NRG Park

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Lore & Background

The complex hosts many sporting events and conventions each year, the largest of which are Houston Texans home games, and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. The complex is served by the Stadium Park / Astrodome station, a light rail station on the Red Line of the METRORail light rail system. It includes one of the world's largest parking lots, with 26,000 places, and hosts nearly 750 events yearly. Until 2005, the lot also served as a parking lot for Six Flags Astroworld, which has since closed. From 2018 to 2021, it served as the site of the Astroworld Festival, an annual music festival run by Travis Scott, which became the site of a deadly crowd crush in 2021.

In Their Own Story

On the night of September 12–13, 2008, the stadium sustained damage from Hurricane Ike. Part of the roof cladding came off, and there was wind and water damage to other sections. The Texans' home opener against the Baltimore Ravens was postponed. The stadium reopened on October 5, 2008, when the Texans hosted the Indianapolis Colts. During a Texans preseason game on August 30, 2012, against the Minnesota Vikings, an intoxicated fan fell to his death from an escalator. On December 25, 2024, the first ever halftime show for the NFL's Christmas Gameday was headlined by Houston native Beyoncé at NRG Stadium. The stadium's commercial signage began to be removed in April 2026 as part of the 'neutralization' process for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where it will be known as Houston Stadium. NRG announced on April 15, 2026 the restoration of the former Reliant Stadium and Reliant Park names after the tournament's end.

Reader's Guide

Reliant Stadium, home to the Houston Texans and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, was the home of Super Bowl XXXVIII in February 2004, where the New England Patriots defeated the Carolina Panthers 32-29 and where the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy took place. The stadium hosted Super Bowl LI in February 2017, won by the Patriots after storming back from down 25 points to the Atlanta Falcons, winning 34–28 in overtime. Reliant Stadium hosted WrestleMania XXV in April 2009, with a sellout attendance of 72,774 and a live gate of $6.9 million. The stadium was the first NFL stadium with a retractable roof and natural grass. The Reliant Center is a convention center that opened in 2002 and hosts various events year-round, including portions of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Reliant Arena, completed in 1971, is a 350,000-square-foot sports center with fixed seating for 5,800. The Reliant Astrodome, opened on April 9, 1965, was the first domed structure of its size without a center pillar, and hosted the Houston Astros and Houston Oilers for over 30 years. The MDAnderson Cancer Center Speedway at Reliant Park was a temporary street circuit that hosted the Grand Prix of Houston in 2006 and 2007, and returned in 2013 and 2014.

Did You Know?

• Reliant Stadium was the first NFL stadium with a retractable roof and natural grass.
• The Astrodome is called the 'Eighth Wonder of the World' as it was the first domed structure of its size without a pillar supporting it in the center.
• The complex served as a massive shelter for refugees fleeing Hurricane Katrina in September 2005, dubbed 'Reliant City'.
• The Astrodome has been closed to the general public since 2008 because of fire code violations.