Reliant Astrodome Reliant Astrodome , also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome , is the world ' s first multi - purpose , dome d sports stadium , located in Houston , Texas , USA . The stadium is part of the Reliant Park complex . It opened in 1965 as Harris County Domed Stadium and was nicknamed the " Eighth Wonder of the World " . History . Conception . Major League Baseball expanded to Houston in 1960 when the National League agreed to add two teams . The Colt . 45s ( renamed the Houston Astros in 1965 ) were to begin play in 1962 , along with their expansion brethren New York Mets . Roy Hofheinz , a former mayor of Houston , and his group were granted the franchise after they promised to build a covered stadium . It was thought a covered stadium was a must for a major - league team to be viable in Houston due to the area ' s subtropical climate and hot summers . Game - time temperatures are usually above 97 degrees in July and August , with high humidity , and a likelihood of rain . Hofheinz claimed inspiration for what would eventually become the Astrodome when he was on a tour of Rome , where he learned that the builders of the ancient Colosseum installed giant velaria to shield spectators from the Roman sun . The Astrodome was conceived by Hofheinz as early as 1952 when he and his daughter Dene were rained out once too often at Buffalo Stadium , home of Houston ' s minor league baseball affiliate , the Houston Buffs . Hofheinz abandoned his interest in the world ' s first air - conditioned shopping mall , The Galleria , and set his sights on bringing major league baseball to Houston . The Astrodome was later designed by architects Hermon Lloyd & W . B . Morgan , and Wislon , Morris , Crain and Anderson . Structural engineering and structural design was performed by Walter P Moore Engineers and Consultants of Houston . It was constructed by H . A . Lott , Inc . for Harris County , Texas . It stands 18 stories tall , covering 9½ acres . The dome is 710 feet ( 216 . 4 m ) in diameter and the ceiling is 208 feet ( 63 . 4 m ) above the playing surface , which itself sits 25 feet ( 7 . 6 m ) below street level . The Dome was completed in November 1964 , six months ahead of schedule . Many engineering changes were required during construction , including the modest flattening of the supposed " hemispherical roof " to cope with environmentally - induced structural deformation and the use of a new paving process called " lime stabilization " to cope with changes in the chemistry of the soil . The air conditioning system was designed by the Houston civil engineer Jack Boyd Buckley . The multi - purpose stadium , designed to facilitate both football and baseball , is nearly circular and uses movable lower seating areas . It also ushered in the era of other fully domed stadiums , such as the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit , the Hubert H . Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis , the now - demolished Kingdome in Seattle , the Mercedes - Benz Superdome in New Orleans , and the now - demolished RCA Dome in Indianapolis . Hofheinz had an opulent apartment in the Dome , which was removed when the facility was remodeled in 1988 . Seating capacity . The seating capacity for baseball has been as follows : The seating capacity for football has been as follows : Initial opening and fielding surface . When the Astrodome opened on April 9 , 1965 , Judy Garland and The Supremes performed on opening night to a capacity crowd . Originally , the stadium ' s surface was a Tifway 419 Bermuda grass playing surface specifically bred for indoor use . The dome ' s ceiling contained numerous semitransparent panes made of Lucite . Players quickly complained that glare coming off of the panes made it hard for them to track fly balls . Two sections of panes were painted white , which solved the glare problem , but caused the grass to die from lack of sunlight . For most of the 1965 season , the Astros played on green - painted dirt and dead grass . The solution was to install a new type of artificial grass on the field , ChemGrass , which became known as AstroTurf . Because the supply of AstroTurf was still low , only a limited amount was available for the home opener on April 18 , 1966 . There was not enough for the entire outfield , but there was enough to cover the traditional grass portion of the infield . The outfield remained painted dirt until after the All - Star Break . The team was sent on an extended road trip before the break , and on July 19 , 1966 , the installation of the outfield portion of AstroTurf was completed . Groundskeepers dressed as astronauts kept the turf clean with vacuum cleaners between innings . The infield dirt remained in the traditional design , with a large dirt arc , similar to natural grass fields . In 1971 , the Astros installed an all - AstroTurf infield dirt , except for dirt cutouts around the bases . This " sliding pit " configuration was first introduced by Cincinnati with the opening of Riverfront Stadium on June 30 , 1970 . It was then installed in the new stadiums in Philadelphia in 1971 , and Kansas City in 1973 . The artificial turf fields of Pittsburgh and St . Louis were traditionally configured like the Astrodome , and would also change to sliding pits in the 1970s . Throughout its history , the Astrodome was known as a pitcher ' s park . The power alleys were never shorter than from the plate ; on at least two occasions they were as far as . Over time , it gave up fewer home runs than any other park in the National League . The Astrodome ' s reputation as a pitcher ' s park continued even in the mid - 1980s , when the fences were moved in closer than the Metrodome , which was long reckoned as a hitter ' s park . June 15 , 1976 " The Rainout " . Ironically — given the fact that it is an indoor stadium , even more so because a new roof was installed before the 1976 season — the Astrodome suffered a rainout on June 15 , 1976 . The Astros ' scheduled baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates was called when flooding in the Houston area prevented the umpires and most fans from reaching the stadium . Both teams had arrived early for practice , but the umpires were several hours late . At 5pm that day , with only a handful of fans on - hand and already several hours behind , the umpires and teams agreed to call the game off . Tables were brought onto the field and the teams ate dinner together . Although the Astros still had a home series with Pittsburgh in August , this game was made up in Pittsburgh in July . Scoreboard . The Houston Astrodome was well - renowned for a four - story scoreboard called the " Astrolite " , composed of thousands of light bulbs that featured numerous animations . After every Astros home run , the scoreboard would feature a minute - long animated celebration of pistols , bulls , and fireworks . The scoreboard remained intact until 1988 when Astrodome part - time tenant Houston Oilers ( now Tennessee Titans ) owner Bud Adams suggested the removal of the scoreboard to accommodate capacity demands for football , baseball and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo . Harris County spent $ 67 million of public funds on renovations . Approximately 15 , 000 new seats resembling the 1970s Rainbow Guts uniform pattern were installed to bring seating capacity to almost 60 , 000 for football . On September 5 , 1988 , a final celebration commemorating the scoreboard occurred prior to expansion renovations . Recent history . In 1989 , four cylindrical pedestrian ramp columns were constructed outside the Dome for accessibility . This enabled the Astrodome to comply with the later Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 . The 1992 Republican National Convention was held at the Astrodome in August of that year . The Astros accommodated the convention by taking a month - long road trip . On August 19 , 1995 , a scheduled preseason game between the Oilers and the San Diego Chargers had to be canceled due to the dilapidated condition of the playing field . Oilers owner Adams demanded a new stadium , but the city of Houston refused to fund it . After years of threats , Adams moved the team to Tennessee in 1996 . Around that time the Astros also threatened to leave the city unless a new ballpark was built . The retractable - roofed Enron Field ( now known as Minute Maid Park ) opened for the 2000 season in downtown Houston . One of the largest crowds in the Astrodome ' s history , more than 66 , 746 fans , came on Sunday , February 26 , 1995 , to see Tejano superstar Selena and her band Los Dinos perform for a sell - out crowd during the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo . Selena y Los Dinos had performed two consecutive times before at the Astrodome , breaking previous attendance records each time . This was Selena ' s last televised concert before she was fatally shot on March 31 , 1995 by her fan club president , Yolanda Saldivar . This would be the Astrodome ' s largest crowd until WWE ' s WrestleMania X - Seven was held at the Astrodome on April 1 , 2001 , establishing a new all - time and current record for the facility at 67 , 925 fans . The Astrodome was joined by a new neighbor in 2002 , the retractable - roofed Reliant Stadium , which was built to house Houston ' s new NFL franchise , the Houston Texans . The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo moved to the new venue in 2003 , leaving the Astrodome without any major tenants . The last concert performed at the Astrodome was George Strait & the Ace in the Hole band . The stadium is currently called the " lonely landmark " by Houstonians . Since 2008 when the facility was cited with numerous code violations only maintenance workers and security guards are allowed to enter the Astrodome . The city council has rejected demolition plans on environmental grounds , over concerns that demolition of the Dome might damage the dense development that today closely surrounds it . Being the world ' s first domed stadium , historic preservationists may also object to the landmark being demolished , although it is not included on the National Register of Historic Places . Houston ' s plan to host the 2012 Summer Olympic Games included renovating the Astrodome for use as a main stadium . Houston became one of the USOC ' s bid finalists , but the organization chose New York City as its candidate city ; the Games ultimately were awarded to London by the IOC . The Astrodome was ranked 134th in the " America ' s Favorite Architecture " poll commissioned by the American Institute of Architects , that ranked the top 150 favorite architectural projects in America as of 2007 . Plans to convert the Astrodome into a luxury hotel have also been rejected . A new proposal to convert the Astrodome into a movie production studio is currently under discussion . All renovation plans must deal with the problem of occupancy code violations that have basically shuttered the facility for the near future . Hurricane Katrina . On August 31 , 2005 , in the wake of Hurricane Katrina , the Harris County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and the State of Louisiana came to an agreement to allow at least 25 , 000 evacuees from New Orleans , especially those that were sheltered in the Louisiana Superdome , to move to the Astrodome until they could return home . The evacuation began on September 1 . All scheduled events for the final four months of 2005 at the Astrodome were cancelled . Overflow refugees were held in the surrounding Reliant Park complex . There was a full field hospital inside the Reliant Arena , which cared for the entire Katrina refugee community . The entire Reliant Park complex was scheduled to be emptied of hurricane refugees by September 17 , 2005 . Originally the Astrodome was planned to be used to house refugees until December . However , the surrounding parking lots were needed for the first Houston Texans home game . Arrangements were made to help Katrina refugees find apartments both in Houston and elsewhere in the United States . By September 16 , 2005 the last of the hurricane refugees living in the Astrodome had been moved out either to the neighboring Reliant Arena or to more permanent housing . As of September 20 , 2005 , the remaining Katrina refugees were relocated to Arkansas due to Hurricane Rita .