Stadium Cheat Sheet
The Houston stadium tour cheat sheet Part 4: NRG Stadium
Sep 19, 2017, 1:17 pm
Where to park, pregrame, drink, and more at NRG Stadium. NRG Park/Facebook
This is part four of the Houston stadium series. You can find part one — Minute Maid Park — here, part two — Toyota Center — here and part three — BBVA Compass here.
In 2002 Houston re-emerged in the NFL with a shiny new stadium and the most generic team name in the league. Fifteen full seasons later and the Texans laugh at our face as Houstonians blindly pack NRG Stadium — every weekend of every season — despite an all-time franchise win percentage of 44. In 15 seasons these guys have produced two double-digit win seasons. But football, am I right?
I will preface this article by admitting that I don’t go to a ton of Texans games. I do root for them, and I do watch the games, I just can’t justify going. As far as football is concerned, it is my personal preference that watching the game on the patio of a comfortable bar with a few friends in the fall is a much better experience than the all-day experience of a Texans game at NRG.
No one simply shows up for the game. You’ve got to fight traffic to get there, arrive early enough to tailgate, go to the game, fight an hour of traffic just to get out of the parking lot, and then add on the actual travel time home because no one who can afford to do this regularly lives near the stadium. But I digress. Football, am I right?
So you’ve decided you want to go see DeShaun Watson toss some touchdowns for your favorite team in the world. Maybe you’re going in hopes that we’ll finally get to see Bill O’Brien snap and put a rookie through a table, Dudley Boyz Style. Or maybe you just want to tailgate. All are valid reasons to head down to Kirby and 610. Here’s the best advice I can give without being too jaded. Football!
Where to get tickets
There aren’t any tricks, really. It’s football in Texas, so it’s a seller’s market. And if you thought you were already getting fleeced, ticket prices are up this season. Now the average ticket will only cost you $103 per person!
Where to park
The parking lot might actually be the most entertaining aspect of catching a Texans game at NRG Stadium. On gameday, I typically see more social media posts of people partying their faces off at tailgates in the parking lot than of anyone actually in the stadium. Believe it or not, Houston is actually one of the best tailgating venues in the NFL.
They’ve basically got teams out there. There are groups that give themselves cool Texans-related team names; shell out upwards of $10,000 a year for parking spaces alone (not including the cost of their season tickets); bring barbecue pits worth more than my car; and sit in a parking lot, cook, drink, and talk about the Texans before they go see the Texans.
But if you ignore that cynical perspective or absurd logic of the entire tradition, they’re actually a ton of fun. You’ll need a ticket to the game, a parking pass, and a tailgating pass to do any of this, though, because why would you assume that a blue-collar tradition would be free. Dummy. Oh, and drink responsibly. Or at least pace yourself.
That entirely hypothetical situation would be a real rookie move, guys.
Where to pregame
Tailgate, dummy.
Where to get beer
NRG is home to several bars throughout the stadium and has a fairly decent offering of local breweries like 8th Wonder, Karbach, and Saint Arnold. They’ll all run you roughly $10, so, once again, just go drink at the tailgate and ride that buzz throughout the game. The Texans will probably give you plenty of reasons to drink though.
Where to get food
Dude, seriously. Tailgate.
Where it gets rowdy
The tailgate — I’ll stop. The entire stadium is fairly rowdy, but the north endzone — referred to as “The Bull Pen” is where it gets crazy. To give you an idea of what you’re in for (assuming you can score tickets here), here’s an excerpt from the Texans official Bull Pen site:
“… fans within the Bull Pen are encouraged to stand throughout the game, sing, cheer and otherwise support the team in an enthusiastic manner, and therefore this section may not be a good fit for children or families.”
I love it.
Next up: The Astrodome — I mean, we’re done.
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Originally appeared on houstonsportsandstuff.com.
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Cam Smith brought three dozen Shipley's glazed donuts to his Houston Astros teammates Thursday morning before his major league debut.
Then he really delivered, with an opposite-field single on the first pitch he saw in the major leagues to help Houston to a 3-1 win over the New York Mets.
“They all liked it, so that’s a good thing," Smith said of the donuts, a sentiment that could also apply to his second-inning hit that set up the first run of the game.
The 22-year-old prospect reached the majors after playing just 32 minor league games. Batting seventh and starting in right field, he became the second-youngest Astros position player to make his MLB debut as a starter on opening day and the youngest since Rusty Staub was 19 in 1963.
With one out in the second, Smith grounded a single to right field on a sinker from Clay Holmes to get his first big league hit in his initial plate appearance. Jeremy Peña dashed from first to third on the play and later scored on a groundout.
“I was just looking for a pitch and I wanted to ambush it and I got lucky with that base hit,” Smith said.
The poise he showed in his debut impressed his coaches and teammates.
“He's amazing," Jose Altuve said. “He went the other way on a tough pitch and he set the tone to score the first run. I know he's going to help this team a lot. He's going to be out there getting better and better. He's just so talented.”
Most believed that Smith, the 14th overall pick in last year’s amateur draft, would need more time in the minors when he was acquired in December from the Chicago Cubs along with Isaac Paredes and Hayden Wesneski as part of the Kyle Tucker trade.
Instead, Smith hit .342 with a triple, four homers, 11 RBIs and a 1.130 OPS this spring to earn a spot on the major league roster.
The Astros announced he’d make the big league roster earlier this week, with manager Joe Espada inviting Smith's mother into the clubhouse to deliver the news. Video of the moment shared by the Astros captured the touching exchange.
After the trade, Smith moved from third base, where Paredes is starting, to right field, where he replaced Tucker.
Still wearing his dirt-stained uniform long after the last pitch Thursday, the kid who was playing college ball at Florida State at this time last year said he hadn’t had time to reflect on his whirlwind journey to the big leagues.
“I have not,” Smith said. “I was just out there with my family on the field appreciating this day and ... good thing we got done early so I can go home and get my feet under myself and think about it.”
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