5 Memorable Events To Happen At The Old Houston Astrodome
Since its construction in 1965 to its closure in 2009, the Houston Astrodome (aka the NRG Astrodome) was one of the biggest stadiums in the whole state of Texas. In its over 40 year span, we've seen some historic events in the world of sports & entertainment.
1. The Astrodome was the home of Selena LIVE!: February 26, 1995. As we've already discussed, that became one of the biggest concerts ever in the state of Texas: over 61k screaming Texas fans witnessed history in what would become Selena's final concert.
2. The 1968 "Game of the Century": No we're talking about chess. This is MUCH more exciting. This was the first televised collegiate basketball game, the 1968 matchup between the UCLA Bruins & the University of Houston Cougars. The Cougars would win 71-69.
The game was significant in the fact that it paved for how college basketball became a television commodity. This game also helped create the "March Madness" that we know today.
3. Elvis's 1970 Performances: We couldn't leave out The King & his historic 1970 performances could we? Course not! Elvis would perform 6 shows for over 200,000 people. He would come back in 1974, but the ones in 1970s are the ones that people talk about with a HUGE amount of fondness.
4. Wrestlemania X-Seven: One of the greatest, if not THE ABSOLUTE BEST Wrestlemania in history, the Houston Astrodome (then called the Reliant Astrodome) was the home of the 2001 Wrestlemania X-Seven (or Wrestlemania 17).
Nearly 68k wrestling fans saw classic match ups like
- Chyna vs Ivory for the Women's Championship
- The Tables, Ladders & Chair Match with The Dudley Boyz vs The Hardy Boyzvs Christian & Edge
- Shane McMahon vs Vince McMahon
- Undertaker vs Triple H
- and of course the WWE Championship match: The Rock vs Stone Cold Steve Austin
5. The 1973 "Battle of the Sexes" Tennis Match: It's a question that has been asked throughout time: "Who's stronger? Men or women?" Well as we found out on September 20, 1973, it was indeed a man... a WOman who stronger. Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in one of the greatest tennis matches in history.
Over 50 MILLION people worldwide tuned in to watch the epic "Battle of the Sexes". It might be a "man's world" but on that day... it was all woman who would reign supreme.
We couldn't possible talk about the Astrodome without mentioning the very first game for the Houston Astros. When they beat the New York Yankees (a feat they would do much more in the future).
Now of course I left off a couple of other great events so... let's take a quick look at some more shall we?
Currently the Astrodome sits in ruin; but many people still are fascinated with its history & have discussed it in great detail. Much greater detail than I could.
While we don't know what's going to happen to the Astrodome, one thing is for certain: we won't forget the great memories made at The 8th Wonder Of The World.