex as it "puts a lot of thrust into marketing and development to attract new profit-driven venues." No doubt the Show has shaped the Astrodomain's footprint since moving there in 1966. Deciding in 1963 against owning and operating its own facility, the Show agreed with HSA to build a Y-shaped building adjacent to the Dome. In addition to funding the almost $4 million cost of constructing the Astrohall, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo built the $3 million Astroarena in 1975. Both facilities have since been expanded. The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo has constructed and donated to the citizens of Harris County more than 23 acres of buildings with a replacement value in excess of $115 million -- an incredible contribution from a nonprofit organization. With such a large investment in the Show's home, there is great interest in the changes forthcoming from the new landlord. Some changes are visible today. More than 50 acres west of Kirby Drive have been developed into 3,000 parking spaces, which are connected to the Astrodome complex by elevated pedestrian walkways.
A $200 million, 1.3-million-square-foot exhibition facility is scheduled for groundbreaking soon after the 2000 Show closes. New office space for the Show will be built in the exhibition facility, which is scheduled for completion in the spring of 2002. With ceiling heights up to 50 feet, the facility will contain close to 1 million square feet of exhibit and meeting space, which nearly doubles the existing space used by the Show today. Upon completion of the new facility, the existing Astrohall will be demolished and the area used for surface parking. Other near-term capital improvements include a new cooling/heating system and electrical plant. HCSCC also will work with the Show to control certain concession costs. With plans to build a retractable-roof stadium next to the Dome, Guinn said many alternatives are being studied for keeping the Dome in operation. It could be that Hofheinz's original plans may resurface -- a retail complex is just one of the many ideas the new Dome landlord has in mind for carrying the Eighth Wonder of the World into the next century. "A long-term vision includes plans to transform the Dome complex into a destination in and of itself," added Guinn. It will be exciting to watch HCSCC breathe new life into the Dome -- once dubbed the "world's greatest attraction" -- and keep the Astrodome complex in its rightful place as one of the great wonders of the 20th century.
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