Long after the cheers and crowds moved elsewhere, the structure that was once the shimmering symbol of Houston still stands.

Taxpayers spend nearly $3 million a year to keep the Astrodome insured and air conditioned, but its future has always been a question mark.

Two years ago, people slept there during the Hurricane Katrina evacuation.  Ironically, that could a part of the building’s future as well, but in a much more upscale fashion—as a $515 million, 1,300-room hotel and entertainment center.

The Harris County Commissioners Court approved an extension Tuesday for developers to come up with financing for a proposed $500 million renovation of the Astrodome.

11 News

Mike Surface, chair of the Harris County Sports and Convention Authority, said the entire project will be privately financed at no cost to taxpayers.

“We’re optimistic that we can deliver this project,” Surface said.

Surface says the redeveloped Astrodome would resemble the Gaylord Texan resort in Grapevine, Texas. That hotel is a massive self-contained resort and conference center, known as a “destination resort.”

The dome would be wrapped in part by a new 2,100-space parking garage.

But is it possible in Houston?

“Well, I think anybody who looks at the dome will look at it and say, what are we going to do with it? But in this case, the Astrodome redevelopment corporation has a very definitive plan,” County Judge Ed Emmett said.

So nearly eight years after the last ball game, the old dome’s new future is delayed, but not lost.

The County Commissioners expect to have a new redevelopment plan to vote on sometime around January. 

So far, developers have a bank interested in putting up the money, but they say it will take months to hammer out details on a financial agreement.