FYI: Astodome to house Superdome refugees

[anderson]

Just FYI since we've been discussing the possibility of using the Astrodome in 2006:

Buses prepared to bring Superdome refugees to Astrodome, Houston Chronicle (http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/topstory2/3332869)


Texas officials have worked out a plan to bring up to 23,000 refugees from the Superdome to Houston's Astrodome.

The Houston Chronicle has learned hurricane refugees trapped in the Superdome and elsewhere will come to the 40-year-old Astrodome in over 400 buses under plans being put together by state and local officials.

...

The governor's office has been told the Astrodome's events schedule has been cleared through December, and Harris County Judge Robert Eckels said the county would be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

[Autogolazo]

This is probably in lieu of tent cities.

This would bump any renovation for soccer back till who knows when.

Just underscores the fact that there will NOT be soccer in the Astrodome next year.

[anderson]

I have to agree with the conclusion, although, as a practical matter, the renovations that would be necessary for soccer as a short-term option in the Dome wouldn't be all that extensive. It's just going to take a long time to figure out where to house these people in the long-term. The Astrodome is not designed to provide housing for people, but it's probably going to have to do for longer than anyone thinks is advisable. At least it has air conditioning and running water. It's also near the Texas Medical Center if people need medical attention right away.

[fireman451]

Good on you people of Houston for helping out the refugees of New Orleans.

I'm proud to say I'm a native Houstonian these days.

Good luck guys!

[anderson]

Today's Houston Chronicle has an interesting story about what happened to get the Dome ready.

The latest news is that almost everyone will be out of the facility by the end of the week, far sooner than we expected.

http://images.chron.com/content/news/photos/05/09/11/dome.jpg

Building a City: From Dome to Home in 19 Hours (http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/topstory/3347746)

[anderson]

Tuesday's Chron has an article about the NASL reunion game scheduled for this weekend at PHP.

It includes this reference to the NASL in the Astrodome:

More than 26 years after he first stepped into the cavernous confines of the Astrodome and played on a rough, carpet-looking surface called AstroTurf, Horst Bertl recalls one episode in his inaugural season [in 1979] as a Houston Hurricane with particular amusement.

...

"You remember the Astrodome had this big scoreboard, right? Well, we were playing a game, and we scored a goal," said Bertl, then 32 years old. "But it's offsides, so it doesn't count. But no matter what, that thing goes off. And at the same time, these cheerleaders come running down the field doing their tumbling."

All the while, Bertl said, the ball was in play, and the referee had rushed for a free kick.

"Now these cheerleaders are doing their routine in the middle of the field," Bertl said amid laughs. "I was like, 'Get out of here! What are you doing?' It took them a little while to realize what was happening.

"And then I said to myself, 'Welcome to America.' "

Former NASL players turning back the clock (http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/soc/3351202)

[Khan]

Question to the Houstonians:

How prepared are you guys for the next Hurricane? Did W get off his @ss long enough to do something for his fellow Texans? Is the Astrodome still a refugee/evacuee(sp.) camp?

In either case, good luck to you, and be safe. Keep us posted as to what up down there, both for CD Aguilas, and in terms of your city...

[anderson]

Question to the Houstonians:

How prepared are you guys for the next Hurricane? Did W get off his @ss long enough to do something for his fellow Texans? Is the Astrodome still a refugee/evacuee(sp.) camp?

In either case, good luck to you, and be safe. Keep us posted as to what up down there, both for CD Aguilas, and in terms of your city...Thanks for the well wishes. The city seems to be getting back to normal. We obviously weren't actually directly hit by Rita, so there's minimal damage most places.

All of the Katrina evacuees left the Reliant Park complex about a week ago. Reliant Center and the parking lots are being used now as a staging area for Rita relief efforts for East Texas (e.g., Beaumont, Port Arthur) and Louisiana. The Astrodome itself is back to normal operations. This is what the interior of the Dome looked like on 9/17:

http://images.chron.com/content/news/photos/05/09/17/front_dome.jpg

Everyone here - including county officials, UH's athletic department, and local media - has been focused on Rita for the last week, so I doubt there's been any activity on soccer-related matters.