Following on these earlier posts (here and here), this Chronicle story reports that an outfit named Astrodome Redevelopment Corp. has obtained a preliminary $450 million financing commitment to redevelop the Astrodome into a Gaylord Texan-type hotel and entertainment complex. Astrodome Redevelopment Corp. is an investment company comprised of Oceaneering International Inc., a publicly traded firm working in engineering, science and technology; URS, a large architectural and design firm; NBGS International, a theme park developer; and Falcon’s Treehouse, a Florida-based design firm.
Emphasis here should be on the word “preliminary.” A project of this magnitude would entail working out huge problems, such as how an additional 1,200 rooms can be justified to lenders and equity investors in light of Houston’s current glut of hotel rooms, parking woes during football games and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and the dubious nature of the pitiful Astroworld Six Flags Amusement Park across the freeway from the Dome as a draw for the hotel. As a result, my sense is that this deal will never come together, but crazier financial decision have been made — just look at the Metro Light Rail line! ;^)
Anne Linehan over at blogHouston.net summarizes local reaction to this latest Dome boondoggle.