Reliant Stadium
| ||
|
Reliant Stadium is a football stadium in Houston, Texas. It is the home of the NFL's Houston Texans and is host to many international soccer matches for the USA National Soccer Team. The stadium also served as the host facility for Super Bowl XXXVIII on February 1, 2004. College Football's Texas Bowl is hosted at the stadium yearly, and it will additionally play host to the 2007 Season's East-West Shrine Game. In addition to football, the stadium hosts the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo for three weeks in February and March each year.
The seating capacity of the stadium is 71,500. It was the first stadium in the NFL to have a retractable roof, one of two (as of the 2007 NFL season) with a retractable roof. The other is University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, home of the Arizona Cardinals. Two stadiums currently under construction will have retractable roofs: Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis in 2008, and the Dallas Cowboys New Stadium in Arlington, Texas in 2009.
[edit] Professional Football
The 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. It also 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.
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 Cowboys19-10 in an upset.
[edit] College Football
College Football's Texas Bowl and East-West Shrine Game are annually hosted at the stadium. The stadium hosted the Houston Bowl prior to 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 first-ever Texas Bowl in December 2006 featured a game between Rutgers University and Kansas State University. The final score, 37-10 (Rutgers).
[edit] Association Football (Soccer)
Reliant Stadium hosts several international friendly and club matches each year. They 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 the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup Quarter finals as a crowd of 70,092 witnessed Mexico defeat Costa Rica (1 - 0) in Extra time, and Guadeloupe defeat Honduras (2 - 1). Both winning teams advanced to the Semi finals.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Reliant Park
Reliant Stadium is part a collection of venues (including the Astrodome), which are collectively called, Reliant Park. The stadium was designed and built for two major tenants, the Houston Texans and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. The entire complex is named for Reliant Energy under a 32-year, $300 million naming rights deal in 2000.
[edit] External links
[edit] Picture Gallery
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
