Astrodome
The NRG Astrodome, formerly and also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas, United States. It seated around 50,000 fans, with a record attendance of 68,266 set by a George Strait concert in 2002.
It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Houston and known for pioneering modern stadiums. Construction on the stadium began in 1963, more than a year after the ceremonial groundbreaking, and it officially opened in 1965. It served as home to the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball from 1965 until 1999, and the home to the Houston Oilers of the American Football League /National Football League from 1968 until 1996, and also the part-time home of the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association from 1971 until 1975. Additionally, the Astrodome was the primary venue of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo from 1966 until 2002. When opened, it was named the Harris County Domed Stadium and was nicknamed the "Eighth Wonder of the World".
After the original natural grass playing surface died, the Astrodome became the first major sports venue to install artificial turf in 1966, which became known as AstroTurf. In another technological first, the Astrodome featured the "Astrolite", which was the first animated scoreboard. The stadium was renovated in 1988–1989, expanding seating and altering many original features.
By the 1990s, the Astrodome was becoming obsolete. Unable to secure a new stadium, Oilers owner Bud Adams moved the team to Tennessee after 1996, and became the Tennessee Titans in 1999. The Astros played at the dome through 1999, then relocated to Enron Field in 2000.
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo continued to be held at the Astrodome until the opening of the adjacent NRG Stadium in 2002. Although the Astrodome no longer had any primary tenants, it regularly hosted events during the early 2000s. It was used as a shelter for residents of New Orleans affected by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
The Astrodome was declared non-compliant with fire code by the Houston Fire Department in 2008, and parts of it were demolished in 2013 after several years of disuse. In 2014, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, thus preventing the rest of the structure from being demolished. As of 2024, most of the Astrodome structure is still standing, but it has been closed to the public since 2009 and is currently being used as a storage facility for the surrounding NRG Park. Various plans to redevelop the Astrodome have been proposed since the structure was abandoned.
History
Conception
expanded to Houston in 1960, when the National League agreed to add two teams. The Houston Colt.45s were to begin play in 1962, along with their expansion brethren New York Mets. Roy Hofheinz, a former mayor of Houston, and his group were granted the franchise after they promised to build a covered stadium. It was thought a covered stadium was a must for a major league team to be viable in Houston due to the area's subtropical climate and hot summers. Game-time temperatures are usually above in July and August, with high humidity and frequent rain. Hofheinz claimed inspiration for what became the Astrodome from a tour of Rome, where he learned that the builders of the ancient Colosseum installed a giant velarium to shield spectators from the sun.The Astrodome was conceived by Hofheinz as early as 1952, when he and his daughter Dene were rained out once too often at Buffalo Stadium, home of Houston's minor league baseball team, the Houston Buffs. Hofheinz abandoned his interest in The Galleria, and set his sights on bringing major league baseball to Houston.
Design and construction
The Astrodome was designed by architects Hermon Lloyd & W. B. Morgan, and Wilson, Morris, Crain and Anderson. Structural engineering and structural design were performed by Walter P Moore Engineers and Consultants of Houston. Credit for the design work on the dome roof structural goes to Dr. G. R. Kiewitt and Mr. Louis O. Bass of Roof Structures, Inc. It was constructed by H. A. Lott, Inc. for Harris County. It stands 18 stories tall, covering. The dome is in diameter and the ceiling is above the playing surface, which itself sits below street level.The air conditioning system was designed by I. A. Naman; other aspects that were considered included visibility, light admittance, and acoustics, the air handling units were designed to move of air, with approximately 10% of that being fresh air from outside to limit carbon dioxide buildup.
The scoreboard, eventually known as the "Astrolite", was designed by Fair Play Scoreboards of Des Moines, Iowa. Having designed the scoreboard for Dodger Stadium several years prior, team owner Roy Hofheinz was not impressed with the initial proposal for a much more generic type of scoreboard. Project designer Jack Foster teamed up with a creative professional based in Kansas City to create the first animated scoreboard. Its reported cost was $2.1 million.
The Dome was completed in November 1964, six months ahead of schedule. Many engineering changes were required during construction, including the modest flattening of the supposed "hemispherical roof" to cope with environmentally induced structural deformation and the use of a new paving process called "lime stabilization" to cope with changes in the chemistry of the soil. The air conditioning system was designed by Houston mechanical engineers Israel A. Naman and Jack Boyd Buckley of I. A. Naman + Associates.
The multi-purpose stadium, designed to facilitate both football and baseball, is nearly circular and uses movable lower seating areas. It also ushered in the era of other fully domed stadiums, such as the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, as well as the all now-demolished Pontiac Silverdome near Detroit, Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Kingdome in Seattle, and RCA Dome in Indianapolis.
To test what effect the enclosed air-conditioned environment might have on the delivery of breaking balls, Satchel Paige, in full Astros uniform, threw the first pitches at the Astrodome on February 7, 1965. He later concluded that it was a "pitcher's paradise", as the lack of wind allowed for greater control of sensitive pitches.
Hofheinz had an opulent apartment in the Dome, which was removed when the facility was remodeled in 1988. The seven-floor apartment was adjacent to the right field bleachers and included a shooting gallery, a bowling alley, a chapel, and a presidential suite.
Opening and reception
The stadium's opening day took place on April 9, 1965. A sold-out crowd of 47,879 watched an exhibition game between the Astros and the New York Yankees. President Lyndon B. Johnson and his wife Lady Bird were in attendance, as well as Governor John Connally and Mayor Louie Welch. Governor Connally tossed out the first ball for the first indoor MLB game. Dick "Turk" Farrell of the Astros threw the first pitch. The Yankees' Mickey Mantle had both the first hit and the first home run in the Astrodome, but the Astros won 2–1 in twelve innings.President Johnson stopped at the Astrodome that evening en route to his home in Johnson City and paid his respects to baseball and Astros president Roy Hofheinz, a campaign manager for Johnson in the 1940s, just as the second inning got underway. He and Lady Bird watched the opening night game from behind the glass in Judge Hofheinz's private box high in the right field just to the right of the giant scoreboard. LBJ ate hors d'œuvres and chicken and ice cream while watching the game.
"Roy, I want to congratulate you; it shows so much imagination," he was heard to say. Later, he called the stadium "massive" and "beautiful." Although the president's visit overshadowed all others, dignitaries swarmed through the "Eighth Wonder of the World" during the three days of the exhibition series and for opening night against the Phillies on April 12. Chris Short of the Phillies shut out the Astros on four hits, with 12 strikeouts.
The first artist to play the Astrodome was Judy Garland on December 17, 1965; The Supremes were her opening act, and tickets were priced $1.00 to $7.50. The dome seated 48,000, and another 12,000 seats were added for this show. Paid $43,000 for the one show, Garland appeared on stage at 10 p.m. and sang for forty minutes, with her set of songs including: "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands"; "Just in Time"; "My Kind of Town, Houston Is"/"Houston"; "As Long As He Needs Me"; "Joey, Joey, Joey"; "Do it Again"; "What Now My Love?"; "By Myself"; "Rock-A-Bye Your Baby"; "San Francisco"; "Chicago"; and "Over the Rainbow." Mort Lindsey conducted.
"The Rainout"
The Astrodome suffered a rainout on June 15, 1976. The Astros' scheduled game against the Pittsburgh Pirates was called when massive flooding in the Houston area prevented all but a few fans from reaching the stadium. Both teams had arrived early for practice, but the umpires were several hours late. At 5 pm that day, with only a handful of fans on hand and already several hours behind, the umpires and teams agreed to call the game off. Tables were brought onto the field and the teams ate dinner together. Although the Astros still had a home series with Pittsburgh in August, this game was made up in Pittsburgh in July.Recent history
In 1989, four cylindrical pedestrian ramp columns were constructed outside the Dome for accessibility. This enabled the Astrodome to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.The 1992 Republican National Convention was held at the Astrodome in August of that year. The Astros accommodated the convention by taking a month-long road trip. A manually operated scoreboard debuted that season.
On August 19, 1995, a scheduled preseason game between the Oilers and the San Diego Chargers had to be canceled due to the dilapidated condition of the playing field. Oilers owner Bud Adams demanded a new stadium, but the city of Houston refused to fund it. After years of threats, Adams moved the team to Nashville, Tennessee after the 1996 season. Around that time the Astros also threatened to leave the city unless a new ballpark was built. The retractable-roofed Enron Field opened for the 2000 season in downtown Houston.
One of the largest crowds in the Astrodome's history, more than 66,746 fans, came on Sunday, February 26, 1995, to see Tejano superstar Selena and her band Los Dinos perform for a sell-out crowd during the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Selena y Los Dinos performed two consecutive times before at the Astrodome, breaking previous attendance records each time. This was Selena's last televised concert before she was fatally shot on March 31, 1995, by her fan club president.
File:Astrophoto of Astrodome.jpg|thumb|left|NRG Park area, Houston, Texas. Astrodome, with NRG Stadium at center of this 2010 astronaut photo
The Astrodome was joined by a new neighbor in 2002, the retractable-roofed Reliant Stadium, which was built to house Houston's new NFL franchise, the Houston Texans. The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo moved to the new venue in 2003, leaving the Astrodome without any major tenants. The last concert at the Astrodome was George Strait & the Ace in the Hole Band during the 2002 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, before a record crowd of 68,266; the performance was recorded in For the Last Time: Live from the Astrodome.