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Intro Song is Wildflower by Monoscape View his bandcamp here: https://monoscape.bandcamp.com
Outro song is Luv Ya Blue by Mack Hayes

The inside of a stadium is a common image today but in 1965, the idea of an enclosed stadium as wild as the Pyramids or the Great Wall of China. Despite hosting no Super Bowls and limited playoff appearances from the Oilers and Astros, the Astrodome has quite the story in and of itself, and is a lesson of how if you are relentless in your pursuit, you can accomplish anything you can think of.

The brainchild of Roy Hofheinz, the Astrodome was originally deemed a necesity as Houston was too hot to play baseball outside during the summer. Despite the Houston Oilers being already in existence, Hofheinz and a group of business leaders wanted to bring major league baseball to the city, and promised the National League a state of the art stadium as part of their bid for the Colt 45s, who later became the Houston Astros.

The "Eigth Wonder of the World" ironically quickly became outdated. After witnessing the rise of professional sports, the dome was too small to house the crowds to justify the economics of both teams, who demanded a renovation, which ultimately satisfied nobody, with Bud Adams and the Oilers choosing to leave town and the Astros were left forced to make something happen. As a result of its small size, the venue never hosted the Super Bowl.

The stadium has had a rather queit millenium since the Astros left in 1999. Code violations have prevented Harris County from using it for events and lack of public will hasn't allowed for the site to be changed into anything else. Houston residents have voiced a strong desire to keep their international landmark, but as proposals pass by with no momentum, it appears that public financing is increasingly becoming less and less of a viable option for the the dome's preservation.

Join me in the 17th episode of Modern Ruins as we explore how this iconic venue came about, the story it wrote for so many fans, and why after 20 years since its last event, its just as ready now more than ever for a savior.

What Happened to the Astrodome? ABANDONED?

00:00 Intro
2:57 Background
7:13 Planning the New Stadium
11:24 Grand Opening
14:59 Oilers Move In
18:25 Roy Hofheinz Decline & Assets Seized
20:29 Renovation, Oilers Departure
24:22 Astros Stay, Build New Stadium
26:13 NFL Expansion Team, Reliant Stadium Constructed
28:50 Last Concert, Major Events Hosted, Pop Culture References
31:20 Fire Marshall Forces Dome Closure
32:42 Various Proposals To Modify the Dome
37:04 Final Thoughts