Bill taking aim at Astrodome's future gets committee nod

Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, above, ﻿opposes a bill filed by state Sen. John Whitmire that would require county voters to approve spending $105 million to create parking spaces in the dome. Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, above, ﻿opposes a bill filed by state Sen. John Whitmire that would require county voters to approve spending $105 million to create parking spaces in the dome. Photo: Michael Ciaglo, Staff Photo: Michael Ciaglo, Staff Image 1 of / 68 Caption Close Bill taking aim at Astrodome's future gets committee nod 1 / 68 Back to Gallery

A Senate committee voted Monday in favor of a bill that would require Harris County residents to approve a county project to renovate the Astrodome by raising its floors and installing parking underneath.

The bill could effectively could torpedo the county's $105 million project to raise the ground level two floors to fit in roughly 1,400 parking spaces.

County officials had said when the proposal was unveiled in September, that the plan 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.

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It had been viewed as a potential saving grace for the aging stadium, designated earlier this year a state antiquities landmark.

State Sen. John Whitmire is looking to put the brakes on the renovation plan, saying Harris County voters should weigh in.

Whitmire noted that voters four years ago defeated a $217 million bond package that would have renovated the Astrodome and transformed it into a street-level convention hall and exhibit space.

>>>Scroll through the gallery to see what ideas have been floated for the Houston Astrodome over the years