HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) – The proposal introduced by the Astrodome Conservancy to redevelop Houston’s historic Astrodome carries enormous environmental benefits compared to the wrecking-ball alternative, according to carbon impact study prepared by Gensler, a global architecture firm.
Gensler’s experts in the carbon impact of demolition and the sustainability of redeveloping the existing Astrodome structure prepared scenarios to demonstrate the environmental implications.
Repurposing the Astrodome would result in sustainability benefits equivalent to eliminating 112,990 cars from the road for a year or powering 147,239 homes for 12 months, Gensler said.
Removal of the Astrodome, which consists of 344,137 tons of concrete and steel, will have a major environmental cost. It’s no easy lift.
The 1965-vintage Astrodome is owned by Harris County and it sits on 350 county-owned acres along with the NRG Stadium, convention facilities and a smaller arena. The county’s key tenants – the Houston Texans of the NFL and the Houston Rodeo – are seeking improvements to the stadium and other county properties.
One of the options that has been mentioned is demolition of the Astrodome – the first air-conditioned stadium, known as the Eighth Wonder of the World.
An engineering study cited by the Astrodome Conservancy, says the cost of demolishing the Dome will be $100 million.
But the new carbon analysis by Gensler details the environmental cost of destroying the Astrodome, which has been vacant since 2009.
According to the study which evaluates the environmental impact of options for the Astrodome, preserving and re-using the existing Astrodome will have a 76% lower carbon impact compared to replacing it with a new building.
Demolition Totals Alone are Sizable
Demolished the stadium, would require long hours of labor from heavy equipment that burns diesel fuel. Demolition equipment would burn more than 1.7 million gallons of diesel fuel just to crush the Dome.
Then hauling off the Dome’s remains would require much more. Imagine thousands of pickup trucks lined up bumper-to-bumper from the Astrodome to the State Capitol in Austin. The demolition hauling transportation total from the Gensler study says 17,707 large-scale diesel trucks will be required to complete 100-mile round trips, or an equivalent of such.
The Astrodome’s demolition total atmospheric impact: producing 30,140 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. This is a significant emission of greenhouse gases that would contribute to global warming.
“The repositioning of the Astrodome provides a sustainable solution that balances the needs of the present and the future. The Astrodome can be an example of how cultural heritage can be preserved while contributing to broader climate objectives for the future,” said Rives Taylor, Gensler’s Global Design Resilience Research Lead and Principal.
Last fall, when the Astrodome Conservancy and Gensler introduced a plan to redevelop the Dome into a mixed-use project with restaurants, retail, hotel, office space and an arena, the conservancy organization included a financial plan to raise millions with historic tax credits.
Now, the Conservancy is exploring other financing for the redevelopment by monetizing the carbon savings of preservation and repositioning the Dome in the form of carbon offset credits.
With private capital investment, historic tax credits, and carbon offset credits, a large percentage of the redevelopment cost would be generated without reliance on county funds. A former Hines executive, Ryan LeVasseur of LeVass Ventures, is assisting the Astrodome Conservancy with the redevelopment plan.
Speaking at a press conference last November, Phoebe Tudor, Astrodome Conservancy chair, noted that “an Astrodome redevelopment can leverage significant private dollars – dollars that are not available for new construction or other improvements to NRG Park – to minimize public investment.”
The vision for redevelopment goes beyond the walls of the Astrodome. The 350-acre property, formerly known as the Astrodomain is located near Loop 610 at Kirby Drive. The expanse is dominated by a flat, ugly parking lot with 26,000 parking spaces that sit mostly vacant on most days.
An Urban Land Institute advisory panel of developers, architects and even a New York parking expert, visited the Astrodome in December 2014 and determined green space and trees were sorely needed on the surrounding Astrodomain acres. The ULI panel, which consisted from out-of-town experts, determined the Astrodome should be redeveloped.
At the time, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett seemed gung-ho on the Astrodome redevelopment, which called for creating 1,500 parking spaces in the underground levels of the Dome.
Over time, other priorities arose, of course. Emmett was defeated by Lina Hidalgo in the Harris County Judge election in 2018. The Astrodome moved to the rear of the back burner.
Today, the future of the Astrodome, the NRG Stadium, and the adjoining properties are under discussion. The existing Tri-Party Agreement between Harris County and the primary tenants of NRG Park, the Texans and the Rodeo, expires in 2032. The parties have entered into a Confidentiality Agreement to negotiate a new contract. Although the properties are owned by the people of Harris County, the details of the discussions have not been disclosed to the public.
The Harris County Sports & Convention Corp. recently hired Kirksey Architecture to make a recommendation on the future on the Houston’s historic Astrodome.
The Astrodome was judged to be in excellent condition by Walter P. Moore Engineers and it has no asbestos contamination, according to the Astrodome Conservancy.
The Texas Historical Commission has designated the Astrodome as a “State Antiquities Landmark.”
Jan. 6, 2025 Realty News Report Copyright 2025
Roof Photo by Ralph Bivins, Realty News Report, Copyright 2025
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File: Sustainability: Re-Use of Astrodome is Like Taking 112990 Cars Off the Road – Carbon, Climate, Sustainability: Re-Use of Astrodome is Like Taking 112,990 Cars Off the Road Gensler