Posted May 24, 2012, 7:49 AM
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Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 19
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http://blog.chron.com/newswatch/2012...evealed-today/
Quote:
The Harris County Sports & Convention Corp., which oversees the Reliant complex, today will discuss a long-awaited report laying out options for the future of the complex, including the vacant Astrodome at its heart.
A similar study was completed two years ago. Willie Loston, the Sports Corp.’s executive director, said that effort was conceptual, whereas today’s report will be more detailed and provide the Sports Corp. and their bosses, Harris County Commissioners Court, the information they need to move forward.
The 2010 study laid out the following options:
+ Reliant Park Plaza plan: Raze the Dome for $128 million; replace Reliant Arena and make other improvements to the park; build a hotel (with no public money) with as many as 1,500 rooms. Total price tag is $873 million. That $128 million tear-down cost included $40 million in debt that was still owed on the building then; today county officials say the debt is $29.9 million. We’ve written about demolition costs and the importance of salvage in demolition recently.
+ Astrodome Multipurpose: Gut the Dome and add a new level of floor space, a science and technology center, a planetarium, solar panels on the roof that form a world map for $324 million to $374 million; keep other elements of plaza plan. Total price tag is $1.08 billion to $1.13 billion.
+ Astrodome Renaissance: Multipurpose plan plus add more Astrodome features, including conference space, a series of interactive exhibits that would allow users to simulate space travel and deep sea exploration, museums, an alternative energy center and a movie studio. The Astrodome portion would cost
$588 million. Total price tag is $1.35 billion. When the study was released in 2010, Mark Miller, general manager of Reliant Park, called this option “the dream picture,” and said, “This is where we would like to go with the property.”
The consultants preparing today’s study have not given members of Commissioners Court or their staffs copies of the study, instead asking for the printouts ba
ck after each briefing. But working from memory, county officials say the study is similar to the 2010 study in that it presents similarly tiered options.
Court members also have said, given the cost of each option, voters likely would need to be asked to approve a bond issue to pay for whichever path is chosen.
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