As venues across the NFL get major upgrades, a proposal for NRG Stadium has yet to be revealed — but it could be coming soon.
NFL teams — and the taxpayers that support them — have spent billions of dollars in recent years to renovate old and build new stadiums. On June 3, the Carolina Panthers announced a proposal for $800 million in renovations to Bank of America Stadium, becoming the latest NFL team to commit millions of dollars toward significant venue upgrades or new stadiums.
While NRG Stadium and NRG Park have undergone some renovations, including some much needed infrastructure upgrades last year, a project of the scope of others in the NFL has yet to be proposed or realized. The Houston Texans, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and Harris County Sports and Convention Corp. — the three key stakeholders at the 350-acre, Harris County-owned NRG Park — have collectively begun the process of planning for the future of the development.
In October 2023, Harris County Commissioners Court approved an item to “develop at least two alternative plans to re-envision, re-energize and plan for the future of the NRG Park complex.” The plans must be approved by the HCSCC, which manages NRG Park, and both the Texans and RodeoHouston, the two tenants in the facilities. Those plans must also be evaluated by the Harris County Office of Management and Budget, Office of County Administration and Attorney’s Office.
Negotiations between Harris County, HCSCC, the Texans and RodeoHouston are currently active and ongoing, according to HCSCC.
"I know we all want what’s best for the complex’s future, but more importantly, its impact on the Houston-Harris County community and the guests who visit NRG Park," HCSCC CEO Ryan Walsh said in a statement. "We’re cognizant of the complexities involved in planning for our future and confident we’ll find a path forward that provides a positive impact for all involved."
Outside of those upcoming proposed plans, the Texans don’t have any near-term infrastructure projects planned for NRG Stadium, President Greg Grissom told the Houston Business Journal in an April interview. There is nothing material yet for a long-term plan for the venue and broader development, and the timeline for creating that plan is “to be determined.” Grissom said that seeing other NFL teams renovate and build new stadiums makes getting a project done at NRG Stadium more of a priority, but he added that the team needs to “respect the process.”
“Whatever that takes, however long that takes, that’s what we’re committed to,” Grissom said. “Our focus is to try to figure out what’s the best long-term solution here at NRG Stadium.”
What it takes to renovate NRG Stadium
Despite being more than 20 years old, NRG Stadium is in a better position now than stadiums that were two-decades old 20 years ago, said David Carlock, founder and principal of Houston-based venue development firm Machete Group. For some older stadiums, it’s cheaper to build a brand new venue than to renovate the existing one, Carlock described. That’s not the case for NRG Stadium.
Carlock said a renovation of the venue could cost between $800 million and $1 billion — but that’s just speculation, and the cost could vary greatly based on the scope of the work.
“A building like NRG Stadium, I think the bones are pretty good. I don’t think you’d immediately reach the conclusion that we need to have a new venue,” Carlock said in a May interview. “It might cost you $800 million, but it doesn’t cost you $2 billion.”
While a timeline for such a project — let alone a timeline for a proposed plan to be released — is yet to be determined, it appears all parties involved would like to get something done ahead of the expiration of the leases for the Texans and RodeoHouston. The Texans’ lease for NRG Stadium is up in 2031, while RodeoHouston’s lease at the venue lasts until 2032.
For their part, the Texans are committed to staying at NRG Stadium and do not plan on leaving the venue or the city. To threaten to do so would be reminiscent of the Houston Oilers, which moved to Tennessee after owner Bud Adams followed through on his threats to relocate the team when a proposal for a domed downtown stadium didn’t come to fruition.
“We want to be at NRG Stadium,” Grissom said. “We feel like this is a great building for us to do everything we need to do and it’s a great place for our fans, but we also want to make sure that it’s progressing forward.”
What a renovation of NRG Stadium and NRG Park could look like
Looking at the projects at other NFL venues provides a glimpse of what a renovation at NRG Stadium could entail.
Recent projects have generally focused on a few key areas, Carlock said, including seating, technology and food and beverage options. The evolution of premium seating products and additional seating options has been a trend of particular note, he said. Traditional premium seating options include sky boxes, mid-level suites and club seats, but that has evolved to include field-level suites, loge boxes, party decks and “premium plus” sections that cater to the ultra-wealthy.
“What the market has figured out is that the leasing audience is a lot more fragmented than just traditional suites,” Carlock said. “There’s been a really significant fragmentation with a much broader array of seating products and premium products that are available.”
Allegiant Stadium, the home of the Las Vegas Raiders that opened in 2020, is one of a few venues that now have field-side club seating. Other projects, such as for Bank of America Stadium or for the Baltimore Ravens’ M&T Bank Stadium, are focused on adding new suites and other premium entertainment spaces.
Technology is also a major component of these renovations. Ahead of the 2023 season, the Denver Broncos added a new scoreboard at Empower Field at Mile High, which is 70% larger than the previous one, for example.
A project at NRG Stadium would almost certainly fall within a broader plan for the entirety of NRG Park. HCSCC is envisioning a “comprehensive development” plan for the area rather than simply a facelift and upgrades to the stadium, Chairman Bishop James Dixon II said at the October 2023 Commissioners Court meeting. He described the potential plan as being a “365 days a year innovator of profits that deals with sports entertainment, but also commerce, retail and residential development.”
Mixed-used sports districts like the one Dixon envisions are becoming more and more commonplace across every professional sports league in the U.S. The Houston Astros are preparing to break ground on its own mixed-used development adjacent to Minute Maid Park downtown this fall. In just one example in the NFL, Nashville is planning for 30 acres of mixed use developments around the Tennessee Titans’ new Nissan Stadium, which is slated to open in 2027.
Along with coming up with a plan for NRG Park in the first place, funding the project will also be a major hurdle. During the October 2023 Commissioners Court meeting. Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis — whose precinct includes NRG Park — voiced outsized support for a significant development, but added that it would need to make financial sense. Despite his enthusiasm, Ellis said he didn’t want to give the impression that the county has an “open checkbook” for the project.
Funding has been a key issue for other NFL stadium projects, as well. In one instance, Kansas City, Missouri, voters rejected a 40-year sales tax that would have yielded $2 billion for the Chiefs and the MLB’s Royals, which would have helped the Chiefs fund $800 million in planned renovations for GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Meanwhile, the Chicago Bears have shifted their new stadium plans multiple times due to funding challenges, most recently proposing a $4.7 billion development that would include $900 million in public funding.
Houstonians will have to continue to wait and see what eventually comes out of the collaboration between county officials and NRG Park tenants, but, as of now, plans for some type of project appear to be moving forward.
“Anything that we can do to make sure that the stadium and then the atmosphere around NRG Park are invested in and moving forward in a positive way that matches the expectation of today's fans, that’s what we're working toward,” Grissom said.
