HOUSTON (KHOU) -- Many Texans have fond memories of the Astromdome. From Houston Astros games to the old Oiler football franchise, a lot of sports memories were forged there.
But the dome once dubbed the "Eighth Wonder of the World" is now a shadow of its former self.
Just as Russell Spohn can't wait to see baseball again at Minute Maid Park, he can't believe what has happened to the old home of his beloved Astros.
"I saw that," Spohn said. "Man, that looked bad. That's sad. I mean, that's, that's history. They should do something to, yeah, that's sad. That hurts."
After years just sitting here, the most famous building in Houston's history is in shambles.
"But we're paying, what is it, two million dollars a year to watch it die a slow death? You know, it breaks your heart," Spohn said.
It's especially heartbreaking to people who remember the dome's heritage, from the "Luv Ya Blue" Oilers, to the rainbow jerseyed Astros. But whatever's done with the dome will cost taxpayers a lot of money. County officials say even just tearing it down would cost more than $80 million.
"It's money. It costs a lot of money," Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said. "You know, we still owe more. The taxpayers still owe more on the dome than it cost to build it in the first place."
Some of the seats aren't even paid for. A sports memorabilia dealer figures the county could sell old Astrodome seats for two or three hundred bucks each. Money to save the old home of the Astros and the Oilers.
"They've spent so much money now, they're in a trap. Obviously it needs to be torn down. I hate to say that, but after seeing this report you guys did, it's just unbelievable."
Now it seems the home of so many sports memories might itself become a memory.
