 Reliant Stadium
Houston, TX
When Reliant Stadium
hosted Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004, it marked the first time the
Super Bowl was played at a retractable roof stadium.
Football in the City
of Houston had been a staple since 1960 when the Houston Oilers were
first founded. For over 25 years the Oilers played at the Houston
Astrodome, the first multipurpose dome stadium in the country. By the
mid 1980s the Oilers, owned by Bud Adams, became dissatisfied with the
Astrodome because it was one of the smallest stadiums in the NFL. When
Adams threatened to move the Oilers to Jacksonville in 1987, Houston
officials renovated the Astrodome, adding 10,000 seats and additional
luxury suites. However, Adams was not satisfied for long with the
refurbished stadium. By the 1990s he began to lobby for a new dome
stadium to be built in downtown Houston. In 1993 Adams was willing to
contribute $85 million to a stadium but Houston officials and
residents were not willing to fund a new stadium. Frustrated by the
lack of support for a new stadium, Adams moved the Oilers to
Nashville, TN after the 1996 season where they became the Tennessee
Titans.
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FACTS & FIGURES |
-Tenant:
Houston Texans
-Capacity: 71,500
-Surface: Grass
-Opened: August 24, 2002
-Naming Rights: Reliant Energy, $10Million/year through 2032
-Architect: Populus, HSC
-Cost:
$449 Million
-Public Financing: 43%
-Private Financing: 57%
-Seating
Chart
-Super Bowl XXXVIII - New England vs.
Carolina
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Texans
Tickets |
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Reliant Stadium PhotoMint |
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Spearheaded by
Bob McNair in 1997, the Houston NFL Holdings Group was formed in
order to bring a NFL
franchise back to Houston. The group commissioned HOK Sport to
develop a retractable roof stadium. In 1998, after expanding to 31
teams, the NFL announced that it would further expand to 32 teams in 1999.
Two cities competing for the 32nd team; Los Angeles and
Houston. It appeared that Houston would never land another NFL
team in March 1999, when the league announced that it had selected
Los Angeles as the home of its 32nd franchise. However, this was
contingent on the city and investors working together to develop a
stadium deal. They were unsuccessful and in October 1999 the NFL
rescinded the Los Angeles expansion franchise, awarding it to
Houston.
 Named the Houston
Texans, the new team partnered with the Livestock Show and Rodeo in
building a stadium.
Groundbreaking ceremonies for the new
stadium, built near the Astrodome, began in early 2000.
In October 2000, Reliant Energy purchased the naming rights, thus
the facility was named Reliant Stadium. The Houston Texans played
their first regular season game at Reliant Stadium on September 8,
2002 against the Dallas Cowboys. Reliant Stadium has a seating capacity of
around 69,000, consisting of three main tiers that enclose the
field. A retractable roof was chosen for the stadium, mainly because of
the late summer heat and because the stadium hosts rodeos, that
attract two million people annually.
The roof,
that opens or closes in seven minutes, consists of two sections that meet over
the 50 yard line when it is closed.
When the roof is open, each section is above the seats in the
endzone. Reliant Stadium has many amenities including over 8,200
club seats, 187 luxury suites, club lounges and bars, and a Texans
team store. Although it has only been open for several years,
Reliant Stadium has already been host to one of the biggest games
in football, Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004.
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