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Astrodome
Houston, Texas

Formerly, Harris County Domed Stadium
Tenants: Houston Astros (1965-1999); Houston Oilers (1968-97); University of Houston football (1965-1997)
Groundbreaking: January 3, 1962
First National League game: April 12, 1965
First NFL game: September 9, 1968
Last NFL game: December 21, 1997
Last National League game: October 9, 1999
Surface: Natural grass (1965); Astroturf with full dirt infield (1966-67); Astroturf (1968 to date)
Baseball capacity: 42,217 (1965), 47,690 (1982), 54,816 (1990)

Architects: Hermon Lloyd & W.B. Morgan and Wilson, Morris, Crain & Anderson
Construction: H.A. Lott, Inc.
Owner: Harris County
Cost: $31.6 million (1965); $60 million (1989 expansion)

Dimensions:
Foul lines: 340 (1965), 330 (1972), 340 (1977), 330 (1985), 325 (1992), 330 (1993), 325 (1994)
Power alleys: 375 (1965), 390 (1966), 378 (1972), 390 (1977), 378 (1985), 375 (1992), 380 (1993), 375 (1994)
Center field: 406 (1965), 400 (1972), 406 (1977), 400 (1985)

Fences: Left and right field: 16 ft. (1965), 12 ft. (1969), 10 ft. (1977), 10 (1990), 19.5 (concrete, 1991), 10 (canvas,
1992); between foul pole and scoreboard (1994): 8 ft.; Scoreboards (1994): 16 ft.; Center field 12 ft. (1965), 10 ft.
(1977), 10 ft. (1990).
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By the time its doors opened on April 9, 1965 for an exhibition game between the Houston Astros and New York
Yankees, it was already heralded as "The Eighth Wonder of the World." The largest structure of its kind and the
world's first multi-purpose, domed stadium, the Astrodome came to symbolize the futuristic home of professional
sports in America.

What it symbolized in Houston, however, was far more personal to the people responsible for the Dome's massive
concept and its creation in the open fields off South Main Street. For those people involved, it meant the
attainment of their dream in bringing professional baseball to Houston, a dream that started to take shape in 1956
by three prominent business men and lifelong baseball fans named George Kirksey, William Kirkland, and Craig
Cullinan.

When the National League awarded Houston an expansion franchise in 1960, the foundation for a stadium owned
and operated by Harris County was already in the works. In January 1957, Kirksey, Kirkland and Cullinan initiated
the formation of the Houston Sports Association (HSA), a group syndicate including other local businessmen
dedicated to luring a baseball team to southeastern Texas and willing to financially invest in the project. After
HSA's initial framework was laid - though not formally or legally set until the following summer -- Kirksey and
Cullinan set out to plead Houston's case to other MLB owners and officials. With plans in hand and initiative in
mind, all they repeatedly heard was, "get a stadium and we will talk to you about a team."

During the summer of 1959, the search for a stadium site became the focus at the same time R.E. "Bob" Smith
became a pivotal member of the HSA. Smith introduced his good confidant, the former Harris County judge and
mayor of Houston, Judge Roy Hofheinz, to the HSA. With Kirksey and Cullinan's urging, the highly-regarded and
savvy Hofheinz quickly joined them in their efforts and happily persuaded Smith to allow his land to be considered
"available" for the stadium. And while Kirksey, Cullinan, and Smith became more engulfed in landing a baseball
franchise, Hofheinz worked religiously on the stadium issues, endorsing his personal vision of a futuristic
one-of-a-kind stadium.

"I knew that with our heat, humidity, and rain that the best chance for success was in the direction of a
weather-proof, all-purpose stadium," Hofheinz said. "We had to have a stadium that would be a spectator's
paradise, but also one that could be used for events other than sports."

When Kirksey, Cullinan, Smith, and Hofheinz ventured to Chicago in October 1960 to attend the annual owners
meetings, they were confident the National League would grant them an expansion franchise. The architects had
prepared a model replica of the proposed domed stadium, and Hofeinz introduced his idea to the owners on
October 17 for the very first time. Later that day, New York and Houston were both awarded franchises in the
ten-team National League.

Many believe it was Hofheinz' presentation of the multi-purpose structure which ultimately convinced the owners
that Houston was indeed ready for big league baseball. After all, the owners were mesmerized by the structure,
and it appeared the voters of Harris County were mesmerized, too.

After six months of detailed drawings and further planning, Hofheinz, his partners in the HSA, architects, and
countless other supporters in the city finally had their glory at the groundbreaking ceremony on the Astrodome
on January 3, 1962. Nearly three months prior to Opening Day for the team's first season, Colt .45s were shot into
the flat, bare land to appropriately mark the site of the forthcoming dome.
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Notes, Facts and Features

Besides the annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the Dome was the site for heavyweight title fights, bowl
games, tennis matches, basketball games, bullfights, soccer matches, rock concerts and conventions. The 1968
college basketball classic between Lew Alcindor's UCLA squad and the University of Houston Cougars led by Elvin
Hayes was played there. The famous tennis match between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King took place there. The
1992 Republican National Convention

The fence distances changed several times during the 35 years of baseball played there. An inner fence was
installed at times, removed at others. Finally, the fences were supported by gardens of fake flowers along the
outfield rim. Manual scoreboards kept track of other games after the last remodeling. At first, two large electronic
signs for Gulf Oil were the only noticeable advertising. By the end, billboards of all types circled the field.

The stadium also featured an apartment above the right field stands where Judge Hofheinz sometimes lived. It was
a quirky and somewhat tacky abode which featured a bowling alley, a non-denominational wedding chapel and a
tilted bar with trick magnets to help sliding refreshments defy gravity. There were two glassless windows where
visitors could watch the events on the field.

The only ones who remember Colt Stadium fondly are nostalgia buffs and sadists. It illustrated how unsuitable
outdoor baseball could be during Texas summers. High temperatures, high humidity, large mosquitoes and a lack of
shade (it was the only single-deck major league ballpark of its time) could make daytime baseball dangerous and
night games merely tolerable.

   A June daytime doubleheader in 1962 sent 78 patrons and one umpire to seek medical attention. Insect
repellent was sold at the concession stands. Players took tiny spray containers with them to the field. Players
needed salt tablets to replenish their sodium levels. Some Colts lost 10-15 pounds during a homestand. Day games
were rescheduled to late afternoons and the National League lifted a ban on Sunday night games to accommodate
broiling fans.

  It was endured because Houston was thrilled to be in the big leagues and because everyone knew that the
ballpark was temporary until the domed stadium was ready. The pastel colors of some seating sections made the
ball hard for fielders to see. The lighting created "dark spots" in the field that also brought complaints from visiting
teams.

   Once the new park was finished, Colt Stadium became a dumping ground for broken and discarded items of the
nearby "Astrodomain". The field slowly returned to the reclaimed marshland that it once was. The grandstands
were sold and shipped to Mexico. The lot was eventually paved over for additional Astrodome parking.

In the fall of 1989, a $60 million expansion project enlarged seating capacity in the Astrodome by extending the
upper decks into the outfield and adding 66 new Sky Boxes on the Club Level. Two external pedestrian ramps were
added to the structure. The floor, which had been dirt since the stadium first opened in 1965 was concreted and
the Astroturf was replaced with a new Monsanto "Magic Carpet' system. The Astrodome scoreboard and home run
spectacular were replaced by two Diamond Vision screens, a large matrix board, two auxiliary matrix boards and a
game-in-progress board. Two manually operated, out-of-town scoreboards giving inning by inning scores of games in
progress, were incorporated into the outfield wall in 1993.

Originally called Harris County Domed Stadium in 1965.

In its inaugural 1965 season, the Astrodome was the scene of a unique groundskeeping argument. The New York
Mets claimed that the groundskeepers were "roofkeeping" as well by manipulating the air conditioning system so
that the air currents helped the Astros’ longballs and hindered visitors’ homers.

The first game ever played on Astroturf was against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 8, 1966.

On April 28, 1965, New York Mets announcer Lindsey Nelson broadcast a game from a gondola suspended from the
apex of the dome.

On June 10, 1974, the Philadelphia Phillies’ Mike Schmidt hit a public-address speaker 117 feet above and 329
feet distant from home plate-what would have been a 500-plus-foot homer ended up a single as the ball dropped in
center field.

On June 15, 1976, a game was rained out because of flooding.

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The Astrodome's final baseball dimensions (above left).  The Dome's first season (1965) saw a natural grass field
(above right).  Unfortunately, the clear roof panels proved almost impossible for an outfielder to track a fly ball
during day games. After a portion of the roof panels was painted, the grass began dying.  One year later, Astroturf
was born.  In August, 1964, the revolutionary Harris County Domed Stadium was nearing completion (below).
At a time when most ballparks still had wooden seats, the Astrodome featured another first in baseball,  
theatre-style padded seats.  This 1971 photo (above) shows the famous "exploding" scoreboard in a moment of
pre-game silence.  In between the right-field grandstand and the Coca-Cola sign (below) can be seen Judge
Hofheinz "apartment", one of the more quirky features of the Astrodome.
  With construction now fully underway and estimated to last nearly three years, Hofheinz himself financed the
building of Colt Stadium (above), a temporary stadium erected on the corner of the excavated lot to serve as the
home for the Colt .45s during the first three seasons. The outdoor playing field held 32,000 fans and featured
various modern-day amenities, yet the extreme heat and summertime mosquitos often discouraged fans from
attending games.

Construction of the domed building was finally completed in late 1964. In honor of Houston's significance to the
country's space program, it was appropriately named the Astrodome, and to maintain the theme, the Colt .45s
were proudly renamed the Astros. Houston baseball abandoned the outdoors and moved across the parking lot on
April 9, 1965 to play ball in the climate-controlled structure. With Hofheinz now secured as the sole owner of the
team and known as the man who brought the vision of a domed stadium to life, he was coined the "Father of
Indoor Baseball."

While thousands flocked to the Astrodome in its first year, the only problem was the natural grass. The clear
panels in the roof were painted after outfielders had difficulty seeing fly balls. The solution was a green carpet,
complete with padding and made to resemble grass, that was laid on the playing field to take the place of a
natural turf. AstroTurf was born.

Kirksey, Cullinan, Smith, Hofheinz and the HAS embraced their ultimate dream after bringing Major League
baseball to Houston in 1962. Thirty-five years later, the Astrodome has remained a mark of hard work and
dedication to create a structure so defining of its time.

Did you know that the original blueprints for the Astrodome called for a bomb shelter in the basement? In the
event of a nuclear attack it would have been available to all the fans, provided they could beat the players to it.

Over the past 35 years, many a Houston team might have enjoyed the use of a bomb shelter, but that feature was
cut from the final budget.

In every other respect, the Astrodome met the test of time. In a sporting sense, it was the difference between
Roy Rogers and Buck Rogers. It has been duplicated, but never really surpassed.

At the exact midpoint of the Sixties, the opening of the world's first indoor, all-weather, all-purpose stadium was
the biggest sports story of 1965. "We are building something," Judge Roy Hofheinz assured us, "that will set the
pattern for the 21st Century. It will antiquate every other structure of this type in the world. It will be an Eiffel
Tower in the field."

No one ever accused the Judge of understatement, but the Big Bubble was easily the high point of the decade --
the best of times, in stunning contrast to the worst of times, ten years without a winning season. My lasting
memory of the official opening night was not of the packed crowd, which included a president and a governor
and the seven Mercury astronauts. It was of a scene in the Astros bullpen, where amid all the fanfare a pitcher
named Jim Owens was stretched out on a bench, sleeping off a hangover. The uninhibited Turk Farrell gave him a
shove and bellowed, "Hey, Owens, wake up. Where do you think you are, in a canoe?"

In the beginning, in the spring of 1962, there was Apache Junction in the Arizona desert. It is true that over the
next 38 years, the team would change spring training camps, stadiums, its name and managers, many of them, and
would still be pursuing its first World Series. Some have suggested that the Astros had been born with a curse.
Possibly it was not wise to train in the shadow of a place called Superstition Mountain, where Indian spirits and
the ghost of an old Dutchman were said to guard a lost gold mine.

No one takes such legends seriously, of course. We only know that the Colt .45s did not suffer any bad luck until
the first inning of the first preseason game they ever played. Al Heist, their best outfielder, stepped in a whole
and broke his ankle, ending his career.

To keep the Colt .45s from appearing bland, Judge Hofheinz, the visionary who ran the franchise, got the inspired
idea to deck them out in blue cowboy suits on road trips, with matching hats and boots. Passing through airports,
they were a puzzling sight to travelers who did not get the connection to Texas. The players finally refused to
wear the outfits and the Judge gave up.

A ninth-place team drew two million fans that year, proving that if you have a great mousetrap you can get by
without a lot of cheese. A million more paid a dollar each to see the stadium when it was empty. It seems odd
now to recall how much resistance there was to the idea of an indoor ballpark. The purists feared a terrible
retribution if we mortals tampered with Mother Nature. And for a while we had a wonder.

Public opinion was fairly divided as to whether the Dome would ruin or revolutionize baseball. It was a place
where the fans laughed at the cartoons on the giant scoreboard and cheered on cue.

In 1965, the Astros peeled off a ten-game winning streak, an occurrence so unthinkable that their opponents
accused them of tinkering with the air conditioning currents, causing the air to blow out when the home team
was at bat. Ah, if only winning had been so simple.

In their first decade, the Astros signed some bright and exciting young players, who went on to do wonderful
deeds, becoming All-Stars and playing in the World Series -- for other teams. The list included Joe Morgan, Rusty
Staub, Jimmy Wynn, Dave Guisti, Jerry Grote and Mike Marshall. At 19, Staub was a cleanup hitter in the majors,
the symbol of the team's future. He hit .333 in 1967 and a year later they traded him.

But the Astros kept searching. Larry Dierker signed on at 18, stayed around to pitch the 1,000th game played in
the Astrodome, and celebrated his 12th season in Houston by pitching the first no-hitter of his career against
Montreal.

In 1966, the Astros got hot, stayed in the pennant race until midseason, and made the cover of Sports Illustrated,
with Sonny Jackson and Joe Morgan turning a double play.

The Astros did not have a winning season in that decade; it was easier to land a man on the moon. In 1969, they
achieved their first .500 record, 81 and 81, under manager Harry (The Hat) Walker.

While the Astros were dreaming of a team worthy of the stadium they played in, veterans who had won their
fame in other cities came and went: Shantz, Robin Roberts, Pete Runnels, Nellie Fox, Johnny Temple, Don Larsen
(who pitched the only prefect game in World Series history as a Yankee).

But for most of us the star of the team remained the Astrodome, a pleasure palace that changed our habits and
attitudes. A generation grew up without ever seeing a raincheck. Of course, even our monuments get overtaken
by time.
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Below, a quiet look at Colt Stadium - the one and only home of the Houston Colt .45s.
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