( CNN ) -- Is the dome doomed ? Voters may have given the Astrodome , Houston 's iconic and once cutting-edge stadium , the kiss of death . It 's too early to write an obituary for the structure once deemed the `` Eighth Wonder of the World , '' but the defeat of the bond initiative Tuesday night stacks the odds against the dome . Voters in Harris County were given a voice on whether to issue $ 217 million in bonds to transform the deteriorating structure into a mammoth exhibition and event space . The county owns the Astrodome , and its commissioners had warned that if the measure did not pass , the only course left would be to demolish it . The proposition was rejected by a 53 % -47 % vote . Harris County Judge Ed Emmett `` said that with voters rejecting the only viable public option and no viable private option on the table , there 's little choice but to demolish the dome , '' the judge 's spokesman , Joe Stinebaker , said . However , nothing can happen until the county commission meets and votes to go ahead with the demolition . The item has not been added to the commission 's agenda , but it could happen as early as next Tuesday . A majority of the commissioners had said that if the proposition failed , that they would favor demolition . 6 imperiled and extinct sports sites . Nostalgia not lacking . Whether they voted for or against the measure to save the Astrodome , Houstonians share a nostalgia for the stadium . Completed in 1965 , it was the first domed stadium in the world and was deemed a remarkable feat of engineering . The dome was the primary home of the Houston Astros and the Houston Oilers , in addition to hosting rodeos , concerts and other events . Stephen Chmaitelli , 38 , remembers being dropped off at the Astrodome with his friends as children and catching a ball game before walking to the nearby ( and now defunct ) Astroworld theme park . `` It was a fun way to spend your days during the summer , '' he said . `` There are just so many memories there . '' Chmaitelli voted in favor of saving the dome based on the renderings he saw of the kind of space the new dome would be . The space would make it bigger than the city 's convention center , and the redesign would retain the feel of the old stadium while modernizing it . Remodeling made economic sense , he said : The county could not buy land in such a prime location and erect a structure of such ambition for such a good price . The Astrodome was always a symbol of pride for the city , said Bowen Shepard , a 32-year-old Houston native . But he voted against the resolution because the structure had already begun to fall into disrepair years ago . The dome looked outdated sitting next to the more modern Reliant Stadium , and fixing it up just did n't seem worth the cost , he said . `` Everything has its time , and everything 's time comes to an end , '' he said . Endangered building . Months before the vote , before it was even announced that a vote would be held , the National Trust for Historic Preservation included the Astrodome on its yearly list of `` 11 Most Endangered Historical Places . '' On the same day that the Harris County revitalization proposal was floated , the trust named the dome one of 35 `` national treasures '' in the country . The designation meant that the trust put its resources to work in an attempt to save the Astrodome . `` We 're disappointed this morning , '' Beth Wiedower , a senior field officer for the trust , said the day after the vote . `` I think ( the outcome ) was less of a comment on the value of the building , the heritage associated with it and more the confusion that surrounded the Astrodome these last years , '' she said . For the past five years , the Astrodome has been essentially vacant . The electricity and water are still on , but it is unoccupied and used mostly for storage . It costs the county an estimated $ 2 million to $ 3 million to maintain it , the county said . Several ideas from the private sector have appeared over the years , but nothing with funding . As ideas have come and gone , Wiedower believes that many voters misunderstood that Tuesday 's vote may have been a definitive move on the building 's fate . Now that the votes have been cast and the Astrodome is in serious jeopardy , Wiedower predicted there will be a great number of Houstonians who will regret the loss of the stadium . If the city indeed has a change of heart at this point , the only way out might be for a `` white knight '' from the private sector to swoop in with a plan , said Stinebaker , the county judge 's spokesman .
Voters rejected a proposal to remodel and save the Astrodome . The vote means that the historic stadium is likely to be demolished . The Astrodome had been labeled a national treasure .