The current name was adopted three years later when they moved into the Astrodome, the world's first domed sports stadium.

The attendance was high not because of the team accomplishments, but because people came from miles around to see the Astrodome.

Just as the excitement was settling down over the Astrodome, the 1966 season found something new to put the domed stadium in the spotlight once again – the field.

With the $ 38 million deficit of the Astrodome, control of the Astrodomain was passed from Judge Roy Hofheinz to GE Credit and Ford Motor Credit.

1976 saw the end of Larry Dierker's playing career as an Astro, but before it was all over he would throw a no-hitter and win the 1, 000th game in the Astrodome.

It must be noted that Howard Cosell was announcing the play by play on TV, and the fans in the Astrodome were so loud in their chant of " Hou .. Ston .. As ... tros ", that the TV cameras literally shook to the beat and Cosell could not hear himself speak.

After the Astrodome was renovated for the primary benefit of the Houston Oilers, the Astros began to grow increasingly disenchanted with the facility.

By the mid-1990s, McLane ( like McMullen before him ) wanted his team out of the Astrodome and was asking the city to build the Astros a new stadium.

This was also the first Super Bowl played in a stadium that was not the current home to an NFL or AFL team, as no team had called Rice Stadium home since the Houston Oilers moved into the Astrodome.

In 1985, he was fatally injured while attempting to re-create the Niagara drop at the Houston Astrodome.

His aim was to climb into a barrel hoisted to the rafters of the Astrodome and to drop into a water tank on the floor.

The first such stadium was the Astrodome in Houston, Texas.

As was the case with other cities where this dual approach was tried ( other examples include RFK Stadium in Washington, D. C .; Shea Stadium in New York City, the Astrodome in Houston ; Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta ; Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis ; Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati ; and Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh ), the fundamentally different sizes and shapes of the playing fields made the stadium inadequate to the needs of either sport.

Hofheinz claimed inspiration for what became the Astrodome when he was on a tour of Rome, where he learned that the builders of the ancient Colosseum installed giant velaria to shield spectators from the Roman sun.

The Astrodome was conceived by Hofheinz as early as 1952 when he and his daughter Dene were rained out once too often at Buffalo Stadium, home of Houston's minor league baseball affiliate, the Houston Buffs.

The Astrodome was later designed by architects Hermon Lloyd & W. B.

Throughout its history, the Astrodome was known as a pitcher's park.

Ironically — given the fact that it is an indoor stadium, even more so because a new roof was installed before the 1976 season — the Astrodome suffered a rainout on June 15, 1976.

The Houston Astrodome was well-renowned for a four-story scoreboard called the " Astrolite ", composed of thousands of light bulbs that featured numerous animations.

* The Houston Astrodome was the opening event for the AMA Grand National Championship for 18 years, beginning in 1968.

The first Astrodome Supercross winner was Jim Pomeroy.

The 1992 Republican National Convention was held at the Astrodome in August of that year.

Houston's plan to host the 2012 Summer Olympic Games included renovating the Astrodome for use as a main stadium.

Until 2002, Reliant Astrodome was also the host of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the largest of its kind in the world.

The University of Houston continued to host home football games there from 1946 to 1950 before moving to Houston Stadium in 1951 and then to the Astrodome in 1965.

As manager of the defending AL champions, the Kansas City Royals, Howser managed the 1986 All-Star Game at the Astrodome in Houston.

Wednesday, October 8, 1986 at Astrodome in Houston, Texas

Thursday, October 9, 1986 at Astrodome in Houston, Texas

Wednesday, October 15, 1986 at Astrodome in Houston, Texas

In the All-Star Game itself, he stretched for a ball while playing first base and slipped on the Astrodome turf, rupturing his left medial hamstring.

The Astrodome has been the home of many other special events, including the Republican National Convention, the NBA All-Star Game, and World Wrestling Federation ( WWF ) WrestleMania X-Seven.

Doran never made an All-Star team, but was extraordinarily popular at The Astrodome and admired for his hustle and ferocity, reminiscent of another Cincinnati native — Pete Rose.

* All-Star Game, July 15 at the Astrodome: American League, 3-2 ; Roger Clemens, MVP

* All-Star Game, July 9 at the Astrodome: National League, 1 – 0 ; Willie Mays, MVP

* January 20 – Houston defeats UCLA 71-69 at the Houston Astrodome in what is billed as " The Game of the Century ".

On January 20, 1968, TVS put together the " Game of the Century " ( see below ) between the UCLA Bruins and Houston Cougars basketball teams at the Houston Astrodome.

Chaney played all 40 minutes of the famed " Game of the Century " at the Astrodome.

In fact, so dominating was Scott against the Mets ' batting order in those two games that Game 6 was considered something of a " must win " for the Mets ' pennant hopes ; a Game 6 loss to the Astros would have meant that New York would again face an apparently unbeatable Mike Scott in a deciding Game 7 in the Astrodome.

In front of a record 52, 693 fans at the Houston Astrodome, Hayes scored 39 points and had 15 rebounds while limiting Alcindor to just 15 points as Houston beat UCLA 71 – 69 to snap the Bruins ' 47-game winning streak in what has been called the " Game of the Century ".

Leyritz hit a number of unlikely playoff home runs and clutch hits that season, the most dramatic of which was an opposite field home run against Billy Wagner to off the right field foul pole in the top of the 9th inning in the Astrodome that tied Game 2 of the National League Division Series against the Houston Astros.

This style of baseball, known as Whiteyball, took advantage of stadiums with deep fences and artificial turf, both of which were characteristics of the Astrodome.

The only other stadiums whose final games came in the post-season are Atlanta Fulton County Stadium ( 1996 ), the Houston Astrodome ( 1999 ) and St. Louis's Busch Memorial Stadium ( 2005 ), all of which were home venues for National League teams.

The Astrodome was joined by a new neighbor in 2002, the retractable-roofed Reliant Stadium, which was built to house Houston's new NFL franchise, the Houston Texans.

Reliant Stadium is part of a collection of venues ( including the Reliant Astrodome ), which are collectively called Reliant Park.

Many, if not most, purists also dislike the use of artificial turf instead of real grass on the playing field, which was introduced in 1965, and the use of a domed or other indoor playing facility ( also introduced in 1965, with the opening of the Astrodome in Houston ).

A flamboyant and successful orator, broadcaster, developer and sportsman, he was part of the group that created a Major League Baseball franchise the Houston Colt. 45s ( which later became the Houston Astros ) to Houston, as well as built the Harris County Domed Stadium, known as the Astrodome, the first large covered baseball and football facility in the world.

) Some would say that the relative success of this game, which was staged for several years, helped lead to the domed stadium era which began with the opening of the Houston Astrodome in 1965.

The Hans Jayanti of 1973, which was named " Millennium ' 73 ", was held in the Houston Astrodome.

The last of them was a 3 – 2 complete game over the Cardinals at the Astrodome on June 25, in which he ptiched a career-high 15 strikeouts.

In 1968 Adams moved his team into the Astrodome, which since 1965 had been the home of the Houston Astros of baseball's National League.

Three Rivers Stadium was similar in design to other stadiums built in the 1960s and 1970s, such as Riverfront Stadium, the Houston Astrodome, and Busch Memorial Stadium, which were designed as multi-purpose facilities to maximize efficiency.

These pitchers benefited from raised pitching mounds, the increased use of specialized relief pitchers, an expanded strike zone, and new stadiums, including Shea Stadium, Dodger Stadium and the Astrodome, that were pitcher's parks, which suppressed offensive production.

This film is remembered for the scene in which Coach Leak leads the Astrodome crowd in the chant " Let them play!

The official names of those arenas also often included the word " Stadium ," such as the Houston Astrodome, whose formal name was " Harris County Domed Stadium " in 1965 ; the Kingdome, whose formal name was " King County Domed Stadium ," and the Metrodome, for which the Minneapolis highway signs direct the driver to " Metrodome Stadium.

This leads to the large chamber, the Astrodome, which houses a large colony of bats.

* August 16,: In the first inning of a game against the Houston Astros at the Astrodome, Madlock was ejected for arguing with umpire Art Williams on a close play at first base in which Madlock was called out.