Reliant Stadium History
The city of Houston has always been on the cutting edge of stadium development. Houston first introduced the Astrodome, which opened in 1965 as the world's first dome stadium. The trend continued in 2002 with the debut of Reliant Stadium.
Reliant Stadium, the first NFL stadium with a retractable roof, opened for business on Aug. 24, 2002, as the Texans hosted the Miami Dolphins in their first home preseason game. Houston's regular season debut against Dallas on Sept. 8 was televised nationally on ESPN. The Texans stunned the Cowboys before a raucous crowd, unveiling a gameday atmosphere that would become a staple throughout the Texans' inaugural campaign.
Counting preseason contests, the Texans have played to 30 consecutive sellouts and set a team record in 2004 with 565,192 fans during the regular season, an average of 70,649 per game. The Texans' largest crowd to date was 70,769 in their prime time showdown with the Green Bay Packers last November, the largest non-Super Bowl crowd in the city's history.
And speaking of the Super Bowl, the world's biggest sports spectacle returned to Houston for the first time in 30 years in February 2004 as Reliant Stadium hosted a memorable Super Bowl XXXVIII between the New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers. The Patriots won 32-29 on Adam Vinatieri's 41-yard field goal with four seconds remaining before a raucous crowd of 71,525. The event also featured elaborate pregame and halftime shows featuring the likes of Aerosmith, Beyonce, Kid Rock, Janet Jackson, P. Diddy, Nelly, Toby Keith and Willie Nelson.
Reliant Stadium has also played host to numerous college football games, including two Houston Bowls and the 2002 Big 12 Championship Game. The stadium has also become one of the nation's leading soccer venues. The U.S. National Soccer Team hosted Mexico in May 2002 in the two teams' first match since their 2002 World Cup meeting. Earlier this year, Reliant Stadium hosted the championship matches of the Mexican League's InterLiga qualification competition.
The Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo continued to play to a packed house in 2005, boasting such acts as Alicia Keys, Hilary Duff, Maroon 5, Brooks & Dunn and Clint Black. Reliant Stadium has also played host to The Rolling Stones, Metallica, Disney on Ice and the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
Ground broke on Reliant Stadium on March 9, 2000. The stadium, covering 1.9 million square feet, features 44,000 seats on the sideline. There are 8,200 club seats and 187 suites. The suites are the closest to the field in the NFL.
With the innovation of the retractable roof, Houston returned to outdoor NFL action in 2002 for the first time since Super Bowl VIII at Rice Stadium in 1974. The roof is made of translucent Teflon-coated fiberglass fabric, and takes 10 minutes to open and close. When opening, the roof splits at the 50-yard line and docks in the end zones. The roof can withstand winds as strong as 140 miles per hour when closed and secured. Six of the 16 Texans games have been played with the roof closed, as was Super Bowl XXXVIII.
The climate-controlled stadium also features a natural grass-playing surface. The grass is grown on eight-foot square trays then transported to the stadium.
Reliant Stadium features an open view of the playing field from the main concourse and on the club level. The main concourse is 40 feet wide, which makes it the largest in the NFL. Each concession stand has multiple televisions enabling fans to stay on top of the action.
Reliant Stadium can also boast a larger than life scoreboard. Following the trend that was started with the Astrodome scoreboard, Reliant Stadium houses two of the largest in the league. Both include out of town scores, down and distance, the game clock and a host of other traits. The video boards are the largest in the NFL.
The front office is located on the south end of the stadium, enabling the club's day-to-day operations to be under one roof. The 10,000-square-foot weight room is the largest in the league. The players can also take advantage of a three-lane lap pool.
Houston's working media has its own offices and library on the ground level of Reliant Stadium. Post-game press conferences are held in one of the team's two media auditoriums on the ground level. The stadium's press box is located on the eighth level of the stadium's west side, flanking Kirby Drive.
Across the street, the training facility features three grass practice fields. One field is lit for night sessions during training camp. There is also an indoor practice field outfitted with Field Turf. The air-supported structure offers teams a seamless transition from outdoor to indoor practice in case of inclement weather.
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Reliant Stadium: Information and history. |
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Texas Gridiron Legends |
Like a true Texas hero, Ray Rice donned a white cowboy hat after leading Rutgers
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Rice ran for 170 yards and a touchdown, Tim Brown caught two TD passes and the 16th-ranked Scarlet Knights won a bowl game for the first time... Read the full story.
