Is NRG Stadium Already Outdated? Matt Young, Chron.com
However, since the stadium opened with the glorious 19-10 win over the Dallas Cowboys in 2002, 10 more NFL stadiums have opened with three more on the way. Suddenly, Reliant Stadium sits in the middle of the pack when comparing stadiums around the league.
The influx of new stadiums could mean Super Bowl LI will be the city's last Super Bowl for a long time.
For those who currently make up the Houston Area Leadership Vacuum, Something! Must be done. And, given Houston's history, that Something! is going to involve spending large sums of money "modernizing" NRG Stadium in the hope that the NFL continues to heap lavish praise and Super Bowls on Houston going forward.
That stories of this type only reinforce Houston's reputation as a sprawling insecurity complex covered with a thin veneer of smog and humidity is totally lost on those who are currently hand-wringing. Also lost will be the fact that this story idea was probably floated, unofficially of course, by the Texans or someone affiliated with them.
In the run-up to the next Houston Super Bowl there have been many articles and statements by both the NFL and the Harris County Sports Authority concerning "upgrades" needed to NRG in order to bring it to current NFL "standards" for the championship game. In some cases these 'upgrades' are going to be financed by taxpayer money and, in fewer cases, the Texans are pitching in.
The problem is that Bob McNair and company are visiting other NFL stadiums in the interim, and they're seeing new amenities and baubles that they would very much like to have. They understand that Houston is a.) sort-of broke right now and b.) not exactly in a giving mood toward the mediocre team on Kirby so they understand that the best way to ensure public buy-in is to start threatening folks with no more Super Bowls.
Imagine, no more "Pimp n' Ho" balls that the general public can't attend, or prostitutes being shipped into town for their industry's big game, or increased public drunkedness, or people writing bad articles about Houston which gets local media types in a lather. Imagine no traffic problems for a game that few, if any, local folks will get to attend.
Then, there's this: NRG was never all that "cutting edge" to begin with. Granted, the stadium itself has nice sight-lines but in all other aspects it's a fairly mundane, boring stadium, sort of like the team that calls it home. The one thing that NRG has going for it is the retractable roof. Of course, the Texans always have that closed so it really is just a waste of money. Sort of like most free agent signings in the team's history if you think about it.
Get ready for an onslaught of musings and articles telling us that NRG must be upgraded at great expense to keep up with the Joneses. To those articles I hope the people of Houston grow a spine and say "No!".
If the gripe is that NRG is suddenly a mediocre NFL stadium, then taxpayers should remind McNair that it's fitting for the NFL's most mediocre team.
