The Houston Astrodome has sat empty for years and has been without a professional sports team in it for a decade. But it still stands, right next door to Reliant Stadium, legally unfit for habitation. It has to be demolished, right?
Sure, bit it’s gonna cost a king’s ransom to do it, and much much more than other previous stadium demolitions:The 2010 study estimated the cost of demolition at $78 million, including $10 million for asbestos removal and $10 million to put a “plaza” on the site after demolition. That does not include the $29.9 million the county still owes on the building ...
The priciest stadium demolition a Houston Chronicle examination found was $22 million for New York’s Yankee Stadium, which was completed in 2010. Indianapolis’ RCA Dome cost $13 million to raze in 2008. The Seattle Kingdome was imploded in 2000 for about $10 million, as was Giants Stadium in New Jersey, which was razed in 2010. All had seating capacities similar to or larger than the Astrodome.
According to the article, the higher price is due to the nature of the foundation, the proximity to the other football stadium, asbestos, etc. Experts quoted in the article are dubious, however.
In other news, the Astrodome cost $35 million to build, which in current dollars is about $250 million and change. And yet there will still be other cities in the future who will eagerly build stadiums, ballparks and arenas for the local nine, five and eleven.
