Houston (CBS HOUSTON) – The Houston Super Bowl Committee unveiled their countdown clock on Thursday to officially start the kickoff towards Super Bowl LI in Houston at NRG Stadium. Before the curtain was dropped Harris County Judge Ed Emmett took the stage to say a few words. Judge Emmett is a staunch supporter of keeping the Astrodome intact and standing. Currently, it is vacant and has been for years.

Emmett pointed to the Astrodome as the structure that will get coverage like the Golden Gate Bridge did during Super Bowl 50 coverage in San Francisco.

“They kept showing one thing over and over and over, the Golden Gate Bridge” Emmett said. “And far was it from the stadium, 25 or 30 miles? Something like that. Whether we like it or not, whether everybody agrees or not there is going to be a picking out of an iconic structure that they are going to say ‘wow, look at that.’ Well, guess what, our iconic structure is next door. And it’s going to be there. You’ll notice it’s been power washed and re-painted and we want to improve it even more.

“Harris County really wants to showcase NRG park. The Stadium (NRG Stadium) has got to be the first priority. It’s got to be in pristine shape and it’s got to be perfectly run. But everything around it has to be memorable.”

There are no plans that have been approved on what to do with the Astrodome. There have been many ideas that have been proposed to keep it standing, tear it down or even keep part of the structure as a monument to what was known as the 8th Wonder of the World.