The Astrodome is likely to be demolished after Texas voters on Tuesday rejected a referendum that would have authorized up to $217 million in bonds to turn the stadium into a giant convention and event center.

"We can't allow the once-proud Astrodome to sit like a rusting ship in the middle of a parking lot. This was the best effort (to revamp the stadium), and voters have turned it down," Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said.

Fifty-three percent voted against the referendum.