Politics After his father, a laundry truck driver, died when he was 16, Hofheinz became the breadwinner for his family. He opened a private law practice shortly after his graduation in 1931, then served in the
Texas House of Representatives from 1935 to 1937 as the youngest person ever elected to the state legislature. In 1952, Hofheinz was elected to the first of two terms as
Mayor of Houston. His son
Fred served as mayor of Houston in the 1970s.
Houston sports and entertainment The Houston Sports Association (HSA) executive committee was formed in 1957 as a syndicate of local businessmen dedicated to bringing a
Major League Baseball franchise to Houston with three founding members: George Kirksey, William Kirkland, and
Craig Cullinan. Cullinan, chair of the HSA, previously had been involved with the failed "
Continental League". Local landowner
R. E. "Bob" Smith and Hofheinz joined HSA in 1959. Previously, Bob Smith had helped Hofheinz win a second term as mayor in 1954. The Colt .45s played their inaugural game on April 10,
1962, the Judge's 50th birthday, beating the
Chicago Cubs 11–2 at the temporary outdoor
Colt Stadium. Smith and Hofheinz were the principal shareholders in HSA by 1965, and Smith became chairman of the board. HSA also was responsible for the development of the
Astrodome, initially known as the Harris County Domed Stadium, the first large covered baseball and football facility in the world; the earliest discussions of a domed stadium in Houston were held at Hofheinz's house. Hofheinz and Smith held 98% of the shares in HSA, buying out Smith in August 1965, which put him in control of HSA. As a concession, Hofheinz allowed Smith to retain a 10% interest. Broadcaster
Gene Elston described Hofheinz as “a great entrepreneur. But he would take up projects and then drop them and move on to other things. And he didn't respect Smith.” The Astrodome initially used clear plexiglass panes to cover the roof and admit light for the special "Tifway 419" Bermuda grass, but several games were lost when fielders would lose sight of the ball from the glare, and the panels were painted white. Later, after the "Dome" was built, he worked with engineers at
Monsanto Corporation to develop
Astroturf, an imitation grass now widely used where natural grass does not flourish. Other landmarks built in the giant southwest Houston development project surrounding the Astrodome, which Hofheinz dubbed the
Astrodomain, included the Astrohall exposition center (billed as the largest one-story convention facility in the world) and the first major theme park in coastal Texas,
AstroWorld, which opened in 1968. In addition, the Astrodomain included a four-hotel complex totaling 970 rooms on Kirby Drive to serve tourists, Astrodome patrons, and theme park guests. In 1967, he purchased, along with
Israel and Irvin Feld, the
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Hofheinz became the circus's chairman of the board starting on November 11, 1967; his son Fred served as vice president. In 1968, the circus announced it would create a second unit to complement the original unit; the second (Blue) unit would also tour but played two shows per day in the AstroHall for thirteen weeks, starting on May 30, 1969, while the original (Red) unit continued to tour. Hofheinz and the Felds sold the circus to
Mattel, Inc. in 1971. He also owned the
Houston Stars professional soccer team, which played in the
United Soccer Association in 1967 and
North American Soccer League in 1968. The Stars team was actually the
Bangu Atlético Clube, imported from
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Erie County Dome Stadium In the late 1960s, Hofheinz became partners with Edward Cottrell, a developer from Buffalo, New York, in an effort to have
Erie County, New York build what would have been the second domed stadium in the world in
Lancaster, just outside Buffalo. The county, Kenford Company, and Dome Stadium, Inc. signed a contract on August 8, 1969. Under the terms of the contract, the overall idea would have been similar to the Astrodome: Kenford would donate land to the county, and the county would construct the domed stadium. Hofheinz formed a corporation, The Dome Stadium, Inc., which would lease the stadium from the county and operate events there for forty years; alternatively, the county could operate the stadium for twenty years, with Kenford and Dome providing management and promotional services. The second alleged the contract had been awarded without competitive bidding; the request for an injunction to block the contract was denied because an exception existed "for services requiring special skill or training". The third alleged the contract violated the state constitution "and effected a waste of county funds"; this argument was also dismissed. In 1970, Erie County narrowly voted to reject the proposed lease, prompting a lawsuit threat from Dome Stadium, Inc. Erie County authorized construction financing of up to $50 million, and the bids for the project totaled more than $70 million, causing the county to pass a resolution in early 1971 declaring an end to its relationship with Kenford/Dome without any legal liability. After the county refused to build the facility, Cottrell and Hofheinz began what became a 20-year breach of contract litigation seeking hundreds of millions of dollars of lost profits and damages. After an initial favorable jury verdict, Dome Stadium, Inc.'s claims ultimately were dismissed following one of the longest jury trials in New York history. Cottrell would eventually receive a $10.2 million settlement in September 1989, but faced a separate lawsuit filed by Hofheinz's widow, Mary Frances, who had paid for the lawyers and expert witnesses in their suit against the county. Plans for the stadium were recovered in 2015 and displayed publicly.
Stroke and Astrodomain sale After his stroke on May 14, 1970, Hofheinz consolidated his properties in the Astrodome area under the Astrodomain Corporation. Judge Hofheinz and his family were the sole owners of the Astrodomain Corporation; there were four subsidiary companies: Astroworld USA Inc., Astroworld Hotel Corporation, Astrodome/Astrohall Stadium Corporation, and Houston Sports Association Inc. The Hofheinz family was the sole owner of each subsidiary aside from HSA; 98% of HSA stock was held by the Hofheinz family, and 1% each were held by Earl Allen and the Beck Estate. Hofheinz's ill health led to rumors the Astrodomain was for sale in August 1970. However, the Astrodomain came at hard times just before the recession during the early 1970s. Hofheinz personally controlled 50% of the Astrodomain Corporation, and the other half was held in trust for his three children as an inheritance from their mother, Dene. By that time, the
Six Flags Corporation had entered a long-term lease to operate the AstroWorld theme park. The Astrodomain hotels were sold to Servico in May 1976. Hofheinz sold his remaining shares of the Astrodomain to GE and Ford in September 1976, retaining an option to buy it back within a year. Ford bought out the remaining GE shares in November 1978. In his time as owner (part or fulltime) from 1962 to 1975, Hofheinz saw the Astros have a winning record just twice. ==Legacy==