NRG Stadium

Lore & Background

The Houston NFL Holdings group came to HOK Sport (now Populous) to begin the schematic design for the first-ever NFL retractable roof football stadium in 1997. Groundbreaking for the stadium was on March 9, 2000, and the building was officially topped off in October 2001. Construction was completed in 30 months. The stadium opened on August 24, 2002 with the name Reliant Stadium, with a preseason game between the Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans which the Dolphins won 24–3. The stadium hosted its first regular season NFL football game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Houston Texans on September 8, 2002, which the Texans won 19–10. The first rodeo was held in the stadium in February 2003. On March 19, 2014, the stadium was renamed NRG Stadium, after NRG Energy, the parent company of Reliant Energy. On April 19, 2023, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo renamed NRG Stadium to NRG Stadium (Taylor's Version) to celebrate Taylor Swift's Eras Tour dates at NRG Stadium from April 21–23. 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 stadium to host 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. New Reliant-specific signage is scheduled to be installed and in place by the first Texans game of the 2026 preseason.

Reader's Guide

The stadium was designed by the architectural firms of Hermes Reed Architects and Lockwood, Andrews and Newnam who were teamed to create the Houston Stadium Consultants (HSC). The architects of Populous (then HOK Sport) and the HSC worked together with engineers from Walter P Moore and Uni-Systems to design the stadium utilizing the principles of kinetic architecture. Reliant Stadium has over 7,000 club seats, 186 luxury suites, and multiple lounges and bars. The stadium can be configured to utilize a 125,000-square-foot (11,600 m2) space for meetings, specialty functions, exhibits, and concerts. One of the most notable aspects of the design is the stadium's retractable, fabric roof. The roof mechanization consists of two large panels that split apart at the 50 yard line, lying over and above each end zone when fully retracted. The roof panels can be opened or closed in as little as 7 minutes, moving at a speed of up to 35 feet (11 m)-per-minute. One bleacher section behind the north end zone, called the 'Bull Pen', is the designated fan section for the hometeam. In December 2012, it was announced that the stadium's end zone displays would be replaced with the largest digital displays in any professional sports venue. The video screens were revealed August 16, 2013 and are the second largest of their kind, at a total of 14,549 square feet (1,351.6 m2) of screens.

Did You Know?

• The stadium sustained damage from Hurricane Ike on the night of September 12–13, 2008, forcing the Houston Texans home opener to be postponed.
• During a Texans preseason game on August 30, 2012, an intoxicated fan fell to his death from an escalator.
• In 2017, NRG Stadium selected Hellas Construction to install its Matrix Turf with Helix Technology at the stadium, with a three-year contract for a new turf field each year.
• The stadium's first major renovation in 15 years modernized the office and team facilities after hosting Super Bowl LI.