Astrodome Conservancy, Harris County tentatively planning another Dome party

PHOTOS: Celebrating the legacy of the Astrodome

Next year, Astrodome lovers will be able to once again gander at the stadium's iconic roof before it embarks on its next adventure. During a meeting for friends and supporters of the Astrodome Conservancy revealed that a second party is in the planning stages in honor of the Astrodome before its next chapter is slated to begin.

See photos from the last party held for the Astrodome in 2015... less PHOTOS: Celebrating the legacy of the Astrodome

Next year, Astrodome lovers will be able to once again gander at the stadium's iconic roof before it embarks on its next adventure. During a meeting for friends ... more Photo: Karen Warren, Staff Photo: Karen Warren, Staff Image 1 of / 107 Caption Close Astrodome Conservancy, Harris County tentatively planning another Dome party 1 / 107 Back to Gallery

Next year Astrodome lovers will be able to once again gander at the stadium's iconic roof before it embarks on its next adventure.

During a meeting for friends and supporters of the Astrodome Conservancy revealed that a second party is in the planning stages in honor of the Astrodome before its next chapter is slated to begin.

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In a fitting touch, the mixer was held at the 8th Wonder Brewery.

Tentatively set for April 9, 2018, the party would be much like the 50th birthday bash held for the stadium in 2015 when nostalgia for the Dome has at a fever pitch. Fans were able to walk onto the floor of the Dome and see what it currently looks like inside. Thousands of Houstonians came from all over the city to take in the view and take selfies.

A massive $105 million renovation project that would raise the floor of the Dome two levels and put thousands of parking spaces underneath could begin as early as next summer. County officials believe that would make the Dome suitable for festivals or conferences and usher in potential commercial uses in the more than 550,000 square feet that surrounds the core.

Houston-based Kirksey Architecture is working on the design to retrofit the Astrodome.

Sometime next spring the next phase of the plan goes in front of Harris County Commissioners for approval, according to Astrodome Conservancy officials. If that hurdle is cleared work on the project could begin during the summer of 2018.

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The stadium has sat vacant since being declared unfit for occupancy in 2009. In 2005, it housed refugees of Hurricane Katrina. It currently houses extra seating, flooring, and other supplies for NRG Park events.

In 2013, Harris County voters rejected a $217 million bond proposal that would have paid for massive renovations to the Astrodome. Many believed then that the world's first multi-purpose domed stadium for sporting events would face the wrecking ball.

Instead, it just sent county officials back to the drawing board.

Earlier this year the Texas Historical Commission in Austin voted to designate the Astrodome a State Antiquities Landmark, joining the ranks of the Alamo, the State Capitol, the Cotton Bowl and other notable sites.

More plans for the 2018 party are still to be solidified.