Astrodome to become Hotel???

[barrett]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5291914.html

apparently, houston is trying to develop the astrodome into a hotel and the texans and the rodeo oppose this idea.

i've often wondered as i sit tailgaiting, staring at it, what it's doing there. or as i walk past it on the way to the game thinking "can't they do something with this?"

the texans and the rodeo are calling for the proposed hotel to close on gamedays and during the rodeo because it cuts into their profits or their lease agreement or something.

i'm thinking; as an austinite who travels to houston for gameday, (leaving austin at 5am, ::UGH: how amazing would it be if that whole thing was a hotel and the night before it was filled with texans fans? that sounds pretty cool to me. i mean you could pretty much house most of the out of towners in that place. that'd be pretty cool.

the only negative i can think of would be that people would be less inclined to tailgate because they'd be holed up in their rooms. other than that, seems pretty cool.

seems like they could find a way to make it worth mcnair's while.

what do ya'll think?

 

[Ckw]

I love the idea. Sounds great. Especially if they didn't change anything about the look of the outside. Sure, fix it up. But keep it the Astrodome. It needs to be turned into something. I have no other better ideas so a hotel sounds good to me.

 

[Yankee_In_TX]

For whatever reason, it ain't going to happen.

 

[shinerbock_girl]

I'd stay there

 

[Texan_Bill]

I wonder if this isn't related to another thread already started: Astrodome plans may be dead

 

[Mr. White]

Better yet, put some slot machines and poker tables on the ground floor.

 

[axman40]

I would like the Earl Campbell suite for the weekend!

 

[barrett]

I wonder if this isn't related to another thread already started: Astrodome plans may be dead

you're right. i didn't catch that. maybe this should be merged. i was just curious as to the idea of it being a hotel and wouldn't that be something useful. or would it? why is it so opposed by the texans and the rodeo? what does it take away from them?

 

[Yankee_In_TX]

you're right. i didn't catch that. maybe this should be merged. i was just curious as to the idea of it being a hotel and wouldn't that be something useful. or would it? why is it so opposed by the texans and the rodeo? what does it take away from them?

I've never really heard a valid argument, but like I said, they're very set on it NOT being a hotel.

 

[Speedy]

I would like the Earl Campbell suite for the weekend!

Not just make it a hotel, but put in a Houston sports museum as well. That give us a way to honor the Earl Campbell's and the rest of the Oilers, as the Texans can't really retire any old Oilers jerseys or put them in a ring of honor because they never played for the Texans. Put it all in the Houston Sports Museum, housed at the Astrodome, and you get around Bud screwing us out of that.

Campbell, Matthews, Moon, Munchak, Bum, the Luv Ya Blue era, the Run n Shoot era. Cougars memorabilia, the Yeoman days, Andre Ware and the Pardee days. Phi Slama Jama. Rockets history, Astros history...there's a LOT of sports history in this town.

And the idea of out of town Texans fans coming in and being able to stay on site before and after games seems like a genius idea to me. Walk out to the tailgates. Stumble back to your room after the tailgate. Rodeo guests as well. Hell, the rodeo could even have a wing in the museum.

I don't understand how this takes away from the Texans and the Rodeo.

 

[Buffi2]

The plan also includes some kind of amusement park thing on the inside and the rodeo says that will take their customers away. There is also the food/drink issue. Then there is the parking problem - although that might have been resolved - I'm not sure. There is also the traffic issue.

link

The proposed hotel complex would include seven restaurants and an amusement component. Entertainment attractions could include a ride that would take people near the top of the Dome, gondolas, tethered hot-air balloons and a batting cage, Clanton said.

The complex would have ballrooms, convention meeting rooms and upscale shopping, with AstroTurf being replaced by a series of ponds, fountains and tall trees.

"We want to make it as easy as possible for our fans to get in and out of the parking lots on game days," Texans owner Bob McNair said this week.

Could be a lawsuit before all is said and done.

 

[Yankee_In_TX]

Well derrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, any new place is going to have to have a unique parking solution, like a garage across the street w/ valet, or something else.

I wonder if proposals have assumed the using of Reliant parking? That would be a deal killer.

 

[Texan_Bill]

Well, there's a huge empty lot with a pedestrian bridge on the other side of 610, that used to be Astro World. Whatever parking is lost, can be made up there - and more.

 

[badboy]

McNair says his lease says he will not have a competitor on the grounds. If the lease says that, I could understand. It would be like you opening a Burger King in a strip mall and then a Dairy Queen wants in. It makes McNair seem greedy to me especially as the promotor as offered a cut of all entertainment on game days, has offered to not allow Texan/rodeo patrons access to hotel (do not know how that would work, may be a stamp on hand like a club). Parking would be a night mare but how many of those staying in the hotel will be using their car during time fans are enterring/exiting. I just think a hotel that can fill hat many rooms brings much to the economy including tax $ and jobs.

 

[Hagar]

There's little public support for razing the Dome, Emmett said. He often takes show-of-hand surveys at speaking events to learn where the public stands on the facility. The public overwhelmingly wants the county to save and redevelop the venue that was dubbed the Eighth Wonder of the World when it opened, he said.

I've never know the City of Houston to be very sentimental about any historical structures. Most of the time, we just bulldoze'em and rebuild. I think a lot of people would like to see the dome saved, but when push comes to shove, the public really doesn't care.

 

[barrett]

McNair says his lease says he will not have a competitor on the grounds. If the lease says that, I could understand. It would be like you opening a Burger King in a strip mall and then a Dairy Queen wants in. It makes McNair seem greedy to me especially as the promotor as offered a cut of all entertainment on game days, has offered to not allow Texan/rodeo patrons access to hotel (do not know how that would work, may be a stamp on hand like a club). Parking would be a night mare but how many of those staying in the hotel will be using their car during time fans are enterring/exiting. I just think a hotel that can fill hat many rooms brings much to the economy including tax $ and jobs.

how is a hotel a competitor? last time i was at reliant, they wouldn't let me sleep there.

 

[dskillz]

how is a hotel a competitor? last time i was at reliant, they wouldn't let me sleep there.

If that hotel is selling something to drink or eat, then it is a competitor. If people can go into the hotel and eat brunch before the game, then it is a competitior in McNair's eyes.

I have no idea what they will do about parking for anything that opens up there. My gut feeling is that the Astrodome will remain being empty for awhile and eventually will be torn down.

 

[sakebomb]

A hotel with balloons? I guess FILO would stay there.



It sounds like a waste of time and money to me.

 

[Joe Texan]

Oh no Balloons, Eeeeeekkkkkk Do not let @#$ get WIND of this. He will be Shutting the city of Houston off, And probably go to jail what with the helium tank and all.

 

[Hervoyel]

McNair and the Rodeo people seriously piss me off on this subject. They have a legal point that nobody can debate but they also have exactly zero imagination (in McNair's case this should be obvious by now to those of us who have watched the Houston Texans "develop") and can't even wrap their tiny greedy brains around the concept that this will help them, not hurt them.

If they end up tearing the Astrodome down because these guys can't see the opportunity sitting there right before their eyes then I'll have made my last trip to Reliant Park. I mean that wholeheartedly. Bob seemed to start out on the right foot but he's well on his way to turning into Houstons 21st century Bud Adams.

 

[Tulip]

If that hotel is selling something to drink or eat, then it is a competitor. If people can go into the hotel and eat brunch before the game, then it is a competitior in McNair's eyes.

If that's the case, McNair should be really careful. That is one of the reasons we had such disdain for Bud Adams - because he didn't want people tailgating and cutting into his concession revenue. It just reeked of greed.

I heard that this may get into an eminent domain situation. And thinking about it - it makes sense. If McNair and the rodeo start hijacking the Astrodome through provisions in their leases, the government may have the right to erode their contractual rights for the good of the public. Exercising veto authority over development that could operate 365 days per year because of a potential conflict 10 days and 21 days per year respectively sounds absolutely ridiculous.