I’ll acknowledge that the Astros have been good for downtown. The neighborhood feels radically different on a Astros game day than at other times. But they play ten times as many home games as the Texans, and don’t have to substantially accommodate tailgating. An NFL stadium would be a firm negative for downtown’s urban development. I would much rather take the rail there and back than have that much additional car-centric infrastructure in my neighborhood. Foot traffic is a positive, car traffic is a firm negative.
Houstonians really don’t care about winning. They care about appearances. They like taking selfies at NFL games. If they cared about winning they would have vacated that monstrous franchise a decade ago.
Why should the rest of us fund that lifestyle?
No one comes to my luxurious office and writes me a “Texans Failure Dividend” check.
Are they really asking for a $2B renovation? That’s such a wild valuation.
Recent New NFL Stadium Costs:
Allegiant Stadium: $1.9B
SoFi Stadium: $3.5B
Tennessee Titans: $2.1B
Chicago Bears: $3.2B
Buffalo Bills: $2.1B
Current/Recent NFL Stadium Renovation Costs:
Dallas: $300M
NOLA Superdome: $550M
Jacksonville: $1.4B (essentially getting a new stadium)
Charlotte: $800M
Kansas City: $800M
Miami: $750M
So some of the oldest venues in the league aren’t even getting a $1B facelift and they want twice that? They’re inflating the numbers. There’s no way a new stadium would need to cost $6B in Houston when the flagship of the NFL was built in Los Angeles for half that.
Allegedly, that number came from the county. A lot of missed maintenance has piled up. It’s just a question of who pays for it and how it gets resolved.
hmmmmmm…
The Titan’s and Texas Rangers are the exception and not the rule, they were tasked with trying to enclose their 25 year old stadiums because they were too cheap to build roofs the first time around and that is where it was cheaper to build new then renovate.
NRG Park and the Texan’s sharing their facilities with such another massive event such as the rodeo is unique, It is closer to having 2 convention centers and a stadium on the same piece of land. I have been 2 events there this month and neither were in the stadium.
I would be curious to see the $2 billion assessment because it mentioned $116 million for a new roof on the stadium and did not even include the Arena which they are already planning to replace… is it like $2 billion is needed over the next 20 years because they did mention they only bring in $60-65 million a year which I would have figured that is what just parking is worth.
It is a fallacy to even think it will cost more money to refurbish NRG than build a new stadium.
Refurbish NRG and refurbish what exactly?
Carpet, paint, roof, lighting, scoreboards.
Faulty concrete in some areas? Sue the the general contractor that built the stadium if some concrete is failing. I do not think they would like the publicity.
Hold the NRG operators accountable. Their job is to keep the stadium in great shape. No excuses for not doing their job.
Hold the Harris honchos responsible for mis management. These honchos have a job. It is not rocket science.
I doubt it will take more than six/seven months to complete.
On what ground do nfl owners have to demand one penny from a community?
Because they know a sucker is there to welcome their money making machine to their city…for 25 years until they/the owner wants a new stadium.
Is this the perfect crime or what?
I think they want suites closer to the field also.
I think they wouldn’t do much at all if the Texans we’re paying. It’s easy to ask and bully the public for money .
They should at least pay half of whatever they ask so they have skin in the game.
I do not think they should be given squat. They/the McNairs approved the stadium renderings, not anybody else. They knew then where the suites would be located. On what grounds are they asking for this? Because Kronke spent $6B’s for SoFi? So now they want an equal stadium toy?
If I’m reading the article correctly (not a dig, I don’t work in the kind of field that would know what a capital expenditure project is) it sounds like it would be $2B over 30 years. Which is about the length of a professional sports lease.
You’re a Cowboys fan, right? lol
It would be the same as an Astros game. They could use the same parking lots and then walk over to the stadium. Also, it wouldn’t just be Texans games but concerts and other events year round.
I was in Jim Crane’s suite for a Texans game once and thought the view was just about perfect. I have heard of the newer stadiums being built more up than out though. To have fans closer.
The HLSR can’t be ignored here. I keep reading about the Texans in this thread, but the rodeo is a massive revenue generator for the county/city. In 2024, they were responsible for $348MM in direct spending at the events and overall $597MM direct/indirect. That is pretty much on par with the Texans’ annual revenues.
What I think should happen is the Texans and HLSR partner together to privatize a bond and look to the county for a percentage of public funding to go towards renovating or replacing in kind and the county is no longer the owner. But part of whatever new deal is agreed upon, someone must assume responsibility on the Astrodome’s fate. Like, there should be an ultimatum on the dome if a $1billion bond is on the table.
Your prob right , I’m tired of this and then ticket prices are sky high then the owner is worth billions.
I think fans would still show up and suites would fill if they simply updated the suites for cheap. I was there for the stones concert a few yrs back and it looked fine.
NRG is much larger than Daikin Park, and also has to accommodate tailgating to an extent that the baseball stadium doesn’t. It would require a much larger footprint. Downtown isn’t and shouldn’t be built for tailgating.
Besides, as previously mentioned, Downtown already sees substantial traffic in its bars and restaurants from NFL fans and others attending events at NRG, especially those staying in hotels for the weekend. It’s already extremely easy to hop on the rail after the game and hit the bars in downtown and midtown, if so inclined.
And all of this is to say nothing of the major boondoggle that would be maintaining a separate facility specifically for the rodeo, which would be impossible (rather than merely difficult) for downtown to accommodate.
The setup wouldn’t have to be exactly like it is at NRG. The fans would adapt. Tailgate in their specific parking lots, hang out at the bars, etc.
Well, they haven’t made noise about a new stadium, and even if they did, it’s not like they’re going to take it to another city. They’ll figure it out and work with NRG.
Unless its 6B for the whole complex renovation like some of those designs that someone posted earlier that include full renovation of the Dome, Arena and Hall as well as NRG.
I guess what I’m not understanding here is the lease agreements with the county for the Texans and HLSR. Are both entities just sh*tty tenants paying low rent and they’ve just been looking the other way on lack of routine maintenance?
If not, wouldn’t a tenant be pestering the landlord to fix the sh*t and throw on a fresh coat of paint once in a while? Or, is some of this shock and awe news chatter a bit hyperbolic?