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How old is the Alamodome, and when was it last renovated? Looks like when SA built a new stadium, the NFL turned away, still.
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The Alamodome is a spry teenager at 14 years old.
It has been consistently kept up, but I don't think I'd say it has been renovated. Little improvements are made from time to time to keep it as current as possible (video boards, paint).
Honestly, it's like having a well kept up 1993 Toyota Corolla. With tune-ups, paint jobs, replacement parts, etc. the car can be kept running and quite useful. But put up against a 2007 Corolla, it would look like a piece of junk no matter how well it was kept up.
The average NFL stadium lasts about 30 years, so the Alamodome has reached it's half-life. Texas Stadium, Astrodome, Silverdome, Giants Stadium, Veterans Stadium, and on and on... All of these were once state of the art and are now relics, either replaced are being replaced.
The NFL rejected (rightly) SA in '94 because we weren't an NFL city. We resembled Austin of today - vibrant and dynamic, but not quite to NFL standards. Certainly there were some politics involved as well.