The Houston Astrodome today sits vacant inside NRG Park, closed to the public since around 2008, used mainly as a storage space, and stuck between a roughly $752 million renovation estimate and a roughly $55 million demolition estimate that Harris County has approved neither of.1Houston Public Media. Astrodome Harris County Renovation Demolition NRG Park Harris County owns the building. As of early 2026, county leaders say a renovation is not financially feasible without significant private investment, and no funded plan for either path exists.2Harris County Office of County Administration. Harris County Releases Cost Estimates for Astrodome Options
What Condition the Building Is In
The Astrodome has not hosted a scheduled event since the 2002 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. The Houston Fire Department declared the building unsafe and closed it to the public around 2008, and it lost its certificate of occupancy in 2009.3Astrodome Conservancy. As Texans, Rodeo, and Harris County Decide on NRG Park’s Future, What Will Happen to the Astrodome The last meaningful occupancy was in 2005, when it sheltered roughly 25,000 Hurricane Katrina evacuees.4Houston Chronicle. Astrodome Future NRG Park Negotiations
Inside, the facility functions as a storage unit. Visitors who have seen the interior describe old golf carts, trash dumpsters, construction materials, and scattered bleachers spread across the floor.4Houston Chronicle. Astrodome Future NRG Park Negotiations5ABC13. 3 Teens Charged With Trespassing After Sneaking Onto Astrodome Property6Houston Public Media. Deputies Arrest Three Teens Accused of Sneaking Into Dormant Astrodome
The bones are in better shape than the systems. Harris County completed a large-scale asbestos abatement project in 2014, hiring ARC Abatement to clear the one-million-gross-square-foot structure in 244 calendar days.7ARC Abatement. Astrodome Asbestos The Astrodome Conservancy describes the building as “structurally sound,” but the electrical and mechanical systems need full replacement, and modifications are required to meet modern accessibility standards.8Astrodome Conservancy. What’s Next
Renovation vs. Demolition: The Cost Picture
The central obstacle is money. A study by Kirksey Architecture, commissioned by the Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation in 2024 and released in December 2025, estimated that restoring the building to basic operational functionality, meaning updated plumbing and HVAC without modern venue amenities, would cost approximately $752 million.2Harris County Office of County Administration. Harris County Releases Cost Estimates for Astrodome Options That figure does not include what it would take to add seating, scoreboards, or other features needed to actually host sporting events or concerts. County officials have said the final bill for a fully functional venue could reach $1 billion or more.9Houston Chronicle. Astrodome Renovation Demolition Cost Houston
Demolition, by contrast, is estimated at roughly $55 million. The Kirksey study outlined a three-phase process: internal demolition of major structural elements, implosion of the dome roof, and destruction of the perimeter and below-grade structures.10KWBU. Renovating Houston’s Astrodome Could Cost $750 Million, Analysis Finds
Interim Harris County Administrator Jesse Dickerman said renovating the Astrodome “will not be financially feasible” without significant private investment.2Harris County Office of County Administration. Harris County Releases Cost Estimates for Astrodome Options Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo has echoed that view, pointing to a multi-million-dollar deficit in the county’s 2026 fiscal year budget.11Houston Public Media. Astrodome Houston Harris County Commissioners
Why Nothing Has Moved
The Astrodome’s post-closure years have been marked by proposals that went nowhere. Ideas floated over the years include an indoor casino, a movie theater, an amusement park, a theme park, a movie studio, a museum, and a disaster relief center.8Astrodome Conservancy. What’s Next None attracted the financing needed to move forward. More than $1 million has been spent on studies about the building’s future, with no definitive result.12ABC13. Inside Look at What’s Left in the Astrodome
Voters have already turned down one significant plan. In 2013, Harris County voters rejected a $217 million bond referendum that would have converted the Astrodome into a convention-center-style venue. The measure failed with 53 percent opposed.13Houstonia Magazine. Astrodome New Plans
The most significant effort since then came between 2016 and 2018. In September 2016, Harris County commissioners approved $10.5 million for the initial design phase of a $105 million project that would raise the floor to create two levels of underground parking (roughly 1,400 spaces) and convert the nine acres above into flexible event space for rodeos, boat shows, concerts, and conferences.14Rice University Kinder Institute. Harris County Votes to Move Forward With First Phase of Astrodome Renovation Funding was to come in equal thirds from the county general fund, hotel occupancy taxes, and parking revenues. A public “Domecoming” event was held in April 2018, and Phase 1 was slated to break ground that summer.15National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Astrodome – Updates
Construction never started. The timeline slipped from October 2018 to early 2019, then to after the 2019 rodeo season, and asbestos abatement work was still being finished as late as April 2019. Newly elected County Judge Hidalgo said in February 2019 that she had not decided whether the existing plan was the “best path forward.”16KPRC/Click2Houston. What’s the Astrodome Renovation Timeline The project was formally put on hold in 2019 over “concerns regarding the usability of the Dome once re-opened,” and has not been revived.8Astrodome Conservancy. What’s Next
The Astrodome Conservancy’s Proposal
The most active advocate for preservation is the Astrodome Conservancy, a nonprofit that in November 2024 unveiled “Vision: Astrodome,” a redevelopment concept designed by architecture firm Gensler Houston. The plan envisions a mixed-use entertainment district built inside the dome, with four new structures under the existing roof: a central events arena with roughly 10,000 to 12,000 seats, a “rodeo experience,” a NASA-themed center, and a food hall. The exterior would include a retail village and an arc-shaped pedestrian boulevard linking the dome to the rest of NRG Park.17The Architect’s Newspaper. Gensler Unveils Redevelopment Plan for Houston Astrodome
The plan also calls for a 300-room hotel, 150,000 square feet of office space, 170,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, 1,500 parking spaces, and a livestock-holding area in the parking decks to serve the annual rodeo. The total price is placed between $840 million and $1 billion, structured as a public-private partnership. Under the Conservancy’s latest figures, approximately $270 million would come from public investment for the arena portion, with roughly $570 million in private investment financing the commercial development.18Astrodome Conservancy. Astrodome Redevelopment Could Generate $1.5 Billion in Economic Impact
The Conservancy calls historic rehabilitation tax credits its “secret sauce.” Because the Astrodome is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a State Antiquities Landmark, a qualifying rehabilitation project could be eligible for a 20 percent federal income tax credit and a 25 percent Texas state tax credit on qualifying costs.19Texas Historical Commission. Historic Preservation Tax Credits The Conservancy has estimated these credits could reimburse up to 45 percent of total project costs, potentially generating a cash infusion of around $400 million.20Astrodome Conservancy. Vision Astrodome Presentation Government-owned structures generally do not qualify for these credits unless leased to a private or nonprofit entity for an extended term, so the structure of any deal would matter.21Preservation Texas. Tax Incentives
The plan has faced resistance from the parties who share the campus. The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the Houston Texans, and the Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation have all opposed the Conservancy’s proposal.13Houstonia Magazine. Astrodome New Plans Neither the Texans nor the Rodeo prioritize the Astrodome; the Texans are focused on a major renovation of NRG Stadium, and the Rodeo’s attention is on the operational facilities it currently uses.4Houston Chronicle. Astrodome Future NRG Park Negotiations
Why the County Can’t Just Tear It Down
Demolition is not a simple option even if the county decided to pursue it. The Astrodome was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014 for its architectural and cultural significance.22National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Astrodome In January 2017, the Texas Historical Commission designated it a State Antiquities Landmark, which means the structure cannot be “removed, altered, damaged, salvaged, or excavated” without the commission’s approval.23Rice University Kinder Institute. State Historical Commission Designates Astrodome Landmark A Texas State Historical Marker was dedicated at the site in 2018.9Houston Chronicle. Astrodome Renovation Demolition Cost Houston
In 2013, the National Trust for Historic Preservation placed the Astrodome on its annual list of “11 Most Endangered Historic Places.” The Trust has reported a 97 percent success rate in saving places that have appeared on the list.24Planetizen. Houston Astrodome Named to Endangered Historic Places List
Where Things Stand Now
In January 2026, the Harris County Commissioners Court discussed the Kirksey Architecture findings but took no action. Judge Hidalgo described the situation as a “collaborative moment that’s still in development.” The county attorney’s office was tasked with developing options for working with the Conservancy and presenting them at a future court date. Beth Wiedower Jackson, the Conservancy’s executive director, has said the organization is in discussions with “multiple large-scale private developers who have signaled interest,” though no specific firms or investment proposals have been named publicly.11Houston Public Media. Astrodome Houston Harris County Commissioners
Public opinion appears to have shifted since the 2013 bond vote. A July 2025 survey by the University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs, conducted among 2,300 Harris County registered voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percent, found that 62 percent support using public funds as part of a public-private partnership to renovate the Astrodome into an entertainment venue, with 38 percent opposed.25University of Houston. Harris County Survey The county has not acted on the survey results, and no new public funding vote is on the horizon.
The Astrodome’s fate is also entangled with the future of the broader campus. Harris County is renegotiating the NRG Park lease with the Texans and the Rodeo, whose current leases run through 2032, and the new agreement may shift more control of the park’s buildings and events to those two entities. A 2024 study found the park campus faces an estimated $1.9 billion in deferred maintenance overall.26The Real Deal. Houston Texans Commit to Staying at NRG Park Where the Astrodome falls on that priority list is unclear, and any eventual renovation would need to coexist with whatever master plan emerges for the larger park.