Texas Engineering Landmark celebrating Texas ASCE Centennial: 1913-2013 “Engineering a Better Texas.” Visit them all!
Harris County Domed Stadium (Astrodome),
ASCE Texas Section Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement (OCEA) Award 1966
The Harris County Domed Stadium (Astrodome), also known as the Houston Astrodome, Reliant Astrodome, and NRG Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, large domed sports stadium It opened in 1965 as Harris County Domed Stadium and was nicknamed the "Eighth Wonder of the World."
Capable of seating 42,217 for baseball and 50,000 for football at its opening in 1965, it became an instant must-see attraction. In fact, it became America’s third most visited man-made tourist attraction (after Mt. Rushmore and the Golden Gate Bridge) and forever changed the way sports were experienced – both in person and on television.
The stadium featured a retractable seat configuration and round design which allowed for multiple uses. It also featured a 710 ft. (outside diameter) lamella structures domed ceiling, equipped with lighting sufficient for color television coverage - another first.
HISTORY:
The Astrodome was conceived by Judge Roy Hofheinz, who purchased the land it sits on, secured public funding for the project, and convinced the Texas Highway Department to build Loop 610 ahead of schedule for better access. Hofheinz named the stadium for his baseball team, the Astros, to honor the Manned Space Center that had opened in Houston two years earlier.
After six months of detailed drawings and further planning, the groundbreaking ceremony was held to much fanfare on January 3, 1962. Nearly three months prior to Opening Day for the team's first season, Colt .45s were shot into the flat, bare land to appropriately mark the site of the forthcoming dome. [As noted, the Colt .45s were renamed The Houston Astros before taking residence under the dome.]
The Astrodome was the first of its kind, including the first stadium to use an electronic scoreboard and luxury boxes. Modifications to minimize glare, making the stadium suitable for color television broadcasting (as well as enabling fielders to track fly balls), led to installation of the artificial grass now known as Astroturf -- providing a “grass” field where there was not enough light for grass to grow. The Astrodome was the first innovative feat of civil engineering to receive the Texas Section Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement (OCEA) Award.
Many engineering changes were required during construction, including the modest flattening of the supposed "hemispherical roof" to cope with environmentally-induced structural deformation and the use of a new paving process called "lime stabilization" to cope with changes in the chemistry of the soil. The air conditioning system was designed by Houstonmechanical engineers Israel A. Naman and Jack Boyd Buckley of I. A. Naman + Associates.
THE DOME:
How to span a distance of 641 ft. 8 in. without interior supports? A relatively small span for bridge builders, unusually large for a roof structure. Many systems were given consideration: geodesic in steel and aluminum; suspension-type cantilever lever trusses; the Kaiser dome; a timber space frame; an aluminum Geolatic space frame; and even an air pressure-supported flexible covering. The winning basic design would be a steel lamella-type trussed roof structure. This system had previously been employed successfully on several dome spans up to 285 ft. But analysis, including scale models, encouraged engineers to continue with the design (see “Unusual Dome Awaits Baseball Season in Houston” Civil Engineering - ASCE, January 1965 – link under FURTHER READING.)
The actual dome rears 18 stories above the playing field and contains nearly 4,600 skylights in a pattern designed to accomplish the acoustical and cooling needs of the structure, while leaving 50 percent of the roof covering above the field available for the admission of light.
Fixed skylights in the perforations were designed with two layers of plastic (to control condensation). The outer layer is clear for maximum transmission of light; the inner layer also has a high degree of transmission but is diffusive to scatter light to all parts of the field.
Unfortunately, the glare from the lights made it nearly impossible for fielders to track fly balls, as well as too much glare for color television. Fans in the stands also complained.
THE GRASS:
Thirty percent of the panels got paint to end the glare problem, but this, in turn killed off the grass, despite being specially developed for indoor growing. So in 1966 ChemGrass (renamed AstroTurf) was installed as the new playing surface. That fall, the Houston Oilers football team also played on the surface in the Astrodome. Soon after, the synthetic surface was being used in other arenas and stadiums, both indoor and out.
ASTROLITE:
Four stories high and longer than a football field, the Astrodome’s initial scoreboard was composed of more than a thousand miles of wiring and 50,000 colored lights that could be programmed in a dizzying array of animations, as well as “on the fly” messages.
The “Astrolite” scoreboard was used until 1988 when Houston Oilers (now Tennessee Titans) owner Bud Adams requested the removal of the scoreboard to accommodate increased capacity demands for football, baseball, and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Harris County spent $67 million of public funds on renovations. Approximately 15,000 new seats resembling the 1970s rainbow uniform pattern were installed to bring seating capacity to almost 60,000 for football. On September 5, 1988, a final celebration sent the scoreboard into history – and it went dark on September 6, 1988.
HVAC, ETC.:
Designed to protect fans and players from the capricious Houston weather, the ‘dome was completely air-conditioned with 6,600 tons of cooling capacity during events, circulating 2.5 million cubic feet of air each minute. Also every minute, 250,000 cubic feet of fresh air was drawn into the stadium, conditioned by electronic filters and activated charcoal odor removers, then distributed through the system; while smoke and hot air are drawn out through the top of the roof.
Mechanical controls were completely automated -- understandably, given it is a half mile around the building: just to check thermostats would be a looong chore. A scanner and a printer to show temperature and other conditions was provided. When the proper button is pressed, this gadget will project a diagram of the piping and duct system with temperatures at fan discharges and outlets as well as water temperatures at significant points – cutting edge for the late 60s!
A fire-alarm system continuously scanned detectors throughout the building, making one complete circle each minute. This scanner noted the rate of rise, which would indicate when the temperature gets too hot too fast in any area. Alarm would warn of excessive smoke.
SEATING:
The multi-purpose stadium, designed to facilitate both football and baseball, was nearly circular and used movable lower seating areas to tailor the stadium for the use du jour.
Seating was arranged on six levels, allowing for six front rows. All rows radiated from a single point: approximately second base. This meant for baseball AND football all seats faced the center of the playing field.
Spectators entered the stadium at about mid-level for that spectacular initial “reveal,” and proceeded to their seats either up or down on wide ramps or escalators. Each spectator level had its own rest rooms and concessions.
OPENING DAY:
On Opening Day, April 9, 1965, a sold-out crowd of 47,879 watched an exhibition game between the Houston Astros and the New York Yankees. President Lyndon B. Johnson and his wife Lady Bird were in attendance, as well as Texas Governor John Connally and Houston Mayor Louie Welch. Governor Connally tossed out the first ball for the first game ever played indoors. Dick "Turk" Farrell of the Astros threw the first pitch. Mickey Mantle had both the first hit (a single) and the first home run in the Astrodome. The Astros beat the Yankees that night, 2-1.
THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW – UNCERTAIN FUTURE:
While state-of-the-art for its day, the Astrodome lacked many amenities taken for granted in today’s stadiums – and was, therefore, replaced by NRG (Reliant) Stadium and Minute Maid Park.
Citing code violations, the City of Houston shuttered the structure in 2008. It remains vacant today.
On November 5, 2013, voters in Houston turned down a $213 million referendum to renovate and convert the Astrodome into a state-of-the-art convention center and exhibition space known as "New Dome Experience." Still, it’s not dead yet – and until a final disposition is made, Harris County commissioners will not approve demolition of the stadium.
"The building's still there. There's no formal plan or authorization to demolish the building, and until somebody brings such a plan to fruition, there's a chance,” according to Willie Loston, executive director of the Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation. "The proposal was rejected by the voters. We're back to where we were. Square one,” according to Steve Radack, Harris County commissioner.
Meanwhile, three exterior pedestrian ramp towers were demolished on December 8, 2013.
As for the rest of the Astrodome, now standing as a derelict icon to the glories of the last century, its fate depends on who you ask. Several earnest endeavors seek to save the structure (including National Trust for Historic Preservation National Treasures People Saving Places (
visit link) In June 2013, the National Trust named the Astrodome to its annual list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places, and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in January 2014.
This does not protect it from demolition, however, and NRG insists that something definitive must be done by the time Reliant Stadium hosts the Superbowl in 2017.
In short: visit while you can…
QUICK FAQS (http://www4.sul.com.br/epkingd/asinfo.htm):
Opened : April 12, 1965
Surface : Tifway 419 Bermuda grass (1965); Astroturf (1966 to present)
Location : center field (E), Fannin Street; third base (N), Old Spanish Trail; home plate (W), Kirby Drive; first base (S), South Loop Freeway/Interstate 610.
Dimensions : foul lines:325 ft.; power alleys: 375 ft.; center field: 400 ft.; apex of dome: 208 ft.; backstop: 52 ft..
World's first all-weather, multi-purpose domed stadium
Official name: Harris County Domed Stadium
Financed by an $18 million general obligation bond passed in Jan 1961
Total project costs (design, land, even parking lot paving): $31.6 million
Renovations – see (
visit link)
Stadium Complex Covers 260 Acres - stadium 9.5 acres; Astrodomain = 260 acres
Astrodome outside diameter: 710 feet
Stadium floor is approx. 25 feet below normal ground level (thus minimum vertical travel by fans)
51,000 cushioned, upholstered (seat and back) theatre seats, along with ~4,000 pavilion seats (wooden back, upholstered)
Seating capacity: baseball - 54,370; football - 63,001; convention - 68,000; maximum 74,000 boxing or similar events
Seating rearranges for any type of sports or meeting from rodeos to national political conventions
Baseball to football seating: 10,000 seat stands on Field Level rotate on steel rails
Seating arranged on six levels -- in effect for six front rows
All seats face playing area center (baseball & football) -- radius point 20 feet behind 2nd base
Wide, low-pitched ramps and two sets of escalators provide easy access to seats
Entire stands can be emptied in nine minutes with a maximum crowd.
Roof has a clear span of 642 feet (twice any previous structure), max. height 208 feet above playing field (18-stories)
Roof design: steel lamella frame of trussed beams arching upward to meet at the center, braced in a diamond pattern.
Steel skeleton supports 4,596 cast acrylic sheet skylights (7'2" by 3'4")
Roof can withstand 135 mph hurricane winds and gusts up to 165
Field illuminated to avg brightness of 265 footcandles by 800 floodlights
Total electric power consumed exceeds 18,000 KVA (more than a city of 9,000)
Completely air-conditioned - 6,600 tons cooling capacity during events
FURTHER READING:
Houston Astros: A History of the Astrodome (
visit link)
Civil Engineering - January 1965: Unusual Dome Awaits Baseball Season in Houston (
visit link)
ASCE: Houston Astrodome (
visit link)
Handbook of Texas Online ASTRODOME (
visit link)
BallParksofBaseball.com Astrodome (
visit link)
Stadiums of Pro Football Astrodome (
visit link)
The Astrodome: A Marvel of Modern Civil Engineering:
(
visit link)
Astrodome Movie: (
visit link)
The Houston Astrodome (
visit link)
Astroturf History (
visit link)
The Astrodome scoreboard (
visit link)
AstroDome Scoreboard Memories (
visit link)
The Atlantic: The Sad Fate (but Historic Legacy) of the Houston Astrodome NOV 8 2013 (
visit link)
ESPN/Associated Press Astrodome named historic place January 31, 2014http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10385397/houston-astrodome-added-national-register-historic-places
National Trust for Historic Preservation National Treasures People Saving Places SavingPlaces Discover / THE ASTRODOME Save a National Treasure (
visit link)
NTHP 11 Most Endangered Historic Places: Astrodome (
visit link)
Dallas Morning News ESCAPING ASTRODOOM? Why the derelict Astrodome sits in limbo BY MARK LAMSTER | ARCHITECTURE CRITIC (
visit link)
AP Designation as 'state antiquities landmark' could make it harder to tear down famed Astrodome May 13 2014 (
visit link)
Houston Chronicle Landmark status would not bar Dome's demolition
by Kiah Collier | May 14, 2014 (
visit link)
Still in complete limbo (
visit link)