Reliant Stadium

Infobox Stadium
stadium_name = Reliant Stadium
nickname = One Reliant Park


location = One Reliant Park Houston, Texas 77054
broke_ground = March 2000
opened = August 24, 2002
closed =
demolished =
owner = Harris County, Texas
operator = SMG World
surface = Grass
construction_cost = $352 million
architect = HOK Sport
main_contractors = Manhattan/Beers, a joint venture
structural engineer = Walter P Moore Engineers and Consultants
former_names = N/A
tenants = Houston Texans (NFL) (2002–present)
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (a.k.a, HLSR) (2002–present)
Texas Bowl (NCAA) (2006–present)
Houston Bowl (NCAA) (2002–2005)
East-West Shrine Game (NCAA)(2007)
seating_capacity = 71,500

Reliant Stadium is a multiple-use stadium in Houston, Texas. The stadium is the home of the National Football League's Houston Texans, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the Texas Bowl, host to many international soccer matches for the USA National Soccer Team and other events. The stadium served as the host facility for Super Bowl XXXVIII on February 1, 2004.

Reliant Stadium is part of a collection of venues (including the Astrodome), which are collectively called Reliant Park. The entire complex is named for Reliant Energy under a 32-year, US$300 million naming rights deal in 2000. Reliant Stadium has a seating capacity of 71,500, a total square footage of convert|1900000|sqft|m2 with convert|97000|sqft|m2|abbr=on. of natural grass playing surface. The stadium was constructed at the cost of $352 million.Cite web
title = Reliant Stadium - Reliant Park, Reliant Park Info, Reliant Stadium
accessdate = 2008-03-30
url = http://www.reliantpark.com/reliantstadium/] Cite web
title = Reliant Stadium
accessdate = 2008-03-30
url = http://football.ballparks.com/NFL/HoustonTexans/index.htm] Reliant Stadium is the first facility in the NFL to have a retractable roof.Cite web
title = Houston Texans - Reliant Stadium
accessdate = 2008-03-30
url = http://www.nflteamhistory.com/nfl_teams/houston_texans/stadium.html]

History

The Houston NFL Holdings group came to HOK Sport to begin the schematic design for the first-ever NFL retractable roof football stadium in 1997. The intention was to create a football stadium to replace the Astrodome that would operate like an open-air facility but have the intimacy and comfort of an indoor arena. With the design for football and the square footage requirements of the rodeo, the building was designed in the convert|1900000|sqft|m2|sing=on range. Groundbreaking for the stadium was on March 9, 2001 and the building was officially topped off in October 2001.Cite web
title = Architecture of Reliant Stadium - Houston, Texas, United States of America
accessdate = 2008-03-30
url = http://www.glasssteelandstone.com/US/TX/HoustonReliantStadium.html] The stadium opened on August 24, 2002 and hosted its first football game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Houston Texans on September 8, 2002.Cite web
title = Quick Facts - Reliant Park, Reliant Park Info, Quick Facts
accessdate = 2008-03-30
url = http://www.reliantpark.com/en/cms/?101] Construction was completed in 30 months.Cite web
title = Wide Open Spaces, "Modern Steel Construction", July 2003
accessdate = 2008-03-30
url = http://www.aisc.org/Template.cfm?Section=Innovative_Ideas&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=22333] The first rodeo was held in the stadium in February 2003.

=Hurricane Ike da

On the night of September 12–13, 2008 the stadium sustained damage from Hurricane Ike forcing the Houston Texans home opener scheduled for September 14 to be postponed. Part of the roof cladding came off and there was wind and water damage to other sections of the stadium. There were also large pieces of debris inside the stadium from various things from the hurricane.

The Texans home opener against the Baltimore Ravens was initially postponed one day from Sunday, September 14, 2008 till Monday the 15th. When the extent of the damage from Ike became known, the Ravens–Texans game was rescheduled to week 10 (November 9, 2008). The Texans' game against the Cincinnati Bengals was moved from Week 10 to week 8 (October 26), and the Ravens and Texans took their bye week on the weekend of the hurricane, which was Week 2.

The stadium reopened on October 5 when the Texans hosted the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans will play three more home games in October.

Design and technology

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 HOK Sport and the HSC worked together with engineers from Uni-Systems to design the stadium utilizing the principles of kinetic architecture. [Cite web
title = Uni-Systems, Reliant Stadium Project Details
accessdate = 2008-03-30
url = http://www.unidocks.com/Projects/FeaturedProjectDetails.aspx?ProjectID=8&PN=Reliant%20Stadium] The facility offers a sense of transparency with its roof fabric and expansive areas of glazing. At night, the building glows from within. [Cite web
title = HOK Sport - Reliant Stadium
accessdate = 2008-03-30
url = http://www.hoksport.com/projects/reliant.html] The extensive use of glass provides an open-air feel to the facility's concourses. Reliant Stadium has over 7,000 club seats, 166 luxury suites and multiple lounges and bars. The stadium can be configured to utilize a convert|125000|sqft|m2|sing=on space for meetings, specialty functions, exhibits and concerts. With 12,000 tons of air conditioning capacity, the stadium is the largest indoor air-conditioned space in Texas and, other than multi-terminal airports, is the state's largest public assembly space.

One of the most notable aspects of the design is the fabric retractable roof. The roof mechanization consists of two bi-parting large panels that part at the 50 yard line, lying over each end zone when in the resting position. Ten parallel tri-chord trusses ride on two parallel rails, each supported by a large supertruss convert|675|ft|m long. Roof operation is controlled in the stadium press box from a personal computer, containing live images of the travel path of each roof panel, as well as live feedback from all roof components throughout the operation. The roof panels are able to open or close in as little as 7 minutes, moving up to convert|35|ft|m per minute. [Cite web
title = 30728_EAE_reliant.pdf, "Modern Steel Construction", April 2004
accessdate = 2008-03-30
url = http://www.modernsteel.com/Uploads/Issues/April_2004/30728_EAE_reliant.pdf]

One bleacher section behind the north end zone, called the "Bull Pen", is the designated fan section for the team. The fans in the Bull Pen interact directly with the action on the field and help to create and implement fan traditions, songs, chants and other elements of the game-day experience to create a positive atmosphere for the team and everyone in attendance at the game. Fans in the Bull Pen are encouraged to stand throughout the game, sing, cheer and otherwise support the team in an enthusiastic manner. [ [http://www.houstontexans.com/community/BullPen.asp Bull Pen - Houston Texans] ]

tadium usage

ports

Professional football

The Houston Texans have played their home games at Reliant Stadium since their inception in 2002. The annual calendar consists of 8 regular season and 2 pre-season games, plus any playoff games the Texans might host. The first game played was on August 24, 2002, as the Texans played the Miami Dolphins in their first preseason game. The first regular season game was played on September 8 of that year, where the expansion Texans defeated the Dallas Cowboys 19-10 in an upset.

Reliant Stadium hosted Super Bowl XXXVIII on February 1, 2004. The game saw the New England Patriots defeat the Carolina Panthers, 32-29, and site of the controversial Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show.

Rodeo

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is a co-tenant of Reliant Stadium. "The building is as much for the rodeo as it is for the National Football League," according to Leroy Shafer who is assistant general manager of the rodeo's marketing department.Cite web
title = Reliant Stadium: Ready to rodeo from design concept to showtime - Houston Business Journal:
accessdate = 2008-03-31
url = http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2003/01/27/focus13.html] The rodeo is held three weeks in February and March each year.

The stadium includes a service area level to house rodeo livestock. The bulls, broncs, steers and roping calves are housed in the north end of the stadium under the lower bowl. Loading and unloading dock space to support the rodeo is located on the north end of the stadium. During rodeo performances, rolling doors will separate the dock into two receiving areas to isolate the food and concession deliveries from the rodeo equipment and livestock deliveries. A convert|42|ft|m|sing=on concert performance stage is located at the south end of the stadium during rodeo events and is moved into the center of the facility by a hydraulic drive system for rodeo concert performances. During the 2008 rodeo, Miley Cyrus performed a concert before 73,459 rodeo attendees on Sunday, March 9.

College football

College football's Texas Bowl is annually hosted at the stadium. The stadium hosted the Houston Bowl before the Texas Bowl's inception and also hosted the 2002 and 2005 Big 12 Conference Championship games. The University of Houston, Rice University, and Texas Southern University each have played selected home games at Reliant Stadium. The East-West Shrine Game was held in Reliant stadium in 2007

The first-ever Texas Bowl in December 2006 featured a game between Rutgers University and Kansas State University. The final score, 37-10 (Rutgers).

occer

Reliant Stadium hosts several international club matches each year. The games are generally held in the spring and summer before the NFL season starts. The stadium hosted CONCACAF Gold Cup matches in 2005, and in 2007. The Gold Cup matches in 2007 included Round 1 matches, and a quarterfinal doubleheader match. The venue's attendance record was set during a preparation match between the Mexican National Team and the U.S. Men's Soccer Team as a crowd of 70,103 witnessed a tie between these two border rivals (2 - 2).

On February 6, 2008, USA-Mexico was held at Reliant Stadium to an over-capacity crowd. The last USA vs. Mexico match in Reliant Stadium drew sellout crowd of 69,582 fans on May 8, 2003 and is the largest home crowd for the U.S. Men's National Team this decade. [Cite web
title = The Official Site of U.S. Soccer - Men's National Team
accessdate = 2008-03-30
url = http://ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_3702786.html]

College basketball

The stadium is scheduled to host the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament several times in the future, including the 2008 South Regional Finals, the 2010 South Regional Finals, and the 2011 Final Four.

Professional wrestling

Reliant Stadium will host WrestleMania XXV, the forthcoming twenty-fifth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment. The event is scheduled to take place on April 5, 2009. [cite web|url= http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/WrestleMania24/2008/03/31/5148416.html|title=Mayweather, Orton survive Mania; Edge, Flair don't| publisher=Canadian Online Explorer|date=2008-03-31|author=Plummer, Dale|accessdate=2008-03-31]

Concerts

*On August 2, 2003, Metallica along with Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, Mudvayne and Deftones played a concert in Reliant Stadium during Metallica's Summer Sanitarium '03 tour. It was at this concert that Linkin Park shot some footage for their DVD Live in Texas.
*On April 7, 2005, it hosted a historic tribute concert to the late pop star Selena. Among the celebrities to perform that night were Gloria Estefan, Thalía, Paulina Rubio, and Ana Gabriel. Exactly a decade ago, Selena had performed what would be her final concert ever, at the Houston Astrodome in front of a record attendance of 66,000+. A video of the finale of this now infamous 1995 concert was used as the finale of the 2005 tribute, as the late icon sang her classic Como La Flor and bid farewell to her Houston fans one last time. The tribute became the highest rated and most viewed Spanish-language TV special ever in the history of American Television.
*Reliant Stadium played host to the Rolling Stones on January 25, 2003 during the band's 2002–2003 Licks Tour.

Other events

The Offshore Technology Conference is held annually in Reliant Center and utilizes the stadium for exhibits. In 2006, 59,236 were in attendance which was the largest convention in Houston in 2006 and the highest attendance for the event since 1982.

ee also

*Astrodome
*History of Houston
*List of current National Football League stadiums

Notes

External links

* [http://www.reliantpark.com/ Reliant Stadium website]
* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/eye/reliant-stadium.htm Satellite imagery of Reliant Stadium]

succession box
title = Home of the
Houston Texans
years = 2002 – present
before = first stadium
after = currentsuccession box
title = Host of the
Big 12 Championship Game
years = 2002
2005
before =
Texas Stadium
Arrowhead Stadium
after =
Arrowhead Stadium
Arrowhead Stadiumsuccession box
title = Host of Super Bowl XXXVIII
years = 2004
before = Qualcomm Stadium
after = ALLTEL Stadiumsuccession box
title = Host of WrestleMania XXV
years = 2009
before = Citrus Bowl
after = incumbent