Astrodome

The Houston Astrodome was opened in 1965. It was host to several professional sports teams. It originally opened for the Houston Colt .45's, later renamed the Astros. The Astros would play in the stadium until 1999. The Houston Oilers of the NFL also played in the Dome from 1968 to 1997. Many other special events have also been held there, including the 1971 Final Four, as well as Wrestlemania X-Seven. Wrestlemania broke the attendance record with 67,925. The Dome officially closed in 2004.

After Hurricane Katrina, many evacuees from New Orleans were placed in the Astrodome for shelter. They stayed in the Dome from September 1 until September 16, 2005. Many people want the Astrodome demolished by 2010 to make more parking lots for Reliant Stadium, which is next to the Dome and home to the NFL's Houston Texans.

There have been many notable events that happened during the history of the Dome. The first home run ever hit in the Astrodome came from one of the best to ever play baseball, Mickey Mantle. The home run came in an exhibition game between the Astros and the Yankees. The one time longest postseason game was also played there. The game went sixteen innings, and the Astros lost to the New York Mets 5-3. The record for longest game would be broken at Minute Maid Park, which was the stadium the Astros played in after moving out of the Dome. The game known as the Game of the Century was also played there. It was between the University of Houston Cougars and the UCLA Bruins. This was the game that is credited by many for making college basketball what it is today.