| Houston
Texans - Reliant Stadium |
| Address: |
Two Reliant Park
Houston, TX 77054 |
|
| Name: |
Reliant Stadium |
| Home Team:
|
Houston Texans |
| Capacity:
|
69,500 |
| Playing
Surface: |
Grass |
| Year Opened:
|
2002 |
|
Home of the Houston Texans,
Reliant Stadium was the first of its kind in the NFL, with a
retractable roof when it opened in September 2002. Prior to
1997, Houston had a NFL franchise, the Houston Oilers. After
thirty years of playing in Houston, TX at the Astrodome, the
Oilers began demanding that a new football only stadium be built
in the mid 1990’s. After numerous attempts to get a stadium
failed, the team decided to move to Nashville, TN after the
1996 season. Once the Oilers left for Nashville, a group including
Bob McNair, got HOK sport to design a new retractable roof stadium,
that could help lure a team back to Houston. In 1999, convinced
by the Houston group, the NFL awarded the area a new franchise,
the Houston Texans to begin playing in 2002. The
Texans partnered with the Livestock Show and Rodeo in building
a stadium. Groundbreaking ceremonies for the new stadium,
which was 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
capacity of around 69,000, in three main tiers of seats that
enclose the field. A retractable roof was chosen for the stadium
because of the late summer heat and because the stadium will
host rodeos, that bring in an annual 2 million people. The
roof 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 7,000 club seats, 166 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, the 2004 Super Bowl.
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