HOUSTON (AP) _ A $1.35 billion-dollar plan would turn the landmark Houston Astrodome into a convention and science center.
But officials at Reliant Park, which includes the former “Eighth Wonder of the World,” say at least two-thirds of that cost would have to be picked up and approved by taxpayers.
Another option under the plan unveiled Monday is to raze the domed stadium.
The Astrodome opened in 1965 as the nation’s first indoor air-conditioned multi-use stadium. The deteriorating structure now sits idle, costing Harris County officials about $500,000 a year to maintain minimally and millions in debt and interest payments.
It’s dwarfed by the adjacent, newer and more luxurious Reliant Stadium. The Houston Astros left a decade ago for Minute Maid Park downtown.
In 2005, the Astrodome became home to thousands who fled Louisiana from Hurricane Katrina.