THE FERTITTA ERA BEGINS
Tilman talks: New Rockets owner discusses national anthem, Toyota Center food, and why he loves the NBA
Marcy de Luna
Oct 10, 2017, 12:22 am
Houston Rockets CEO Tad Brown and owner Tilman Fertitta. Marcy de Luna
It’s not every day that an NBA franchise gets a new owner. There are, after all, only 30 teams. Thursday, the NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved Tilman Fertitta as the new owner of the Houston Rockets, setting the stage for the commencement of the Fertitta era. He acquired the franchise from Les Alexander for $2.2 billion.
Fertitta, who was a limited partner with former Rockets owner Charlie Thomas in the early 1980s and an advisory director for the Rockets during the two years they won back-to-back championships in 1994 and 1995, is no stranger to the NBA team.
The Houston billionaire had a lot to say when he and Rockets CEO Tad Brown met with the press on Tuesday. Read on for their answers to nine questions on topics ranging from bringing an NHL team to the Bayou City to the concessions at Toyota Center:
Why the Houston Rockets?
“I kind of went through my life, and I’ve had a wonderful life and a wonderful family and lots of good things have happened to me, and I got to a point where I said, ‘Gosh, if I laid my head down on the pillow for the last time, the one thing that I never got to accomplish was owning a team in my hometown,'" Fertitta said.
“I started listening to the San Diego Rockets when I was in junior high school, when they said they were moving to Houston, Texas, with Elvin Hayes. That’s when I became a Houston Rockets fan. So I’ve been on the ride from the beginning.”
On receiving the big news
“It was a wonderful moment. I was on my boat in Marina del Rey shooting Billion Dollar Buyer. I was sick and at the same time the storm (Harvey) was coming, and Tad (Brown) called and asked me to come in the next morning," Fertitta said.
”If I can expand, it was the Friday the storm was hitting, we were closing the offices, Tilman was sick, and Leslie (Alexander) told me to engage in closing discussions with Tilman," Brown said. "When I called (to tell him), we were FaceTiming each other, Tilman put his head down and started to cry. And you could see, immediately, that it was the right call.”
Now that it’s official, how does it feel?
"This is the ultimate. You’re in a club of 30. Anybody can go build a boardwalk, anybody can go build an aquarium, anybody can build a tall building, but not everyone gets to own an NBA franchise,” Ferttitta said.
What sort of owner will you be?
“I can’t describe what kind of owner I’m going to be. Somebody said, ‘are you going to be more like Peter Holt (owner of the San Antonio Spurs) or more like Mark Cuban (owner of the Dallas Mavericks)?’
“ … I don’t think I’ll be anything like Mark Cuban, who has an excellent style to be as successful as he’s been, and I think Peter has an unbelievable style that fits him to run San Antonio, but I’m just going to be Tilman.”
The NFL, MLB, and NBA
TF on NFL: “We don’t really know where football is going. There’s nothing like the NFL, we all agree that we wait for football season, but even people that I know in football are concerned about where it’s going to be in 50-60 years."
TF on MLB: “And then you have baseball and the average viewing age is 60 years old.”
TF on the NBA: "The NBA has become a true world sport. Out of the three major (professional sports), leaving out hockey, I think this is by far the best one to have today. I would have been scared to pay $2.2 billion for an NFL franchise … the NBA is where it’s at.”
Is Houston getting an NHL franchise?
“We’ve looked at many NHL teams over the years. It wasn’t a matter of not wanting to bring someone in, whether they be a tenant or not, it’s just that the deals didn’t work," Brown said. “Tilman and I have talked about a number of different things. There’s optionality going forward with things that he wants to look at. And we’re going to look at everything that makes sense for this building, for his companies, and for the city of Houston."
“You’ve got to pay attention to the numbers," Fertitta said. "I would put an NHL team here tomorrow, but this one (the Rockets) has got to work. Do I want to see Toyota Center filled up 300 nights a year? Definitely. We’ll do whatever we can do, but it’s got to make sense. But will we be aggressive? Yes, that’s my nature.”
Will you make any changes to concession offerings at Toyota Center?
“We want to cross promote anything we can — I’ve got to offset that $2.2 billion! There’s one company that owns everything: Fertitta Entertainment, of which I own 100 percent. It owns the Houston Rockets, Landry’s 600 restaurants, the huge hospitality division, and the huge gaming division — I don’t think they’ll let me put a casino in here!
"There is a contract with the Levy organization. We have a good relationship with them and they’ll let us do basically whatever we want to do. So will you start seeing some of our brands and our food? Yes.”
Do you have a policy for the National Anthem?
“The NBA has a policy. And the NBA says everybody’s going to stand up for the National Anthem. And I think it’s really good — that’s what we should do. I totally believe in free speech, and everybody should do what they want to do on their time, but we’re going to live by the NBA policy. I have to follow their policies, so I expect the players to.”
What does this mean for your family?
“This family loves owning the Houston Rockets and they will be involved in the decision making process as much as I will.
“This is a generational asset. If you know us, we are not big sellers of assets, we are acquirers. I would be extremely disappointed, and I think they would be, too, if any of y’all are still covering this team in 50 years without the Fertitta family.”
It’s May 1, and the Astros are turning heads—but not for the reasons anyone expected. Their resurgence, driven not by stars like Yordan Alvarez or Christian Walker, but by a cast of less-heralded names, is writing a strange and telling early-season story.
Christian Walker, brought in to add middle-of-the-order thump, has yet to resemble the feared hitter he was in Arizona. Forget the narrative of a slow starter—he’s never looked like this in April. Through March and April of 2025, he’s slashing a worrying .196/.277/.355 with a .632 OPS. Compare that to the same stretch in 2024, when he posted a .283 average, .496 slug, and a robust .890 OPS, and it becomes clear: this is something more than rust. Even in 2023, his April numbers (.248/.714 OPS) looked steadier.
What’s more troubling than the overall dip is when it’s happening. Walker is faltering in the biggest moments. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting just .143 over 33 plate appearances, including 15 strikeouts. The struggles get even more glaring with two outs—.125 average, .188 slugging, and a .451 OPS in 19 such plate appearances. In “late and close” situations, when the pressure’s highest, he’s practically disappeared: 1-for-18 with a .056 average and a .167 OPS.
His patience has waned (only 9 walks so far, compared to 20 by this time last year), and for now, his presence in the lineup feels more like a placeholder than a pillar.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer when you look at José Altuve—long the engine of this franchise—who, in 2024, delivered in the moments Walker is now missing. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Altuve hit .275 with an .888 OPS. In late and close situations, he thrived with a .314 average and .854 OPS. That kind of situational excellence is missing from this 2025 squad—but someone else may yet step into that role.
And yet—the Astros are winning. Not because of Walker, but in spite of him.
Houston’s offense, in general, hasn’t lit up the leaderboard. Their team OPS ranks 23rd (.667), their slugging 25th (.357), and they sit just 22nd in runs scored (117). They’re 26th in doubles, a rare place for a team built on gap-to-gap damage.
But where there’s been light, it hasn’t come from the usual spots. Jeremy Peña, often overshadowed in a lineup full of stars, now boasts the team’s highest OPS at .791 (Isaac Paredes is second in OPS) and is flourishing in his new role as the leadoff hitter. Peña’s balance of speed, contact, aggression, and timely power has given Houston a surprising tone-setter at the top.
Even more surprising: four Astros currently have more home runs than Yordan Alvarez.
And then there’s the pitching—Houston’s anchor. The rotation and bullpen have been elite, ranking 5th in ERA (3.23), 1st in WHIP (1.08), and 4th in batting average against (.212). In a season where offense is lagging and clutch hits are rare, the arms have made all the difference.
For now, it’s the unexpected contributors keeping Houston afloat. Peña’s emergence. A rock-solid pitching staff. Role players stepping up in quiet but crucial ways. They’re not dominating, but they’re grinding—and in a sluggish AL West, that may be enough.
Walker still has time to find his swing. He showed some signs of life against Toronto and Detroit. If he does, the Astros could become dangerous. If he doesn’t, the turnaround we’re witnessing will be credited to a new cast of unlikely faces. And maybe, that’s the story that needed to be written.
We have so much more to discuss. Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday!
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