Voters will get to decide fate of Astrodome
 

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-te...php?cmpid=hpbn
******
I will be sprinting to the polls in November when they open to vote this sukker down ! More 1st rate politicians with a 4th rate business idea.

As a longtime Houston sports fan who remembers the Dome when it truly was the Eighth Wonder of the World, I sincerely hope a way is found to breathe new life into the Astrodome so it can stay intact and a vibrant part of the community.

However, as someone who no longer lives in the Houston area, it's not my place to tell the voters how they should respond. It won't be my tax money they will be spending. I am glad, though, that the voters will finally get a say in the fate of the historic icon. It has waited way too long.

I sure have a lot of good memories of Astrodome starting with seeing Astros play there in 1965.

So, I hope there is good use found for the Dome.

I don't live in Harris County either so can't vote either.

Have they said what happens if bond issue fails?

Sounds like both of you have the luxury of clinging to sentimental memories of the old Dome while not being in the position of being a Houston/Harris Co taxpayer who
would be stuck with subsidizing and sustaining the existence of a fiscal fiasco.

I am not a Harris County voter either, but since there is already venue in the same parking lot that can be used as a convention hall (not to mention the GRB downtown), why is another one necessary? Seriously asking... haven't been keeping up with this.

Seems to me the Texans could use the extra real estate for parking, which would generate some revenue since so many fans seem to enjoy gameday traffic without a ticket for the game itself. Sure a new convention venue would generate more revenue, but the A/C bill on the Dome alone must be pretty expensive too.

i agree with this thought

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news...gn-4810625.php
*****
Usual line-up of suspects here, including the fat-cats like Emmett who already "manage" the fiscal affairs of Harris country, who are pushing this deal. We all know that there's never been any project for the Dome that's made economic sense to the private sector, that's why it's stood vacant all these years.
I saw a story on the national TV news this week about some of the nations largest municipalities including Chicago & Philly that may be right behind Detroit in terms of their futures fiscally speaking, so if you are a Houston taxpayer and you like that kind of publicity for your home town on the 5:30 news I suggest you vote for this project in November. But if you don't want to add more debt to the citys balance sheet for something that's not economically feasible, say "NO" to the referendum in November !

Translation: something that isn't concrete or asphalt.

I don't live "in" Houston, so I don't really have a dog in the tax game hunt, but man, that would be pretty cool if they could pull it off.

We went up to NE for the playoff game, and we were all pretty impressed with Patriots place. It seems that video is along the same lines.

Nice place to visit, but wouldn't want to have to pay for it....

Speaking of the upcoming elections in Houston, the incumbent mayor has sure gone negative on Ben Hall, so he's obviously her main competitor or she certainly seems to think he is. She's just completing her second term, yet I've seen nothing positive about any achievements she thinks she might have had up to now ? I'm starting to fill sorry for ole Ben, they are really bashing that guy.

Dumping this here instead of starting a new Astrodome thread...

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-te...#photo-5379661

So that's about a quarter Bill less $s that the politicians/bureaucrats will have to pocket, so take a pic if you want to remember, 'cause it's Dome Down ! Yipeee !

If there was a politician anywhere who wasn't going to spend the money on something more worthless, I might celebrate but a renovated dome was something I might have actually benefited from.

I guess they can put the money toward a battered womens shelter since Jim Crane ran out on the last one.

You might have somehow benefited Bob, but easy for an Austin resident to say since there's not the down side for you that there is for us who live in Harris County/Houston who are stuck with the debt service on the Bonds.
And check out below the "benefit" we taxpayers got for that 100 million plus
bonds the politicians floated 4 or 5 years ago. Yea, local taxpayers did the right thing yesterday.
********
HOUSTON (FOX 26) -
For the first time, a cruise ship has set sail from its home port at the controversial Bayport Cruise Terminal.

The Caribbean Princess cast off, Tuesday evening, for a four-day cruise to Progresso, Mexico.

Better late than never for an inaugural cruise at the Port of Houston's Bayport Terminal, which was built with bond money and completed in 2009 at a cost of $108 million.

For the better part of four years, the terminal sat unused – until now.



Read more: http://www.myfoxhouston.com/story/23...#ixzz2jsimoWMN

Who thought it was a winning idea to sail your first/last half-hour of a cruise viewing the scenic and romantic Houston Ship Channel with its noxious gases from Pasadena and Baytown? I could have told them that wouldn't fly.

The results of the Dome vote was at the very least a mild surprise, and one of the more interesting post election analysis I've heard was that the Ben Hall "turnout" was very instrumental in producing those results.

I went to the dome many times and watched a great deal of Oilers and Astros games as well as a few concerts. Fond memories, indeed. However, my lasting impression of the dome will forever be the dilapidated carcass it became after it was abandoned and the ensuing cesspool it became after Katrina. That mess of a facility should have been torn down 10+ years ago. Now, I'm all for a developer coming in and building a nice green space and possibly putting a quality hotel or two there. I certainly think those two things would help us get on the Super Bowl rotation more often.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/...82311210206636

I agree with thoughts Popanot had. Seem final decisions should happen fairly soon.

Well, I wouldn't expect a bunch of New York assholes to understand anyway. They wouldn't save a history-filled landmark like Yankee Stadium so **************** them.

Two major flaws in this excerpt. Baseball and football are largely still being played indoors in Houston so that's shitty logic. We have something called Texas heat down here. Without a roof, people wouldn't show up. Second, the "replacement" is going to be a parking lot, not some new building.

By the way, New Yorkers, I hope you get 20 feet of snow for your Super Bowl. I'd love every minute of that. Or maybe another "superstorm" for you to whine like little babies about.

Since the Texans obviously aren't going to be playing I would love to see horrible weather as a nice payback to the league's arrogance.

And while we're talking about it I guess I'm the only one who isn't all that impressed when Houston gets Super Bowls. It annoys me for several reasons, not least of which is that McNair gets to swan around and act like he's worth a shit.

Hey Bob, quit behaving like a small-town, parochial Texas hick who never read anything beyond the Austin Statesman. The Wall Street Journal's geographic headquarters is incidental to it's ranking as arguably the most prominent media voice of conservatism on the face of the globe, and that includes a philosophy of fiscal responsibility and discipline which I doubt most of Austin's asshole lefties relate to but is the primary reason why we Houston taxpayers sacked the ill-advised Dome Bond Issue. Now tear down the freaking ugly-azz Dome already !

I'm familiar with the WSJ. It doesn't mean I can't call them out when they are wrong.

Right around the time the comics in other papers ceased to be funny the Journal's editorial page became downright hilarious so it worked out great for me.

Houston voted down the Dome bond issue. Doesn't matter if Houston voters or elsewhere are liberal, conservative or independent.

But that WSJ article seemed poor, uninformed quality.

http://www.wistv.com/story/23927992/...-after-no-vote
*******
Really Mr Radack ? And you expect we Houston/Harris County taxpayers to just continue paying the annual expenses to maintain, insure, etc the Dome as we've been doing for some 15 years as it sets there and continues to deteriorate and continues to be a safety hazard and eye sore ? After the vote, seriously Mr Radack ?

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-te...php?cmpid=hpts
****
It's about time, now get crackin on leveling the rest of it !

Well, State Antiquities Landmark is applied for so, we wait some more for something good to happen

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireSto...ition-23701745

This sounds pretty good to me, hope they get this done.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/233417374/...-demolish-dome

Bumping
...because the MLB network is planning to air a special on the history of the Astrodome, 'The Eighth Wonder of the World', on 12/15 at 8pm CT.

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article...y-on-astrodome