The Houston Oilers departed the Astrodome in 1996, followed three years later by the Astros and while the Eighth Wonder of the World continued to host rodeos and smaller events until it officially closed in 2006, the stadium has become a significant afterthought.
It is one of hundreds of sports venues around the world that sit empty but not yet demolished. These abandoned structures might serve zero purpose but that can make for some incredible photos, as was the case when a few guys snuck into the Astrodome recently. They managed to snap some photos while poking around the joint and threw them on Imgur, including the following description with them:
After making it in through a gap in the fence, we were stunned to find out that we snuck in on led straight onto the field. It’s kind of hard to tell, but you can see that all of the lights were on in the main hallways which we thought was strange, but definitely helped us explore! Let me go ahead and add an edit in here: this was not this year, this was in early 2012. We were NOT in there to vandalize, steal, or damage any property. Just there to see how the ol’ dome was doing! Also, I do not know the current condition of the astrodome and even if it were to be in the same condition as it was when we checked it out I would NOT recommend and do not condone trespassing on private property. I don’t think the building is safe anymore so don’t do it!
