After the original natural grass playing surface died, the Astrodome became the first major sports venue to install artificial turf in 1966, which became known as AstroTurf.

It was thought a covered stadium was a must for a major league team to be viable in Houston due to the area's subtropical climate and hot summers.

Hofheinz claimed inspiration for what became the Astrodome from a tour of Rome, where he learned that the builders of the ancient Colosseum installed a giant velarium (fabric awning) to shield spectators from the sun.

Growing purplish, the commissioner blustered that "People by God ought to start calling it by its right name: The Harris County Domed Stadium!!"

With the temperate grace of a statesman he smiled amicably, puffed his cigar and added, "But the World is gonna know it as the Astrodome."

Project designer Jack Foster teamed up with a creative professional based in Kansas City to create the first animated scoreboard.

The air conditioning system was designed by Houston mechanical engineers Israel A. Naman and Jack Boyd Buckley of I.

The multi-purpose stadium, designed to facilitate both football and baseball, is nearly circular and uses movable lower seating areas.

To test what effect the enclosed air-conditioned environment might have on the delivery of breaking balls, Satchel Paige, in full Astros uniform, threw the first pitches at the Astrodome on February 7, 1965.

[19] The seven-floor apartment was adjacent to the right field bleachers and included a shooting gallery, a bowling alley, a chapel, and a presidential suite.

President Lyndon B. Johnson and his wife Lady Bird were in attendance, as well as Governor John Connally and Mayor Louie Welch.

He and Lady Bird watched the opening night game from behind the glass in Judge Hofheinz's private box high in the right field just to the right of the giant scoreboard.

Although the president's visit overshadowed all others, dignitaries swarmed through the "Eighth Wonder of the World" during the three days of the exhibition series and for opening night against the Phillies on April 12.

The Astros' scheduled game against the Pittsburgh Pirates was called when massive flooding in the Houston area prevented all but a few fans from reaching the stadium.

On August 19, 1995, a scheduled preseason game between the Oilers and the San Diego Chargers had to be canceled due to the dilapidated condition of the playing field.

By September 16, 2005, the last of the hurricane evacuees living in the Astrodome had been moved out either to the neighboring Reliant Arena or to permanent housing north of Houston.

[39] In June 2013, a comprehensive plan was unveiled that would have seen the aging structure undergo an almost $200 million renovation into a multi-purpose event/convention facility.

The measure would have to have been approved first through a bond election in Harris County for the publicly funded project to go forward or else, officials warned, the iconic structure would be demolished.

[41] On November 5, 2013, voters in Houston turned down a $213 million referendum to renovate and convert the Astrodome into a state-of-the-art convention center and exhibition space known as "New Dome Experience".

The new concept centered around leaving the Dome's roof intact and converting the Astrodome's vast central space into a covered semi-climate-controlled city park that could have flexible uses for both public recreation and gatherings such as festivals and concerts.

The remainder of the complex would have been redeveloped over time using a combination of public and private funds and include elements such as an educational exploration area to encourage students to learn about the sciences and engineering and possibly meeting, exhibition, and restaurant areas that would not only serve the general public, but could also add value to the Houston Texans' Game Day Experiences and be used by the Rodeo.

A key element of this proposal centered around the ability for the county to proceed with the initial phases of the project using existing funds without having to seek voter approval for an expensive bond referendum.

The Battle of the Sexes tennis match occurred on September 20, 1973, aired on ABC with Billie Jean King defeating Bobby Riggs in three straight sets.

USAC held the Astro Grand Prix as part of the National Midget Championship in the Astrodome on a temporary 1⁄4-mile dirt oval—which was called the Eighth Wonder International Motor Speedway.

[68] The Astrodome was renowned for its four-story "Astrolite" scoreboard, composed of thousands of light bulbs that featured animation.

There was not enough for the entire outfield, so the first phase covered only the traditional grass portion of the infield and foul territory,[80] at a cost of $2 per square foot.

The Astros completed a seven-game home stand on Wednesday, July 6, then went on a road trip on both sides of the All-Star break.

The installation of the outfield portion of AstroTurf was completed for the three-game series with the Phillies starting on Tuesday, July 19, finally covering the entire field.

The artificial turf fields of Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and San Francisco, all installed in 1970, were traditionally configured like the Astrodome and later changed to sliding pits.

Rogers Centre in Toronto was the last park in the majors to have sliding pits; it opened in 1989 and switched to a traditional dirt skin infield in 2016.