Since 2017, the Houston Astros have enjoyed their most successful stretch in franchise history.
Watching an Astros baseball game in downtown Houston continues to be the thing to do during the summer months.
Now, the game will just become the icing on an entertaining cake as the area next to Minute Maid Park will soon transform into a district filled with hotels and entertainment venues.
“We know that we will be designing and building it not just for the Astros, but for the city of Houston and the convention center,” said Greg Kibbe, the team’s senior vice president and general counsel.
Kibbe said this will transform the Space City’s downtown area as stakeholders continue to breathe new life into the central business district.
Journalist Chandler France of Houston Business Journal reported, “The project—a 17-story, 300-key hotel plus approximately 60,000 square feet of retail and entertainment space—is expected to generate $5.7 billion in economic impact over 20 years…
“The project is expected to cost $327 million, Kibbe said. The Astros have requested economic development incentives from the city of Houston similar to what was approved in January 2020 for the proposed W Hotel and provided to the Marriot Marquis downtown. Houston First Corp. approved an estimated $42.6 million in state and local tax rebates for the W Hotel project just before the pandemic, while Houston City Council provided nearly $138 million in economic development incentives and tax rebate agreements for the Marriot Marquis, which opened in December 2016.”
The Astros plan to begin construction on their mixed-use development in 2025.
Construction will last three years.
The Houston-based company Hines is developing the project, while HKS Architects out of Dallas will create the master plan for the mixed-use project.
Astros owner Jim Crane purchased the team in 2011.
Since that time, the team has acquired multiple pieces of land.
Their purchases over the years now total 2.27 acres on the southeast corner of Minute Maid Park.
Currently, the parcels of land are used as parking lots, bordering Texas Avenue, Hamilton Street, Capital Street and Avenida de las Americas, which is the street that George R. Brown Convention Center is located.
Crane initially told the Houston Business Journal about his plan for a mixed-use project in 2023.
The Astros began putting the wheels in motion for their project after seeing similar developments around baseball ballparks in Atlanta, St. Louis and Denver.
The Astros see the project as a 365-day-a-year sporting venue.
Kibbe said, “It’s something where we didn’t come up with the idea, but we saw other people doing it and we felt like it would be great for downtown Houston.”
The franchise has long committed to continuously improving Minute Maid Park and the area around the stadium.
Over the past 12 years, the Astros have invested $100 million into the team’s downtown facilities.
That total excludes rental payments for the ballpark or repairs and upgrades.
In 2018, one season after the team won its first World Series, the Astros extended their Minute Maid Park lease to run through 2050, making downtown its home for the foreseeable future.
Kibbe added, “From day one, Jim was focused on improving this area to make it an attractive place for fans to come to. We’re in the entertainment business. We’re competing for people’s spare time, so we try to make this the best experience that we can make it.”
And after a slow start to the 2024 season under new skipper Joe Espada, the 2022 World Series champions have begun to resemble the teams that challenged for championships during their recent dynastic run.
Though ravished with injuries to stars like outfielder Kyle Tucker and pitchers Justin Verlander and Lance McCullers, new stars like outfielder Joey Loperfido and pitcher Ronel Blanco have stepped in to fill the void.
Meanwhile the Astros’ neighbors on the southside of town have seen a recent resurgence in success and popularity.
The Houston Texans, with stars like quarterback C.J. Stroud and defensive end Will Anderson, Jr., are a threat to challenge in the NFL’s American Football Conference.
Simultaneously, Harris County, Texas officials are still attempting to breathe new life into the NRG Astrodome.
The world’s first domed stadium has sat empty since Hurricane Katrina survivors from the New Orleans area found refuge in the Dome in 2005.
Some have suggested that the former “Eighth Wonder of the World” could be used as a mixed-use entertainment facility, or even a facility for the popular Houston Livestock and Rodeo.
If repurposed into an entertainment district, the Astrodome could become the hang out spot for people going to Texans games or those just looking to be close to the action on Sundays.
Additionally, some Texans fans have wished that the land across the street from NRG Stadium, that once served as home to the amusement park Six Flags Astroworld, could get transformed into an area like City Centre on Houston’s west side.
City Centre is home to upscale hotels, restaurants, shopping centers and a movie theater.
Fans from out of town could occupy potential hotels on the former Astroworld land and walk or take a trolley to the NRG Stadium parking lot for games.
Many Houstonians believe that will attract even more big events to H-Town.
Houston is often in regular rotation for the Super Bowl and Men’s Final Four.
The city will soon host games for soccer’s World Cup.
If the land across the street from NRG Stadium ever gets redeveloped, both the Texans and the Astros’ stadiums will become the place to hang every day of the year in “Space City.”
