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 Astrodome
Houston, TX
Known as "The Eight Wonder of the World", the
Astrodome was home to the Houston Astros for 35 years and was the
first dome stadium in any sport. Before Major League Baseball
awarded Houston an expansion franchise, a dome stadium was already being planned by Judge Roy Hofheinz.
Trying to lure a major league team to the Houston area, Hofheinz
built a model of a domed stadium and presented it to National
League owners. On October 17, 1960 Houston was awarded a franchise.
Voters then approved an $18 million bond to build the stadium. Plans were drawn for the domed stadium and construction began January 3, 1962. Meanwhile, the baseball franchise,
originally known as the Colt .45s began playing in April 1962 at
Colt Stadium, adjacent to where the dome stadium was
constructed.
The dome stadium would be able to house baseball,
football, rodeos and many other attractions. Initially it was named the Harris County Dome Stadium, but later renamed
the Astrodome. The Colt .45s played three years at Colt Stadium,
then changed their name to the Houston Astros when they moved into
the Astrodome. The move to the Astrodome was welcomed because it was
air-conditioned. On April 9, 1965, the first baseball game was
played at the Astrodome, an exhibition match between the Yankees
and Astros. Official opening day
ceremonies were held on April 12, 1965. Six levels of multicolored seats circled
from the left field foul pole to homeplate and around to the right
field foul pole. The Astrodome became home of two football teams in
1965: the University of Houston and the Houston Oilers. In order
for football to be played at the Astrodome, two sets of 5,010 seats
could be moved to form a football gridiron. The Astrodome was one of
the first stadiums to have luxury suites with 53 and each of the
42,217 seats in the Astrodome were cushioned. Behind the pavilion
seats in centerfield was a $2 million, 474 foot long scoreboard,
homerun spectacular and display picture board. The Astrodome also
had five different restaurants located throughout the stadium.
Original dimensions at the Astrodome were 340 ft. (left and right),
and 400 ft. (center).
The actual dome was 18 stories above the
playing field and consisted of "Lucite" skylights that
were planned to allow the natural grass playing field to stay alive. However,
these translucent panels presented a problem. During afternoon
games outfielders were blinded by the sunlight. Thirty percent of
the panels were coated with paint to reduce the problem but that
caused another problem. The natural grass playing field died because enough sunlight was not reaching it. A new type of turf
that became famous at stadiums throughout the country during the
1970s was developed. Named after the team, Astroturf was a green surface of nylon grass.
The Astrodome looked the same until 1989.
That fall, the stadium underwent several changes.
In order to increase the capacity to 54,816, the grandstands were
extended into the outfield. The original scoreboard was replaced by
new video boards in the upper deck. Two manual scoreboards were
added as part of the outfield walls in both left and right fields.
By the mid 1990s, both the Astros and Oilers began to want new
stadiums. After failing to get funds for a new stadium, the Oilers
moved to Tennessee after the 1996 NFL season. However, the Astros
were able to get funds for a new stadium. The Astros remained at the Astrodome for
three more years, playing their last game at the Astrodome on
October 9, 1999. In 2000, the team moved into
Minute Maid Park in downtown Houston. Today, the Astrodome is
home to few events.
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