The Eighth Wonder of the World “The Astrodome”

The Eighth Wonder of the World “The Astrodome”

A little Football trivia for Super Bowl Sunday.

The Astrodome was the first ballpark to have a roof over the playing field. It was dubbed the 8th wonder of the world! The Astrodome opened on April 9, 1965 and would house the Houston Astros and the Houston Oilers. The total cost, including land, parking lot and all other building costs was 31.6 million dollars.

The total capacity for baseball was 54,370 and for football was 63,001. The stadium structure covers 91 acres of land, and the entire Astrodomain complex covers 260 acres. The outside diameter of the Astrodome structure is 710 feet.

Other interesting Astrodome Facts include:

It was the first ever domed stadium

Elvis Presley played in the Dome 6 times

The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and others played in the Dome

There was actually a rainout in the Dome

Other than the structure, one of the most intriguing parts of the design was the scoreboard. Whether it was the Oiler fans with their “Love Ya Blue” or the fans singing “Deep in The Heart of Texas” at the 7th inning stretch during and Astro’s game, the Gunslinger and Raging Bull on the huge scoreboard sign stole the show!

Nolan Ryan said “The first memories that come back to me are of when they were building the Astrodome. I would go to old Colt Stadium. Back then, they wouldn’t close construction sites, so you could go to the hole and try to envision what a domed stadium would like. For a kid coming from Alvin, Texas, that was a big happening for us to watch that process going on.”

The Astrodome’s destiny is still uncertain, as the new stadium engulfs it in size. Some have mentioned a large hotel or casino and others demolition, but whatever happens, the sounds echoing from the site from Elvis, Bum Phillips, the millions of crowds screaming over the years for the Astro’s and Oiler’s or the vintage footsteps of the Terry Bradshaw and Dan Pastorini contests, history was made on this site that will never be forgotten by Houstonians and people from all over the world.