CSNbbs

Tear it down.

(09-28-2016 08:07 AM)grol Wrote: [ -> ]According to this article, it could be...

Woohoo. World's most expensive parking garage! #

There seemed to be so many better ideas than the one they chose but I guess that was the only one that was paid for in advance (?). It really doesn't seem to me that the NRG complex needs more parking, and certainly not more parking in the existing epicenter. Perhaps some extra parking in the outer areas. More parking in the middle will just add to the bottleneck of getting out of events.

(09-28-2016 03:30 PM)elf owl Wrote: [ -> ]

(09-28-2016 08:07 AM)grol Wrote: [ -> ]According to this article, it could be...

Woohoo. World's most expensive parking garage! #

The primary use is as event space, which is as it should be. The additional parking is a good idea (and those covered, close-in parking space could be a nice revenue source), but 1400 spaces is not the driver of the design.

(09-28-2016 01:44 PM)lou Wrote: [ -> ]Tear it down.

That's what all of us voted for.

Still preserves the option of a retro 1960's Astrodome remake as a home for an NL team as Houston is the largest city in the US without both an NL and AL team! Name the NL team the Colt .45s, Oilers or even force Crane's AL farce to give up the Astro's name for the Astrodome.

They will never change the name to Colt .45s at this point. Changing it from Astros to something else is always possible I suppose but it would be something else space or exploration related is my guess.

I still want them to create some type of touristy attraction within the area, such as an interactive sports museum of some type or another. Merely using it a few days a year for the rodeo or OTC isn't enough of a draw IMO but hopefully they can generate a few more festivals in that area such as the open air music festival which ironically ended up being rained out last Sunday.

(09-29-2016 05:01 AM)exowlswimmer Wrote: [ -> ]Still preserves the option of a retro 1960's Astrodome remake as a home for an NL team as Houston is the largest city in the US without both an NL and AL team! Name the NL team the Colt .45s, Oilers or even force Crane's AL farce to give up the Astro's name for the Astrodome.

when the team was renamed from the Colt .45s to the Astros, it was not popular. I remember one sportswriter suggesting the Half-Astros would be more appropriate.

(09-29-2016 01:28 AM)loki_the_bubba Wrote: [ -> ]

(09-28-2016 01:44 PM)lou Wrote: [ -> ]Tear it down.

That's what all of us voted for.

Exactly. Ed Emmett has to be getting lots of kickbacks from this deal or there's some financial reason the county keeps kicking this down the road. I'm guessing its a little bit of both.

This deal is going to go over budget and eventually go back to the voters to approve more money with the sunk cost fallacy of 'well we already spent $105 million...'

Am I understanding it correctly?

Essentially they are building 1400 underground parking spaces beneath a 'raised' dome floor which will now be a 9 acre open space that could be used for anything... and NOT parking on the top/street level???

(09-29-2016 10:19 AM)Hambone10 Wrote: [ -> ]Am I understanding it correctly?

Essentially they are building 1400 underground parking spaces beneath a 'raised' dome floor which will now be a 9 acre open space that could be used for anything... and NOT parking on the top/street level???

Well, if you used the open space for parking, it would pretty soon not be suitable for other uses, which would sort of defeat the purpose.
Again, parking is neither the primary need nor the driver of the design.

(09-29-2016 11:41 AM)georgewebb Wrote: [ -> ]

(09-29-2016 10:19 AM)Hambone10 Wrote: [ -> ]Am I understanding it correctly?

Essentially they are building 1400 underground parking spaces beneath a 'raised' dome floor which will now be a 9 acre open space that could be used for anything... and NOT parking on the top/street level???

Well, if you used the open space for parking, it would pretty soon not be suitable for other uses, which would sort of defeat the purpose.
Again, parking is neither the primary need nor the driver of the design.

And what purpose is that?

(09-29-2016 01:15 PM)elf owl Wrote: [ -> ]

(09-29-2016 11:41 AM)georgewebb Wrote: [ -> ]

(09-29-2016 10:19 AM)Hambone10 Wrote: [ -> ]Am I understanding it correctly?

Essentially they are building 1400 underground parking spaces beneath a 'raised' dome floor which will now be a 9 acre open space that could be used for anything... and NOT parking on the top/street level???

Well, if you used the open space for parking, it would pretty soon not be suitable for other uses, which would sort of defeat the purpose.
Again, parking is neither the primary need nor the driver of the design.

And what purpose is that?

As stated in the linked article, to have an event space (as a companion to NG Stadium) suitable for festivals and other uses. You may not agree with that purpose, but it is not an illusory one.

Oh I get that George, I just wanted to make sure I understood it.

With it being at ground level, is it now a very large circle (much larger than the previous triangle/rectangle) as I understand it?

They can still do almost all of the things they imagined before... from Hotel to park to sporting events to roller coasters... IF you can get rid of the exhaust fumes.

(09-29-2016 03:00 PM)georgewebb Wrote: [ -> ]

(09-29-2016 01:15 PM)elf owl Wrote: [ -> ]

(09-29-2016 11:41 AM)georgewebb Wrote: [ -> ]

(09-29-2016 10:19 AM)Hambone10 Wrote: [ -> ]Am I understanding it correctly?

Essentially they are building 1400 underground parking spaces beneath a 'raised' dome floor which will now be a 9 acre open space that could be used for anything... and NOT parking on the top/street level???

Well, if you used the open space for parking, it would pretty soon not be suitable for other uses, which would sort of defeat the purpose.
Again, parking is neither the primary need nor the driver of the design.

And what purpose is that?

As stated in the linked article, to have an event space (as a companion to NG Stadium) suitable for festivals and other uses. You may not agree with that purpose, but it is not an illusory one.

Well, I guess I could have read the article and saved myself a foolish question. I am curious though about why some Houstonians are so eager to preserve this structure. I used to have Astros and Oiler season tickets and have gone to many UH football games back when they played there. I saw Muhammad Ali box there, I saw a College basketball final 4 there. I've even seen the Rice baseball team win a Super Regional there. I wouldn't be surprised if I've been to events over 1000 times since my first visit in 1965. It was great fun but for some reason I would not be sad to see it go. Hey, I saw The Beach Boys and the Jackson 5 there! It's kind of a sad lump now. I tend to remember it the way it was. I do miss the girls with the dome hats though. I actually dated one eventually. My favorite dome memory is when the MOB played Raindrops Fallin on my Head at halftime of a Rice - UH football game to satirize the many leaks in the roof. I no longer remember who won the game, just who won the halftime.

(09-29-2016 04:13 PM)elf owl Wrote: [ -> ]

(09-29-2016 03:00 PM)georgewebb Wrote: [ -> ]

(09-29-2016 01:15 PM)elf owl Wrote: [ -> ]

(09-29-2016 11:41 AM)georgewebb Wrote: [ -> ]

(09-29-2016 10:19 AM)Hambone10 Wrote: [ -> ]Am I understanding it correctly?

Essentially they are building 1400 underground parking spaces beneath a 'raised' dome floor which will now be a 9 acre open space that could be used for anything... and NOT parking on the top/street level???

Well, if you used the open space for parking, it would pretty soon not be suitable for other uses, which would sort of defeat the purpose.
Again, parking is neither the primary need nor the driver of the design.

And what purpose is that?

As stated in the linked article, to have an event space (as a companion to NG Stadium) suitable for festivals and other uses. You may not agree with that purpose, but it is not an illusory one.

Well, I guess I could have read the article and saved myself a foolish question. I am curious though about why some Houstonians are so eager to preserve this structure. I used to have Astros and Oiler season tickets and have gone to many UH football games back when they played there. I saw Muhammad Ali box there, I saw a College basketball final 4 there. I've even seen the Rice baseball team win a Super Regional there. I wouldn't be surprised if I've been to events over 1000 times since my first visit in 1965. It was great fun but for some reason I would not be sad to see it go. Hey, I saw The Beach Boys and the Jackson 5 there! It's kind of a sad lump now. I tend to remember it the way it was. I do miss the girls with the dome hats though. I actually dated one eventually. My favorite dome memory is when the MOB played Raindrops Fallin on my Head at halftime of a Rice - UH football game to satirize the many leaks in the roof. I no longer remember who won the game, just who won the halftime.

If I remember, Judge Hofheinz had the sound system turned off after Raindrops was played.

The malt liquor company did not want the baseball team to infringe on their trademark so it had to be changed.

(09-29-2016 05:17 AM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote: [ -> ]They will never change the name to Colt .45s at this point. Changing it from Astros to something else is always possible I suppose but it would be something else space or exploration related is my guess.

I still want them to create some type of touristy attraction within the area, such as an interactive sports museum of some type or another. Merely using it a few days a year for the rodeo or OTC isn't enough of a draw IMO but hopefully they can generate a few more festivals in that area such as the open air music festival which ironically ended up being rained out last Sunday.

(09-29-2016 03:51 PM)Hambone10 Wrote: [ -> ]Oh I get that George, I just wanted to make sure I understood it.

With it being at ground level, is it now a very large circle (much larger than the previous triangle/rectangle) as I understand it?

I believe the Astrodome floor has always been a circle, with field-level grandstands that were rotated to align with the playing area.

(09-29-2016 03:51 PM)Hambone10 Wrote: [ -> ]They can still do almost all of the things they imagined before... from Hotel to park to sporting events to roller coasters... IF you can get rid of the exhaust fumes.

I don't mean to be flip, but I think the problem of how to ventilate an underground parking garage has been fairly well solved.

(09-29-2016 10:19 AM)Hambone10 Wrote: [ -> ]Am I understanding it correctly?

Essentially they are building 1400 underground parking spaces beneath a 'raised' dome floor which will now be a 9 acre open space that could be used for anything... and NOT parking on the top/street level???

I think "open space" was a very poor choice of words by the author of the article in the OP.

I think by "open space" the author meant "no interior walls or obstructions", not "open to the sky". My understanding is that the walls and roof of the Astrodome are staying intact, they're just raising the floor from below-grade to at-grade.