Houston Business Journal: Astrodome at crossroads as NRG Park master plan weighs demolition or redevelopment, by Chandler France
- Carrie Potter
- May 15
- 1 min read
Updated: Aug 4
Featured Quote: “A public-private partnership to prioritize that $150 million to $300 million investment ahead of all of those (other priorities), there would need to be some real economic drivers to justify that from a county perspective,” Potter said.
May 15, 2026. “Houstonians are very emotionally attached to the Astrodome,” said Carrie Potter, a professor in the Department of Sports Management at Rice University.
Despite those numbers, it still might be a challenge to secure public funding for a public-private partnership to redevelop the Astrodome, Potter said. There’s competition for public dollars in Harris County. The county has other priorities, such as flood control, infrastructure, public safety, the health system and long-term resiliency.
Not only that, but the county also has to balance any investments in the Astrodome with investments needed at the rest of NRG Park, Potter said.
“A public-private partnership to prioritize that $150 million to $300 million investment ahead of all of those (other priorities), there would need to be some real economic drivers to justify that from a county perspective,” Potter said.
From an economic perspective, it seems to make more sense to destroy the Astrodome than it does to redevelop it, Potter said. Despite that, there are risks to tearing down a structure that is so beloved by Houstonians.
“From a financial perspective, absolutely, we would love to demolish it, but from a public-good and a political-risk perspective, I don’t know that the public here in Houston would ever vote to tear down the Astrodome because of the emotional attachment,” Potter said.
