The Houston Astrodome stadium will most likely be demolished after Texas voters rejected a referendum by 53 percent which would have authorized a $217 million revamping of the stadium into an event and convention center, the Associated Press reported.
Opened in 1965, the Astrodome was the first stadium of its kind with air conditioning and a covered field, quickly becoming a Texas landmark, according to the AP. Since then, newer and bigger stadiums have been built, leaving the landmark, which used to host professional baseball and football games, stranded and empty.
Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said the referendum was the last effort to revamp and save the stadium
"We can't allow the once-proud Astrodome to sit like a rusting ship in the middle of a parking lot," Emmett said. "This was the best effort (to revamp the stadium), and voters have turned it down."
According to Emmett, a final decision needs to be given by the Commissioners Court, which is a group of local officials who manage the county, but since the referendum was denied, the stadium is surely set to be demolished, the AP reported. Emmett added that a quick decision was necessary but did not give a specific date.
Senior official Beth Wiedower with the National Trust for Historic Preservation backed the plan, but said "because it sat vacant for many years, there's been a lack of passion for it," according to the AP.
If the referendum was passed, it would have approved the creation of a 350,000-square foot exhibition space, and would have created a 400,000-square foot plaza and green space outside the structure as well, the AP reported.
"I think it would be a big waste of money," Don Gray, 84, a Houston resident who voted against the referendum, told the AP on Tuesday. "And the trouble is, it's hard to do, because I love the history of it."
There was not an organized effort to reject the proposal, opponents of the referendum just said the money should be used for other projects. According to the AP, studies show that the demolition of the stadium will cost anywhere between $29 to $79 million.
