New Astrodome Proposal

Harris County officials propose $105M parking plan for Astrodome

Harris County officials are proposing a $105 million plan to raise the floor of the Astrodome two levels and convert those areas into 1,400 parking spaces, a move that would be the strongest signal yet that the county plans to maintain and find another use for the so-called “Eighth Wonder of the World.”

I actually used to joke years ago about making it a parking garage although it is a practical idea.

ABC13 report on the new plan for the Dome. States the plan won’t require any new taxes for Harris county residents.

https://twitter.com/tedoberg/status/747570151315415041

Fox26 story and news report:

http://www.fox26houston.com/sports/167047679-story

$30 million to tear down a county asset that could be repurposed as needed for the benefit of the county/city/HLSR etc.? No way. The dome is paid off and now only costs about 200K per year to maintain. Let’s keep the historic symbol of Houston’s ambition to be a major city and make it useful again. Especially since this plan requires no new taxes.

I like what Judge Emmett has to say even if he looks like Bilbo Baggins.

This is the plan that got approved

https://twitter.com/tedoberg/status/780783243821854720

I’m not hip that they are using the hotel and rental car tax for this, but I guess that’s the libertarian in me.

I’d like to know where all the $$$ is going to go that people will be paying in order to park in the dome.

But Whitmire said he had concerns about taxpayer dollars going toward retrofitting the Dome, especially after county voters in 2013 rejected a $217 million bond proposal that would have paid for massive renovations to the Astrodome.

“I’m just going to say before you spend taxpayer dollars after you’ve had a referendum, you have to go back out and get voter approval,” Whitmire said.