The NRG Stadium is the home to NFL team Houston Texans. It is the only rodeo and NFL indoor/outdoor retractable stadium, and hosts the international football matches for the USA national team.
A multi-purpose stadium, it can be configured to host events and concerts as well. A large number of events take place every year at the NRG Stadium. The stadium has a capacity to acccommodate 80,000 spectators.
History
In 1980s, the NFL team from Houston were the Houston Oilers who played at the Aerodrome, which is the only domed venue in the NFL. Due to the limited space in the Aerodrome, the club owner Bud Adams moved the team to Tennessee and they later became the Tennessee Titans.
The Houston NFL holdings group was formed in 1999 to construct a new stadium and have a franchise from Houston playing in the NFL. The construction for the then ‘Reliant Stadium’ began in 2000 and the stadium was opened on August 2002.
The new team from Houston, Houston Texans were formed and they played their first regular season game at Reliant Stadium on September 8, 2002 against the Dallas Cowboys.
Major Matches
NRG Stadium has hosted the 38th and 51st annual NFL- Super Bowl Championships. One of the most anticipated and most watched games in the US, the Super Bowl is a prestigious American football event.
In 2010, Manchester United played against the MLS All-Stars in the NRG stadium with a crowd of 70,000. United won 5-2.
On July 2017, the stadium hosted the Manchester derby between rivals Manchester United and Manchester City, as a part of the International Cup.
The 2011 Gold Cup semi-finals were played between the USA and Panama; and Mexico and Honduras, with USMNT and Mexico winning and proceeding to the finals.
The stadium also hosted a few matches of the Copa America Centenario, including the semi finals between USA and Argentina which the visiting side won 4-0.
The Wrestlemania XXV was held on April 2009 at the NRG Stadium.
Controversies
Before the stadium was built, the owner of the club Houston Oilers was dissatisfied with the size of the Aerodrome and threatened to take his team out of Houston. Even after 10,000 more seats were added, he remained unsatisfied and eventually moved the team out from Houston.
Trivia
The NRG is the only stadium in the NFL to have a retractable roof, which takes seven minutes to open or close.
The stadium withstood the Ike hurricane and suffered only a few structural damage.
For the 51st Super Bowl, the display units at the end of each section were changed to set up the largest display unit of any sporting venue in the world.
There is a service area to house the rodeo livestock during the annual Houston Livestock and Rodeo show.
Other sports hosted at the NRG Stadium include motor-sports and college level football and basketball tournaments.
