THIS MAKES DOLLARS AND SENSE

How a perfect storm has created the ideal time and reason to reboot the Astrodome

How a perfect storm has created the ideal time and reason to reboot the Astrodome
Photos by: Wiki photo, Harris County Sports Corps via HBJ. Composite image by Brandon Strange.

Did you read where the Chicago Cubs are planning to put a sports betting room right there at Wrigley Field? The Cubs are the first Major League Baseball team to acknowledge, embrace – and will host – sports betting at its stadium. Once approved by Illinois legislators, the sportsbook at Wrigley will be operated by DraftKings.

Capital One Arena in Washington D.C., home to the Washington Wizards basketball team and Washington Capitals hockey team, already is clearing space for a sports gambling room.

Imagine that, Cubs fans can arrive at Wrigley Field during batting practice, lay down a bet on the Cubs to win, watch the game, have a couple of beers and pick up their winnings on their way out.

Or tear up their losing bet tickets.

Announcing the deal with DraftKings, Cubs official Crane Kenney said, "An increasing number of sports fans want to integrate sports betting into their game experience, and we're excited to be one of the first to engage in developing a retail sportsbook at a professional sports venue."

Wouldn't it be something if Texas allowed a sports gambling room at Minute Maid Park or Toyota Center or NRG Stadium?

Or the Astrodome! Why do I have to come up with every good idea around here?

Houston's iconic, Space Age building isn't busy these days - not since Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo squashed a $105 million project to renovate the Dome. The Dome makeover was a pet project of her predecessor, Ed Emmett.

"The plan that had been designed wouldn't have yielded truly a usable building," Hidalgo said. "Right now we don't have specific plans for the Astrodome. It's just not a priority."

So the Astrodome sits empty and unloved, slowly sinking deeper in despair. It's sad to walk by the once-mighty stadium on our way to eat turkey legs and watch Alan Jackson perform at the Rodeo. Gee, I hope he sings that Chattahoochee song.

The thing is, the Astrodome's structure is sound. It just needs lots of money, a new coat of paint, some TLC and a visit by the Orkin man. My position: either fix it up or tear it down. Letting it fade away and rot is ridiculous. It makes us look stupid.

Many ideas to renovate and repurpose the Astrodome have been floated in recent years. Some were kooky, like indoor ski jumping and a Wild West movie studio. Some made sense, like a new convention center and hotel in the same historic building.

But nothing makes more sense than creating one of the world's largest casino, hotel and convention center complexes. Of course, this would require the approval of the Texas Legislature. However, a bill to legalize sports betting and casino gambling would have to be signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, which would be a bad beat.

Of course, the final say should rest with Texas voters, but our fearless leaders in Austin refuse to put sports betting or casino gambling on a ballot, where approval would be a lock.

Fun facts: WinStar World Casino, the largest casino on Earth, is located in Thackerville, Oklahoma, just north of Texas. Louisiana, our neighbor to the east, has 28 casinos.

You know what WinStar World Casino and all those casinos in Louisiana have in common? Their parking lots are filled with cars with Texas license plates. We're missing out on millions of dollars.

It can't be that our governor is opposed to gambling, because we have the Texas Lottery (a sucker's play), horse racing, dog racing and bingo. Meanwhile, Sam Houston Race Park has limited live racing days and Gulf Greyhound Park closed its doors back in June.

I wonder why Abbott is against casinos. Any guesses?

A Texas-sized casino and hotel within the Astrodome would be a monster hit. Just think, tipsy convention goers wouldn't have to stumble outside for their Uber pickup. Texans fans could drop by the casino for some action before walking to NRG Stadium for football games. The NRG Park has tons of parking space. It's all right there.

The Woodlands did it right. When there's a Friday or Saturday night concert at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, fans often make a weekend of it. They spend money on concert tickets, restaurants and hotels in The Woodlands.

Repurposing the Astrodome into a casino and hotel would be a windfall for Houston and Harris County. Maybe we could present the Dome to Texas' superstar renovators Chip and Joanne Gaines as a Fixer Upper. Restaurants along 610 would thrive. Fans could spend weekends around a Texans game. Families could spend more days at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Rolling Stones fans could spend $50 plus tax for a $5 T-shirt.

Spend, spend, spend. That's the whole idea. We sort of could use a few extra bucks around here.

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Lance McCullers returns to the Astros rotation on Sunday. Composite Getty Image.

Lance McCullers Jr is to start Sunday for the Houston Astros against the Chicago White Sox in his first major league appearance since Game 3 of the 2022 World Series in Philadelphia.

“I’m really excited to have him on the mound on Sunday,” Astros manager Joe Espada said Wednesday. “He’s worked his tail off to get back to this point, and this whole entire team and this city should be excited to get Lance back.”

An All-Star in 2018, McCullers had surgery on June 13, 2023, to repair his right flexor tendon and to remove a bone spur. The 31-year-old right-hander threw a bullpen session last June but had a setback and was shut down for the year. He has made four minor league rehab starts this year, allowing four runs and 10 hits over 12 2/3 innings with 16 strikeouts and six walks.

In his last appearance, he struck out seven in five shutout innings for Double-A Corpus Christi on Saturday.

“My last two outings I’ve felt really good, my stuff has been pretty crisp,” McCullers said.

He is 49-32 with a 3.48 ERA in seven seasons, all with Houston. McCullers first injured his flexor tendon while pitching on short rest during the 2021 AL Division Series. He missed the first four months of the 2022 season.

“Been waiting for it for a long time,” McCullers said. “Almost feel like I’m making my debut in some aspects, but it’s been a really long road for me.”

McCullers has missed three full seasons since making his major league debut in 2015.

“It would’ve been a pretty sad ending to my story,” McCullers said.

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