ELVIS PRESLEY INTERVIEW HOUSTON, FEB 1970

The Houston Astrodome was chosen by Colonel Parker to be the first venue for Elvis to perform outside Las Vegas. This was done for several reasons, but none of them was because the place was suitable for a show of the kind Elvis held. 'The Dome' was an enormous hall, built in 1965, the least of its functions being for concerts. Parker was possibly unsure of Elvis' status in the wider world - performing in Las Vegas was something quite different from performing in venues which could seat far larger audiences. The rodeo show at 'The Dome' always attracted thousands of people no matter what. After the concluding show Elvis held a press conference for about 100 journalists at Astroworld.
He declared that he got a big thrill out of the appearance in 'The Dome'.

Elvis checked out of Astroworld wearing a blue Easy Rider-inspired suede jacket and black trousers, taking with him 20 suitcases and 3 guitars - $1.2 million richer than 3 days earlier.