Sky’s the Limit
Replacing the "Eighth Wonder of the World"
By David Manica

When the Astrodome opened on April 9, 1965, spectators had never seen anything like it before. It stood proud as the world’s first all-weather, multi-purpose domed stadium, boasting cushioned seats, 53 futuristic "Skyboxes," and a magnificent $2 million scoreboard featuring visual extravaganzas, cartoons and helpful instructions for fans. Over 4,500 semi-transparent skylights allowed sunlight to filter down to help the real grass playing field to grow. To make the conversion from football to baseball, 10,000 field level seats would rotate on tracks to either follow the foul lines of the baseball diamond or parallel the sidelines of the football field. The roof structure, with a clar span of 642 feet, was twice that of any previous structure. It is no wonder why this awesome building was immediately billed "The Eighth Wonder of the World."

During the first season of play in the Astrodome, it was realized that the sharp contrast between the lighting on the field and the acrylic skylights made fly balls too difficult to see. The ceiling tiles were quickly painted opaque, and as a result the grass died almost immediately. This series of events prompted the invention of plastic grass most commonly called Astroturf. The new material was laid down for Opening Day, 1966.

Aging gracefully

The Astrodome held its own for many years, but in the mid 1980s and 1990s, with the advent of the stadium boom, the dome certainly began to show its age. Still an awesome structure to behold, the stadium was not responding to the new needs in sports design. The concourses were too dark and grossly undersized by modern standards. The sightlines of the circular seating bowl were recognized as inadequate. The quality of the luxury suites could not compete with the new more modern facilities. After years of playing on both artificial and natural turfs around the country, teams had begun to prefer the natural turf. There was a move to get back outside - under the sun or stars - and enjoy the game "as it was meant to be."

Stadium Comparison Stadium Comparison Description Astrodome Reliant Stadium Total Seats  62,500  71,500 Number of Suites  119 187 Distance from suites to sideline  Lower Suites  Upper Suites  225 ft.  275 ft.  130 ft.  178 ft. Quantity of sideline seating  28,200  44,000 Club Seats None  8,200 Schedule (Year ready for NFL) N/A 2002 Full Rodeo Compliance  No Yes Parking (20,000 spaces)  Yes  24,000  Yes  24,000 to 26,000 Full NFL Compliance  No Yes Major League Soccer Compliance  No Yes Olympic/Pan Am Games Compliance  No Yes Natural Grass  No Yes Retractable Roof No Yes Proximity to Exhibition Space Yes Yes

Eventually, Houston’s Oilers football team left the city, and the Houston Astros began constructing a new retractable roof baseball stadium downtown. The only full time tenant remaining in the Astrodome in the mid-to-late-1990s was the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (HLS&R). This event happens annually from mid February until early March. During this period, nearly two million people come to the site and an annual revenue of $45 million is generated.

In late 1997, almost as soon as the Oilers had left Houston, the Houston NFL Holdings group came to HOK Sport to begin the schematic design for the first-ever NFL retractable roof football stadium. Bob McNair, a self-made multi-billionaire, would provide the ways and means to get football back to Houston. The NFL had indicated that it would add an additional franchise team for a total of 32 teams. The leading candidates for the new team were Los Angeles and Houston. Bob McNair joined forces with the powerful rodeo organization to begin designing a building that would perfectly accommodate both uses.

In September 1999, after negotiating a $700 million franchise fee, the NFL owners granted the 32nd franchise to Houston with the added assurance of the Super Bowl in 2004. After adding the cost of the stadium and other items, the deal was for well over one billion dollars.

Interestingly, the program requirements of both football and rodeo are very similar. In fact, except for a series of additional requirements, the perfect football stadium would be the perfect rodeo facility. The intention from the start was to create a football stadium that would operate like an open-air facility but have the intimacy and comfort of an indoor arena. With the compact design for football and the additional square footage requirements of the rodeo, the building is hovering around the 1.9 million square foot range.

Design needs

The Houston based architectural firms of Hermes Reed Architects (HRA) and Lockwood, Andrews and Newnam (LAN) teamed to create the Houston Stadium Consultants (HSC). The HSC, with the design leadership of HOK Sport, set out to design the replacement of the Eighth Wonder of the World.

From the design’s inception, many of the driving concepts for the stadium hinged on offering superior amenities to the spectator. Like the Astrodome on its opening day, this building will be unlike any other stadium spectators will have seen before.

While many of the new baseball stadiums look back nostalgically for inspiration, Reliant Stadium has its eye on the future. It will be creating a new history for football in Houston and redefining the largest rodeo in the world. It was obvious that this building needed to reflect the spirit of sports and entertainment in the new Millennium.

Although thoughts of Texas may conjure up images of cowboys on open plains, Houston is actually a boomtown - finding its roots in the 1960s with the dawn of NASA and the space race. Today, it is a multi-nodal epicenter of technology, medicine, industry, banking and space exploration. The design of Reliant Stadium would capture the essence of this hi-tech history, as well as the sense of adventure that is uniquely Texan.

The first NFL retractable

One of the most notable aspects of the design is the unique operable fabric roof. While the NFL teams prefer to play their games in open-air stadiums, the HLS&R, because of its winter event schedule, has strict requirements to hold its events indoors under more controlled environments. As a result of these two opposing ideals, the need for a retractable roof was apparent from the start. The NFL could also take advantage of the roof during the hot preseason and early season home games in southern Texas by offering a fully air-conditioned stadium for the spectators.

After studying multiple roof schemes, a distinctly simple solution was pursued for cost and maintenance reasons. The operable roof consists of two large panels that bi-part at the 50-yard line. Each panel slides on a track and rests over each end zone on two massive supertrusses that span the length of the field. Walter P. Moore structural engineers, Uni-Systems, and Birdair united as one design team to engineer the concept. In order to keep the weight down, resulting in less overall cost, the decision was made to skin the upper roof with Birdair fabric. The fabric roof provides a structurally light solution that will enable the team to keep steel tonnages to a minimum. The translucency provides the ambient sunlight to help the natural grass playing field to be maintained. Furthermore, since matinee black-out requirements were negligible, the filtered sunlight would only serve to enhance the daytime events in the building.

The fabric panels are stretched between triehord trusses using prestressed cables. The two retractable roof panels, each consisting of five parallel triehord trusses, open about the centerline of the field in a direction parallel to the sidelines. Two additional fixed trichord trusses anchor the noth and south endzones at an elevation just below the retractable panels. The trichord trusses, nominally 30ft deep at midspan, span approximately 385 feet across the playing field. The 10 retractable trichord trusses ride along a single rail anchored to the top of the tapered longspan supertrusses, one along each sideline of the playing field. The supertrusses, tapering between 50ft deep at midspan and 72ft at the end supports, are supported by and structurally integral with four giant reinforced support columns or "supercolumns" - one at each corner of the field. The supertrusses, spanning approximately 675ft between supports, have a trapezoid-shaped cross section with a concrete slab at the top edge providing support for the rails and the retractable roof mechanization. The supertrusses also cantilever over the top of the supporting supercolumns approximately 125ft on each end providing support for the rolling roof panels in their retracted position.

Engineering on the move

One of the many unique characteristics of the roof system is found in the detail at which the trichord trusses are supported and connected to the supertrusses. On the "fixed" west end, the trichord trusses are rigidly bolted to the supporting carrier beams, which, in turn, are supported by 36in diameter steel flanged wheels riding along a 6in deep 175lb rail. The east end of the trichord trusses is designed as "pinned" in order to accommodate free movement and prevent large transverse forces perpendicular to the supporting rails. A special "two bar linkage" detail has been conceived at the pinned end. Consisting of two vertical posts, one carrying the roof load of the trichord truss and the other providing stability, the linkage works like a giant teeter-totter and keeps the top surface of the carrier beam in a horizontal position, preventing large forces and rotations at the wheel base on top of the rail.

Predicting the operating and design load parameters as they relate to winds over the roof’s surface was an important aspect of the engineering of the project. Canada’s RWDI created a scale model of the complete stadium and studied the model in a wind tunnel. The positive and negative pressures were tabulated to give a specific understanding of the implications of the design.

The two roofs panels are driven by a total of 20 carriers, one at each end of each of the 10 trichord trusses. There is a total of roughly 300 tons of machinery driving the roof. Each carrier has two, 36in tread diameter, hardened, double flanged, forged steel wheels. Each of the 40 wheels are driven by a 5hp, 460VAC, electric motor, planetary gear reducer and open gear final drive. Also, each drive train includes a spring set, fail safe, electric brake. The system also includes motorized rail clamps, which lock the system down when not in operation. The entire drive system is controlled by a sophisticated computer that gives the operator continuous operation feedback and provides fault detection and diagnostics to identify where specific components are not operating as specified. The drive system is variable speed of about 35ft/min and a closing time of about seven minutes. The system is designed to be operational and able to drive into wind gusts of up to 50mph.

Lineout, hoof and music

In addition to the design of the operable roof, technology played an important part in other aspects of the design. With the 3D model of the seating bowl and roof, WJHW (the acoustical consultants on the project) were able to model these acoustics in the space to give a thorough understanding of reverberance and audibility. The information was critical not only in the design of the scoreboard and PA system, but in the dampening systems that would help the building function as a premiere concert facility.

Along with the wind studies for roof engineering, RWDI modeled a number of different parameters to better understand the future natural turf conditions. The 3D seating bowl and the translucent fabric roof were modeled together under actual lighting conditions in Houston, to help the design team have a more complete understanding of turf maintenance issues before any construction had begun.

Great seats for all

The stadium’s standard capacity is fixed at 69,500 seats, although provisions have been made to accommodate larger crowds for the 2004 Super Bowl. The section is pulled as tight to the football field as possible. Every effort has been made to pull the spectators down and forward to the action. Compared to the Astrodome, for example, the suites are almost 90ft closer to the action at the sidelines. The concourses have been widened, up to 65ft in some areas of the main concourse. The level of toilet fixtures and concessions has been brought up to modern standards.

The main concourse, in fact, boasts one concession stand for every 125 people. The main and club concourses have open views to the seating areas - allowing for the action of the game to permeate the concourse areas. Exterior terraces at each concourse, some smoking and others non-smoking, will provide the general public with opportunities to enjoy the comfortable months of the year outdoors between periods.

The sides and the ends of the buildings have been opened up to the exterior with large areas of glazing.

This was another improvement to the quality of experience of the spectators. As opposed to the dark artificially lit concourses of most indoor facilities, these concourses will feel more like an open-air stadium. The transparent skin will allow for heating and cooling to regulate temperatures year round. At night, the building will glow from within, and the circulation and excitement of the people inside will be visible from the outside. As Bob McNair is proud to say, "…at night, the building will glow like the crown jewel of the NFL."

Private viewing

After deciding that 166 private suites would be accommodated along the sides of the building, one level of suites was pulled down below the club seats - just off the main concourse - to create the closest suites in the NFL. The private suites are finished with granite counters, custom cherry cabinets and four television monitors. Unlike many outdoor football stadiums, the three rows of 24in wide seats are located outside the glass in the seating bowl. The fixed roof of the stadium will keep the patrons dry, even when the operable roof is open.

All VIP patrons, including 7,700 club spectators and the 166 private suite holders, will have private upscale entrances at each side of the building with private escalators and elevators that will take them to their seats. The club seating areas, located along the sidelines of the field, have direct access to large lounge areas with views both outside the building and into the stadium.

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Themed bars, lounge seating, exterior terraces and upscale food amenities will be provided for these special spectators. The open section of the seating bowl provided the opportunity to create bars and booth seating in the lounge area with direct views to the game.

The stadium has growing room as well. The potential to bring the total suite count up to 200 is easily feasible - adding "halo" suites at the upper endzones and mirroring the press box gondola to the opposite side to provide "skybox" suites. Seats can be added around the Main and Club concourses to bring total seating capacity up to nearly 72,000.

Ready to roll

Slated to start construction immediately after the completion of the rodeo this March 2000, the 30 month construction schedule will allow the building to be open for the 2002 NFL season.

When the building opens, the people of Houston will once again be able to enjoy the power and excitement of the NFL. The Houston Rodeo will, for the first time, have a building specifically designed for their needs. And all the action will be under the retractable roof of Reliant Stadium

The New Harris County Stadium

Houston NFL fans will be treated to a game-day experience unmatched throughout the league when the Texans open play against Miami in August of 2002. The New Harris County Stadium, developed by HOK, will be one of the premier sporting facilities in the world.

First and foremost, Houston’s world-class design features the world’s first retractable roof football stadium with a grass playing surface. The roof can open and close to adjust to weather conditions, resulting in year-round, climate-controlled comfort.

“When the new stadium in Houston opens in August 2002, the city of Houston will redefine the future of the stadium experience - for the second time in history,” says David Manica, project manager for HOK Sports, referring to the 1965 opening of the futuristic Astrodome.

The lower-level in the new stadium are closer to the playing field than any suites in the NFL. Fans in the suites will be nearly 90 feet closer to the action than they were at the Astrodome. The 166 suites will boast seating capacities of 16 to 22 people.

The spacious club lounges will have exterior balconies, upscale restaurants and bars. The main concourse will offer an open view of the game, as well as food courts, interactive kiosks and retail shops.

The New Harris County Stadium will not only house the Texans, but will also serve as the host for the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, beginning in 2003. And the stadium is slated to host a Super Bowl as early as 2004

Luxury Suites: The Best Seat in the House

Luxury Suite holders will have the most enhanced game-day experience imaginable. As a Luxury Suite holder, you and your guests park in reserved VIP spaces that are located directly adjacent to the stadium and enter the private Luxury Suite Lounge, where you can greet guests or have any special requests met by attentive on-staff concierges. You have access to the Club Lounges for a pre-game buffet or you can go directly to your Luxury Suite, which has its own bar, buffet counter, refrigerator and liquor cabinet. Almost every Suite has its own private restroom and each Suite will have a high-tech video system with four television monitors that allow you to simultaneously watch four different games on NFL Sundays.

But that’s only the beginning of a truly exceptional game-day experience. Your personal Suite Attendant will be at your service to attend to your guests’ every need and help make entertaining effortless. You will select the menu you wish to serve guests in advance from a wide array of catering options, from first-class fine dining to traditional football fare.

You have the best seat in the house - literally. Your Suite is among the closest to the field in the NFL. In fact, it’s 90 feet closer and much lower than Astrodome suites. And, when the Super Bowl comes to Houston, you’ll have access to a number of Suite tickets for every Houston Super Bowl as determined by the NFL.

Club Seats: The Premier NFL Experience

Extra-wide 21” padded seats with cup holders

Private escalator to the spectacular Club Lounges

Wide-screen televisions and video wall in the Club Lounges

Comfortable seating areas

Special dining and beverage options

Attendant service at seats

Priority reservation privileges for non-event-day use of the Club Lounges

You park in your special reserved VIP parking area, enter through the private club entrance, meet your friends and clients in the spacious lounge and enjoy a fine dining experience. But you’re not at your country club - you’re at a Houston Texans game.

Club Seats have been called “suite sales you can buy one at a time.” The seats are located along the sidelines at the optimum viewing level of the stadium and offer what many consider the best view of the action on the field. Club Seat holders will have access to the following features:

Stadium Features Stadium Features The NFL's first retractable roof stadium Total seating capacity: 69,500 Total Club Seating: 7,700 166 total Private Suites at 16 and 22 people each First row of suites will be the closest to the field in the NFL 2 Mega Suites at 150 people each 4 Super Suites at 80 and 88 people each 2 Owner Suites at 50 people each Spacious Club Lounges with exterior balcony, restaurants, and bars Club Bar Seating with direct view to event Modern locker room facilities, meeting rooms and support services 50'-0" wide main concourse with food courts, interactive kiosks, retail and toilet facilities Open view to the event from the concourses State of the art retractable roof opens and closes in 10 minutes Flexible enough to host a multitude of events

THE ULTIMATE SPORTS ROAD TRIP
By: Andrew Kulyk & Peter Farrell

Reliant Stadium Ranking by USRT
Architecture		8
Concessions		9
Scoreboard		7.5
Ushers		8
Fan Support		6.5
Location		6
Banners/History		3
Entertainment		7
Concourses/Fan Comfort		9
Bonus: Tailgate Scene		3
Bonus: USRT Assist		1
Bonus: End Zone Band		1
Bonus: Player Intros		1
Bonus: Retractable Roof		1
Total Score		72

November 17, 2002 - It has been five seasons since football fans around these parts had their hearts ripped out when the Oilers left town for seemingly greener pastures in Tennessee. But thanks to the perserverance of an entire community, the leadership of team owner Bob McNair and the eventual construction of what was to become Reliant Stadium, the NFL awarded the 32nd franchise to the city of Houston. The team was named the Texans, and they began play this season in a city that welcomed back the NFL with open arms. And with it comes Reliant Stadium, a brand new, state-of-the-art football venue that dazzles the senses with its sleek design, imposing architecture, first of a kind retractable roof, and enough of the touches to make the fan experience here superb.

Getting to the Venue
Reliant Stadium is located on Kirby Drive just off of the South I-610 loop, and if you are driving on the interstates anywhere in the southwest quadrant of Houston, chances are that you will see this structure dominating the skyline. Quite a few major highways bisect the stadium complex, and signage along the highways direct fans to their color coded lot. Here is the first heads up you will need if attending a Texans game here.. there is NO cash parking on stadium property. One must have a parking pass, and they can be purchased via ticketmaster for $10 (plus fees). Satellite private parking is limited, mostly due to the vast size of the stadium property, and the south boundary which abuts the 610 loop. Parking lot maps and policies are spelled out on the Texans website. (We purchased a "yellow" lot pass on Ebay for $5, and with us arriving early that put us just a few steps from the gates, not too shabby).

Outside the Venue
Reliant Stadium is the major building in a complex that also includes the venerable Astrodome, Reliant Arena and an amusement park. Nicely landscaped, freshly paved and striped parking lots and pedestrian overpasses over Kirby Drive are what you will find outside Reliant Stadium. So what is the buzz word??? --- Tailgating! Tailgating, tailgating and more tailgating. The old Oilers had strict prohibitions on tailgating at the Astrodome, and the Texans decided that not only were they going to lift the ban, but were going to jump start this great football tradition by opening up the lots and encouraging fans to come early and stay late and have a good time. In doing so, Houston is trying to immediately establish itself as one of the NFL's top tailgate cities.

From what we observed, they have already made great strides towards that goal. Lots here open four hours before game time, and convoys of cars and RV's are already queued up waiting to get in and begin the day's festivities. Guest relations gals from Reliant Energy troll the parking lots, snapping photos of the partiers and handing out prizes for creative decorations.On the south side of the stadium is the "Budweiser Plaza", and there you can find pregame musical entertainment, refreshments and even bleacher seating to watch the goings on. Portable restrooms, coal dispensers and waste receptacles are plentiful. Today was also the beginning of a one week long "Ultimate Fan" contest, where one finalist would be chosen from among five semi finalists to compete nationally. Delegations for the contestants were walking the lots and soliciting votes for their candidates (our choice was Preston from the Bullpen Tailgate, more on that later). Lastly, not only are the parking lots color coded, but also numbered in a grid format, with ample "you are here" map signs to get you around and to encourage folks to visit each other's tailgates. The scene here was awesome - plenty of Texans flags, decorations, proud flags of the Lone Star State, and a party scene that would rival the best of them in the NFL!

The Stadium and Concourses
This venue is an architectural marvel! It is rectangularly shaped, with a cream colored brick facade and expansive use of glass on all four sides of the building to allow natural light into the concourses and nice views from the inside. Massive red and black "Reliant Stadium" marquees adorn the north and south sides of the venue. The building is surrounded by wrought iron fences and lush landscaping, as well as colored pavement to match the facade of the structure. And of course, the large two part retractable roof makes for a distinctive cap to the stadium (the roof was open on this picture perfect sunny 70 degree day). Access to the stadium is kind of interesting - the security checkpoints are well away from the stadium along the wrought iron fence line, and once through there you are on the large "Budweiser Plaza", where you can enjoy the pregame activities and entertainment. There are refreshment stands and a comfort station out here as well. From this point there are four "gates", one in each corner of the stadium. Each gate has a named corporate sponsor (The Ford gate, the Gallery Furniture gate, etc) That is where you get your ticket scanned and enter the ramps to take you to your concourse. Once up the first two ramps, there are also escalator towers available from that point to take you to the club or upper levels.

All concourses here are inside and protected from the elements - the only outside areas are the four ramp/escalator towers. As stated, the concourses here are bright, because of the large amount of glass walls which allow natural light into the building and great views of the outside. Concourses here are massive, wide, and simple to navigate, even at halftime. Great attention was given to allow freedom of movement around the building. Concession stands are decorated with colorful canopies.

Above both the 100 and 500 concourses are large red facades with unusual orange symbols. These walls pretty much wrap around the entire circumference of the concourses and even appear on some of the concession marquees. We looked at these with puzzlement at first, wondering what they meant. Then it hit us.... they are symbols of CATTLE BRANDS. How wonderful! How truly, truly great!!! Here we are in Texas, where the oil and ranching industries are king, and the designers of this building thought enough to celebrate their state's proud culture and heritage in a simple, yet meaningful way. Thumbs up from us!!!

In the 100 concourse above each of the four ramp exits are gigantic ad panels for that gate's sponsor, and they frame a huge video board which shows the action on the field. These displays really look imposing. Add to this mood lighting, low metallic ceilings as you make your way to your seats, and a view of the seating bowl from the concourse, and you've got a set up here which comes together very nicely.

The Seating Bowl
With over 69,500 seats, Reliant Stadium's seating bowl is colored in red, blue and gray seats to emulate the team's colors. The seating area here is actually squared off, with massive pylons in each corner of the upper deck to support the roof and retractable roof panels. Save for some of the lower bowl seats, all fans here are weather protected, and the retractable roof slides together in two panels, and they join together above the 50 yard line. High above each end zone are large video boards joined with several dot matrix boards, stationary ad panels and the "Reliant Stadium" logo. Along the sidelines are additional dot matrix boards offering game information, out of town scores and out of town individual stat information for the fantasy leaguers, as well as a sequence of synchronized changeable ad panels. All presented very nicely and without the look of clutter.

Concessions
"Go Texans" is the name of the team store, located on the ground level outside the Budweiser Plaza. Throughout the concourses are a number of "Go Texans Express" merchandise kiosks. We looked for a Texans 10 gallon hat but there were none to be found so we settled for a jersey and a sweatshirt. Food concessions are grouped according to Texas themes (and corresponding cattle brands), with choices such as Cactus Cantina and 5 star dogs. Along the sideline area concourses are very long margarita bars offering the frozen stuff in regular glasses, with the large size served in some of the weirdest shaped souvenir glasses you ever saw.

Premium Seating
As is the case with newer NFL venues, club seating here spans both sidelines on the mezzanine level. Here too, the club concourse has a terrific view of the seating bowl, and along the glass wall are seating rails and even a couple bars. In the center of the club concourse is a sweeping atrium style court area with full bar, carvery and seating area, and again, full glass walls to the outside offering dramatic views. The club concourse is carpeted, but here designs are interwoven into the carpet in the shapes of the state of Texas. In addition, luxury suites ring the entire seating bowl directly above and below the club level. There are limited single club seats available, with costs ranging from $160-$275.

Banners/Retired Numbers
We tip our caps to the Houston Texans front office for refraining from hanging some stupid banner like "Fans #1", or "Best Attendance By An Expansion Team For A Sunday Night Season Opener". For now the rafters are clear of such nonsense, and with  the titles and the great players will come the appropriate banners. It is unfortunate, however, that the situation being what it is, names Earl Campbell, Dan Pastorini, Bum Phillips, Warren Moon, perhaps others, and even a tribute to the fans who made "The House of Pain" what it was are not given a place of honor in the building. Perhaps the fans of Houston and the team will do the right thing in due time.

Touchdowns/Extra Points/Fumbles

Touchdown - To the many, many fans who extended a warm Texas welcome to us and made our visit so very special. We want to give special props to the Bullpen Tailgate in the Blue Lot. Pete, Kimberly, Preston, Alan, Andrew, Vinny and many others whose names we don't have but were just so great to us. Sandy is "The Matriarch" of the Bullpen group and invited us to sign a Texans commemorative flag which will eventually be framed. In our one lame attempt at trash talk, Andrew signed it as follows, "Bills 41-Oilers 38, the Greatest Comeback Ever!" All in fun folks!

Also thanks Blaine Tamplain and his gang, also in the Blue Lot, who emailed us months ago with the tailgate invite and even asked what we wanted on the menu. (the jambalaya was awesome!). We arrived early and stayed late and soaked in the great Texans tailgate scene. Lots of love to you guys and we hope to see you again next year!

Touchdown - to sports writer David Barron and photographer Chris Perez from the Houston Chronicle. David did an article in late summer about tailgating in the NFL and asked for our opinions which became a part of that story. He called on us again right before our visit and we hooked up in the building for an interview. We figured we'd get a mention in the Chronicle's extra points section with a few sentences. Then Chris the photographer arrives on the scene and we knew something was up. Well Pete headed down to the hotel lobby at 5:45 AM Monday morning to get the paper, and there we were with a FULL PAGE SPREAD! Are you kidding??!!! We are grateful and humbled by the show of interest in our story.

Extra Point - Texans fans really know how to participate in event presentation. Here in Houston when they announce the starting lineups they only give the first names, leaving the fans to shout out the last name. For example, the announcer says, "...and at Quarterback, from Fresno State, number 8, David....", and the fans shout out "CARR!". Very very cool! Warning to Texansfan... how are you guys going to cope should players Tim Biatabatuka or Chris Fuamatu-Ma afala ever get signed by the team and make the Texans starting lineup?

Fumble - to the parking gate guy in the yellow lot. This guy wasn't a cop or an orange vested directional person, but an older gentleman who was dressed like one of those Salvation Army guys you see around Christmas. By the time we left and headed for our car, the lots were down to a few late tailgaters and things had pretty much cleared out. We head to the main exit onto Main, and there's Salvationarmyguy with the gate closed, barring our exit and that of others who were also trying to leave, and waving us to another gate. So we searched in vain for another way out, but everything was padlocked... in frustration we were following other cars and other cars were following us, all looking for egress. Finally about 30 cars converged back at the main exit, honking and flashing headlights and demanding that Salvationarmyguy open the gate. He did so, but very reluctantly, and with eight or so exit lanes available he only opened the gate a small crack to allow one car at a time to squeeze out. Obviously he didn't want to strain himself since he'd have to be fresh in the morning to haul out his kettle and clang his bell in front of the Fiesta Supermarket. As we inched out through the narrow passage, we were treated to his scowl, the only one we encountered on this entire trip in this friendly community. What a moron!!!

Fumble - The Texans being an expansion team, we knew it would take a huge dose of USRT karma to pull out a victory for the home team. And darn it we did try! The Texans gallantly rallied from a 17 point deficit and had the ball in the closing minutes, poised to get the tying score. But they fell short to the division rival Jacksonville Jaguars, 24-21. You would think that would be a real downer, but Houston fans are just so overjoyed just to have the NFL back, they can handle the losses... for now.

Touchdown - to Texans Senior VP for Marketing James Rootes, who we were introduced to by David Barron and who also gave us a warm welcome to Reliant Stadium. Jamey furnished us with club seat passes and we got to enjoy (and photograph) the stadium for most of the 3rd quarter from some of the best seats in the house.

Extra Point - entertaining at the top of 100 level end zone is a real live band, sitting in the seats and playing their horns and getting fans into the game. They are easily recognizable wearing white Texans "32" jerseys.

Fumble - For a stadium that cost over $300M and has been open since August, there are still some rows of seats (ours in the fifth row of sec 505 included) where permanent seats have not been installed, and in their place are tightly packed folding chairs offering little shoulder/elbow room. The permanent seats two rows ahead were plenty comfortable. C'mon guys, let's get this place finished!!!

Extra Point - Outside the stadium in the southeast corner is a monument honoring the 15,000 or so Personal Seat License holders who paid the extra money to help fund the construction of this beautiful building. A nice gesture for the fans!

Extra Point - in places like Miller Park and Skydome, fans are invited to stick around and watch the retractable roof close after the game, but here at Reliant Stadium they apparently leave the roof open, so there was no show to be had. Speaking of which, apparently the NFL has issued some guidelines as to what circumstances the roof can be opened and closed. Can you imagine on an inclement day, the home team is on offense and the roof is closed, and when the team goes on defense they open the roof and expose the visiting offense to the elements and wind? How hilarious would that be?!

Summary
We really love visiting Texas, and Houston in particular. This whole mystique about Texans being friendly is really no myth, and every time we come here it seems that people are going out of their way to make us feel wanted and welcome. OK... about Reliant Stadium... the building is architecturally stunning. The first of the generation of retractable roof stadiums in the NFL has raised the bar for other teams to follow. But then again, we have toured more than a few spanking new NFL stadiums in the past year, why is this one any different from the rest? The answer - the Houston Texans not only have built a stadium with bricks and mortar to bring fans in to watch a game, but they have built an EXPERIENCE for visitors to enjoy. The Houston Texans management GETS IT. With season tickets, including PSL seats, going strong and Houston fans filling the place in this inaugural season, it would be easy for them to perch themselves on a throne of arrogance and indifference. Yet we got the sense that these people really care that their patrons have a good time, before, during and after the game. At the many guest relations stands, they pass out questionnaires asking patrons everything from their opinions on food selection to cleanliness to the overall experience. The courtesy and friendliness of game staff here (excluding Salvationarmyguy) was absolutely outstanding. And the stadium is one of the most spectacular we have seen anywhere. Lastly, in their first season of operation they have established themselves among the best NFL tailgate cities, and that is no small feat. We are proud to designate the Houston Texans and Reliant Stadium among the elite of NFL venues! THANK YOU HOUSTON for making our visit truly extraordinary!!

Houston Texans Reliant Stadium 2002-Present