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I was watching the Reds-Astros game on FSN Ohio when I heard about possiblities that the Astrodome would be destroyed. Is this true?
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Unlike most other team sports, in which teams usually have an equivalent number of players on the field at any given time, in baseball the hitting team is at a numerical disadvantage, with a maximum of 5 players and 2 base coaches on the field at any time, compared to the fielding team's 9 players. For this reason, leaving the dugout to join a fight is generally considered acceptable in that it results in numerical equivalence on the field, and a fairer fight. -
Boy, I'd hope so. It brought to bb and football domes and artificial turf. What an awful legacy!It Might Be? It Could Be?? It Is! -
I'd want it to stay up, really. Not real sure what to use it for though if it stays up. Perhaps make it into a museum? Or get another sporting team to play there?
Well, who knows but it should stay up regardless, but I have a bad feeling it'll go down. And as for the artifictial turf, that was a bad idea.
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Dome
There is nothing to the rumor. Unfortunately, there aren't any plans for the Astrodome right now, but some of the ideas that have been tossed around are a convention center/hotel or a casino if Texas passes the legislation allowing for casino gambling in Texas."The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again."Comment
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Yeah, that is correct. It is incredible, but true.
The Astrodome is a huge piece of history...not Wrigley, not Yankee Stadium, but it does have enormous historical significance since it was the first of its kind in baseball.
I miss going there, but hey, Minute Maid is just amazing!-David
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To me, as an architectual wonder, the Astrodome ranks up there with with Wal-Mart stores and shopping centers from the 60's. It served its purpose. I don't know how in the hell you could or would want to put a casino in there. If they want to preserve some old stadiums keep Tiger, Wrigley and Fenway.It Might Be? It Could Be?? It Is!Comment
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Currently, they have no repaid all of the money that went to the "improvements" made in 1987 at the request of Bud Adams.
So, they can't really tear it down until they pay for all of that. Beyond that I'm not really sure. One thing is for sure, they've allowed it to get run down. 
I am the author of "Checks and Imbalances" and "The State of Baseball Management."Comment
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isn't it still used for the annual rodeo?Originally posted by Knick9
the two-week extravaganza used to pay for the operating costs of the place for an entire year."you don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. just get people to stop reading them." -ray bradburyComment
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Nope
The Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo is now held at Reliant Stadium."The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again."Comment
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That is correct. From what I understand, the only thing the Dome is used for us the occasional high school playoff game.The Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo is now held at Reliant Stadium.I am the author of "Checks and Imbalances" and "The State of Baseball Management."Comment
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Astrodome wither ?
Mantle hit the first ' monster ' home run there in 1965..
They originally had real grass in there, but due to the glaring
sun light, they painted the dome dark, and the grass died off
and was replaced by the first generation of that hokey astro turf.
Hard to believe it was once dubbed as the 8th wonder of the world,
by the Judge..now, there was a character..first with the colt 45's,
then the astros...Comment
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That is true. At least it came in handy in the wake of Hurricane Katrina though.Originally posted by 64Cards
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I thought it went to Reliant Stadium?Originally posted by west coast orange and blackCubs: World Champs 2007?Comment
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Tiger, Wrigley and Fenway are no more superior than the Astrodome. They're just older. In fact, they had a far less revolutionary effect on the game.Originally posted by 64Cards
The Astrodome brought in astroturf, was one of the first with the cookie cutter circle shape, luxury boxes, large scoreboards, air conditioning and colorful seats. You may not like astroturf now, but have you ever stopped to consider why so many of the old parks like Crosley, Forbes, etc. were torn down in the 60s and 70s?
They came down, yes, because they were old, but also because they were seen as out of date, unable to compete in revenue and comfort with the big nice modern parks. Fans wanted something nice and new, clean. Fans after years of odd parks saw the symmetrical ones as revolutionary.
We'll see again not too far off the demise of the retro parks and the start of something entirely new. Ballparks follow the progression of "nice and new" to "old and needs to be replaced" to "really old and a treasure".
The astrodome is a treasure, as was old Busch Stadium, as were many of the parks being replaced by these supposedly inferior copycat retro parks whose consistency in similarity makes the cookie cutter age seem like a flash.
This is just my opinion based on several years of talking to architects, critics, historians, etc. specializing on this topic, but one day soon the brick exteriors and pseudo-historic look will be viewed the same way astroturf and the round shape of ballparks is looked at today.
I know I'm already sick of it.
Ballparks eventually need to be replaced. But some of the real treasures are lost for modern styles and fads. The Astrodome is a real treasure.Comment
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But, the astrodome isn't a treasure. There is a time and a place for architectural elements such as line, texture and form, but it must be based on more than a contrarian point of view. Just because the retro fad was regrettable and the backlash is inevitable doesn't mean that the Astrodome must be preserved.
Yes, it was interesting when it was built, and it was historically significant, but it was far from beautiful. When you want to discuss clean symmetry as the antidote to the forced quirkiness of retro, Kauffman Stadium is the prototype of what parks can be. And if you need one that combines both history and beauty (though nowhere in the same universe as Kauffman on the beauty front), then you have Chavez Ravine.
I'm not advocating the destruction of the Astrodome, especially as we are entering a horrible period of hurricane activity in the gulf, but it doesn't have the architectural splendor required to keep it just on that front.Comment
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