NRG Park Mixed-Use Development

[Firebird65]

Articles like these are usually worth the paper they are printed on - and as they aren't printed, well... there ya go.

The author of this "effort" seems to be basing his rankings of a stadium mainly on the availability of beer, both inside and outside the venue. Like that really has anything to do with a stadium. Pretty funny stuff.

I remember a similarly worthless list from ESPN on baseball stadiums. The writer had all kinds of nice things to say about Minute Maid Park, but since he couldn't possible rank a retractable roof stadium next to his idols (Wrigley, Fenway and old Yankee), he had to ding them for something in order to shave off points. And he even said so in the article! LOL! So what was his "gripe"? The restrooms. They were too "clean and boring". ROTF!

At least writing this article kept the author off the streets and out of the neighborhood bars for awhile, as drinking seems to be his main focus.

[Highway6]

Typical Houston conservatism...Reliant and Toyota Center are very bland and nothing like our Dallas counterparts when it comes to the AA Arena or Cowboy Stadium.

Reliant was the first ever football stadium with a retractable roof. Conservatism ? I think you misspelled "cutting edge' there amigo.

NBA stadiums.. of all professional stadiums, they are the smallest and have to be fully enclosed. Usually the only defining factor for new arenas is how much glass do they have on their front facade. Compared to MLB and NFL stadiums.. all NBA arenas are conservative and very few stand out.

AAC went retro with the bricks and arches and detailing.... the whole concept of going retro in sports arenas is now 20 yrs old, since the opening of Camden Yards.. so they aren't even original in their style copying and attempt to appear American classic. More progressive than Houston.. I think not.

[hbcu]

Take the roof away from Reliant and what do you have? It's a bland stadium

[Highway6]

Take the roof away from Reliant and what do you have? It's a bland stadium

Take away Dallas' compensating big screen and sliding wall.. you have a bland stadium with some bad seating.

[hbcu]

It'll still be better than Reliant...I've been all over Reliant from floor 1 to floor 7 and up and down the Texans' offices...nothing stands out and I'm not the only person who has said that. In high school, you looked forward to going and playing in the dome, you can't even get into reliant as a high school team unless it's a special occassion.

I've been all over the Superdome also....I like the mystique about it...hate the upper deck but something about it is cool...

[samagon]

It'll still be better than Reliant...I've been all over Reliant from floor 1 to floor 7 and up and down the Texans' offices...nothing stands out and I'm not the only person who has said that. In high school, you looked forward to going and playing in the dome, you can't even get into reliant as a high school team unless it's a special occassion.

I've been all over the Superdome also....I like the mystique about it...hate the upper deck but something about it is cool...

yeah, there really is something about knowing that within the walls of the venue that the absolute worst that our society has to offer was on display for the whole country to see for a full week, rapes, murders, suicides.

it's odd to see how people react less than 10 years after the stadium is built? even into the superbowl, I recall listening to everyone rave about how this stadium was THE best, great everything, what changed?

[Mister X]

Cowboy stadium looks retarded. It looks like a big broken easter egg sitting out on the prairie. It looks completely out of place, works against it's setting and is visually awkward. I predict it will age very badly and look even stupider as the years pass. It is to stadiums what the polyester jump suit was to fashion in the 1970's - cool for a while, but 10 years later "what the f were we thinking?".

I like the understated elegance of Reliant. Blandness is in the head of the beholder.

[Highway6]

I'm still waiting for hcbu to explain how he thinks the AAC is progressive design.

[samagon]

In high school, you looked forward to going and playing in the dome, you can't even get into reliant as a high school team unless it's a special occassion.

also, not sure whether you are speaking from a highschool student who went to watch your team play in the dome, or from the perspective of a football player...

I've had the opportunity to stand on the floor of both the astrodome and reliant. astrodome felt so damn wide and expansive, but reliant, you can't imagine how tall that roof looks from the ground!

if you're talking about as a person going to the venue, the dome was horrible, seats were so far away from the action, and you would probably be stuck behind a beam that would only allow you to see half the field anyway, not to mention how dark and small the walkways were to get to your seats.

The astrodome has some great history, and some great things going for it, that reliant will never have, The Bad News Bears, and a name, an actual name, not a sponsorship, even when reliant bought sponsorship for the astrodome, it was the reliant astrodome. it really saddens me that they didn't give it an official name that spoke of texas, or the achievement of the stadium. even the "astrodium" would have been acceptable.

Anyway, reliant is huge, tall, very bright, very crisp. as I haven't been to a lot of football stadiums around the country, how many of them have as many windows as reliant that let you look out at the city, or let as much sun in on a cold january sunday?

as far as I know, reliant is a great stadium and pretty unique (only 2 domed stadiums in the AFC, Reliant and Lucas Oil).

as far as naming goes, since Texas Stadium is no more, can't we name this one The Real Texas Stadium, Reliant The Real Texas Stadium has a nice ring

[hbcu]

I'm talking about amenities...AAC has more to offer behind the scenes than Toyota....

As for Reliant....bland...if you don't put 40,000 in there the game is dead. The Dome in its glory days had mystique.

[Mister X]

For every one person that finds Reliant bland there are 100 people that find it awesome. I can live with those numbers.

I also like how Houston will have 4 major league stadiums within a 6 mile radius. 3 of them less than a mile from one another with an exceptional urban park, a convention center, several nice hotels and a shopping plaza connecting them all within walking distance. Houston's sports venues ROCK.

When you compare the BIG picture in regards to stadiums between Houston and Dallas. Houston wins again.

Bland my arse.

Edited May 26, 2011 by Mister X

[samagon]

I'm talking about amenities...AAC has more to offer behind the scenes than Toyota....

As for Reliant....bland...if you don't put 40,000 in there the game is dead. The Dome in its glory days had mystique.

Heh, Amenities, I'm sure you weren't thinking of the 'dome, unless you count rats, and cat urine as amenities....

http://m.caller.com/news/2005/sep/11/astrodome-flaws-soon-forgiven-in-time-of-need/

I suppose Rice Stadium is as bland as they come, if you count it based on attendance records, I bet they don't get 40k in 5 years worth of games. Some great history in that venue though! Hosted a SB, hosted Kennedy for one of his more memorable speeches.

[20thStDad]

2 things suck about Reliant, everything else is great.

1) Concerts suck there. Acoustics blow, and you will be so far from the band you can't see jack.

2) The immediate surroundings. It's a really depressing setting. Sure, the blimp can get an angle where you can see downtown or the med center, but with the flatness you could do that from anywhere within 15 miles. They should have put the thing somewhere else and just let the Astrodome rot it its own grossness.

[RedScare]

I'm talking about amenities...AAC has more to offer behind the scenes than Toyota....

I seriously doubt you have any idea what you are talking about. Having been to both, the seating bowls in both are comparable, and I thought that the suites in both were comparable. I thought Toyota had slightly better layouts. But, I will be willing to hear about your experience in AAC and Toyota, and what "amenities" you found in AAC that made it so much better.

[TV2EBoogaloo]

Typical Houston conservatism...Reliant and Toyota Center are very bland and nothing like our Dallas counterparts when it comes to the AA Arena or Cowboy Stadium. Looks like more effort was put into Minute Maid. We'll see about the Dynamo

The Texans gameday atmosphere is pretty boring also

the sound in cowboys stadium is horrible.....just ask the people at the superbowl how they liked cowboys stadium.....standing in massive lines to get inside.....only a few entrances that allow you to get to specific areas where your seats are.....the inability to walk around the stadium if you happen to enter at the wrong entrance

and the AAC in dallas has been slammed for having very narrow concourses and being very crowded inside and difficult to move around

typical dallas......all style over substance......if the AAC was so great.....they would not be hosting major basketball games at the football stadium......and ask anyone that was at the Houston Superbowl and the dallas superbowl which stadium they would go back to.....it will be Houston by a mile

[TV2EBoogaloo]

I seriously doubt you have any idea what you are talking about. Having been to both, the seating bowls in both are comparable, and I thought that the suites in both were comparable. I thought Toyota had slightly better layouts. But, I will be willing to hear about your experience in AAC and Toyota, and what "amenities" you found in AAC that made it so much better.

there is the Chili's that closed after a month of being opened.....after the remodeled the former space that held the old restaurant that had closed about a year after opening

and again typical dallas.....going to sporting events to see restrooms, "cool bars", and amenities instead of actually going to see the game

[hbcu]

tell me what I'm missing in Reliant or Toyota again? Playoffs? Championship Games?

At least we had championship quality teams in the dome and reliant

[HoustonMidtown]

Reliant Stadium being renamed

 

http://www.chron.com/default/article/Reliant-Stadium-is-getting-a-new-name-5310078.php

 

[Fringe]

Enron? 

[placoors]

AAC- looks great on the outside.  Mall on the inside.  The upper concourse is small and the sighlines are terrible.

TC-  Escalotrs are neat to ride up inside the main entrance.  On the upper  concourse you can see the court from 90% of it.

ATT Center-  Sight lines from the uppe concourse are worse than in Dallas.  Paint and color schemes are terrible.

 

Cowboys Stadium- Looks amazing and is  fun to attend a game at.  Only did SRO, so was far away from the seats but could watch the game from the side of the giant scoreboard.

Reliant-  Roof is great and first of its kind.  Rest is bland but you can tell they spent most of the money on the roof and skimped on the rest.  Good sight lines in all parts of the seating bowl.

Alamodome-Small scoreboards and decent sight lines.  Not a great place to watch a football or basketball game.

Superdome-Cool, old stadium.  Even with all of the rehab done after Katrina the sight lines are still terrible in some sections and not worth the cost of the ticket.  No room around the stadium for tailgating.  Small areas under the freeway interchanges and in parking garages.  Champions Square is fun to go to before the games.

 

 

[Mab]

[lockmat]

Better name. Just think if how many times they're (hopefully) gonna say, "nrg stadium is full of energy."

[Urbannizer]

https://www.click2houston.com/sports/local/2020/09/11/what-does-the-future-hold-for-houstons-nrg-stadium/

 

This year, there will be revamped concessions at NRG Stadium. But to stay in the game long-term, Walsh knows they have to attract more than just football fans.

“That’s exactly what we’re looking at for the future, to find a way that we can create NRG Park as an event destination, not just an event facility,” he said.

 

For a good example, you only need to look 250 miles up the highway at the complex shared by the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers which features two state-of-the-art, sport-specific stadiums, hotels, shops and restaurants.

 

A field of dreams, hoping if they build it, more fans will come.

 

“There’s lots of great ideas that we’ve seen in trends around the country,” Walsh says, "including, obviously, mixed-use retail developments with restaurants, bars, and nightlife.

[ADCS]

At the very least, they need to give it a sense of place. Right now, the Texans have the most generic branding in the NFL, and NRG shows it. I really get the sense that their marketing since 2002 has been no more than "slap a Texans logo on it, that's good enough". Fits in with Houston's conservative business culture, but it's nowhere near modern.

[J.A.]

16 hours ago, Urbannizer said:

https://www.click2houston.com/sports/local/2020/09/11/what-does-the-future-hold-for-houstons-nrg-stadium/

 

 

 

The article conveniently forgets to mention that there's also... ehem... a Six Flags next to those stadiums in Arlington... Something that we used to have 🙄

[Highrise Tower]

Some type of soil sampling was taking place in the surface lot of the NRG Arena at 1 NRG Parkway.

[hindesky]

"Houston, get ready! The biggest game in college football is coming to town next season. The Houston Sports Authority says the Bayou City will host the 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship game."

https://www.khou.com/article/sports/college/2024-national-championship-location/285-d21ae315-93e4-4904-84b5-3a9ca6176fea

[hindesky]

[Amlaham]

NRG Park CEO notes there will be changes coming to the complex! 

https://www.bisnow.com/houston/news/commercial-real-estate/houstons-nrg-park-area-is-underdeveloped-its-leader-is-ready-to-do-something-about-it-118261

[hbg.50]

53 minutes ago, Amlaham said:

NRG Park CEO notes there will be changes coming to the complex! 

https://www.bisnow.com/houston/news/commercial-real-estate/houstons-nrg-park-area-is-underdeveloped-its-leader-is-ready-to-do-something-about-it-118261

Disappointingly, and conspicuously, no mention of how the Astrodome could contribute to development of the area.   😒