Poll finds Astrodome’s fate too close to call

David Ruth
713-348-6327
david@rice.edu

Poll finds Astrodome’s fate too close to call

HOUSTON – (Sept. 25, 2013) – Forty-five percent of Harris County likely voters support the county issuing a bond to raise $217 million to convert Houston’s iconic Astrodome into a convention hall and exhibit space, according to a new poll conducted by Rice University’s Center for Civic Leadership.

The poll found that 35 percent oppose issuing the bond and nearly 20 percent are unsure. The poll was overseen by Rice political scientist Bob Stein and prepared for KHOU-TV and KUHF-FM as part of a series of studies being announced this week. Voters will go to the ballot booths Nov. 5.

The sale of the bonds would result in an owner of a home assessed at $200,000 seeing their property tax bill increase by about $8 a year.

The Houston Astrodome was the world’s first domed sports stadium when it opened in 1965, quickly becoming known as the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” The Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation unveiled plans for “The New Dome Experience” in June but has warned that failure of the ballot measure to pass would likely mean demolition for the stadium.

The poll, conducted Sept. 11-20, included 650 Harris County residents and has a +/- 3.8 percent margin. The University of Houston Center for Public Policy Survey Research Institute assisted with the research.

For more information, contact David Ruth, director of national media relations at Rice, at david@rice.edu or 713-348-6327.

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Photo courtesy: Tommy LaVergne/Rice University

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