The eighth wonder of the hotel world

Even though it was a fairly bad place to actually see a sporting event, and an even worse place to see a concert, the Astrodome has a place in Houstonist's heart (and in our logo). We remember fondly the loud upholstery, the scoreboard, the inexplicably addictive Dome Dogs, the Great Moments in Sports. So it's been sad to see the Dome sitting there empty in the shadow of the new Reliant Stadium — and it's been interesting to see how people plan to save the cavernous stadium.

The leading proposal is for an enormous hotel which might be modeled after the Gaylord Texan resort in Grapevine:

With 1,511 hotel rooms constructed around a 2.5-acre main atrium and two connecting smaller atriums, the Gaylord Texan provides a bright, modern take on cavernous, domed structures.

Conventioneers stroll on walkways past restaurants, fake canyons, an Alamo façade, thousands of trees and plants, and a section reminiscent of the San Antonio River Walk.

The Astrodome — though it received renewed attention as a shelter for hurricane evacuees — sits mostly idle.

Harris County officials and business interests hope they can change that. Hanson said that by mostly gutting the interior and putting $450 million into the building, they can reinvent the Dome as a Gaylord Texan-type, upscale convention hotel. Local officials, such as Harris County Sports & Convention Corp. Chairman Mike Surface, agree.

The proposal is for a 1,200-room hotel around a central atrium with restaurants, clubs and waterways — kind of like an indoor Riverwalk. Or a Gaylord resort. The idea of a mega-hotel there seems to make sense: It should get business from Reliant Stadium, the Reliant Park convention facilities and the vast untapped group of people who want to stay in luxury hotels located in old domed stadiums. Though Gaylord won't be involved in the project, the Senate Hospitality Group, formed by ex-Gaylord execs, will. Also on board is URS, an architectural and engineering firm, and Falcon's Treehouse, a theme-and-design company that's worked with the Hard Rock Cafe. We wonder if they'll reconstruct Judge Hofheinz's infamous private suite? It was far more bizarre than anything in a Gaylord hotel.

Astrodome developers are expected to reach an agreement with the county Sports & Convention Corp. next month; construction could begin late in 2006 and be finished in 2009.