WELL DONE!
How Houston Texans are bucking the trend with more changes coming in 2022
Aug 11, 2022, 3:19 pm
Texans fans won't have to worry about inflation at NRG in 2022. Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images.
You want to repeat that? Are you seriously telling me that the Houston Texans are lowering the price of hot dogs and beer for the entire 2022 season at NRG Stadium?
Swear?
The Texans and their concession partner Aramark are taking this extraordinary, actually shocking, step to lure fans back into NRG Stadium. They’re not only lowering the price of dogs and beer, they’re also slashing the cost of chicken tenders baskets and Cokes. These are the four major food groups of stadium cuisine – the building blocks of “gotta support the team.”
These “Fan First Deals” start with Saturday night’s preseason game against the New Orleans Saints. The Saints are favored by 1-1/2 points and the over/under number is 33-1/2. However, if you put any money on an NFL exhibition game, particularly the first one, you need to be committed to the home for the terminally dumb.
Here’s Texans president Greg Grissom explaining the how and why of lowering prices on concession prices.
“We’re excited to unveil an innovative approach to concessions pricing this season. In a world of increasing costs, we chose to decrease the price of selected items on game day. Based on conversations with our fans and insights from our analytics team, we identified the four most-ordered items and adjusted their pricing,” Grissom said on the Texans website.
Here’s the Fans First Deals lineup:
All beef hot dog – was $5.49, now $3.75.
Crispy chicken tender basket - was $10.09 now $7.75.
20-ounce Coca-Cola in a cup - was $4.79, now $3.75.
16-ounce domestic beer - was $8.69, now $7.95.
On average, that’s about a 20-percent, pre-tax saving from last year. While not looking a gift horse in the mouth, obviously this is a ploy to lure Texans fans back to NRG Stadium and turn the page from recent performance and public relations disasters. You know what they say, “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” The same goes for female football fans. Dig in.
I caught up with Chris Devore, the Baron of Beer Nuts for Aramark at NRG Stadium. His last name sounds very close to “devour,” so he’s in the right job.
How did the Fan First Deals happen? Did the Texans come to you or the other way around?
Devore: The Texans came to us with the idea and we worked together to bring this to life.
When did you start the process of lowering certain concession prices?
Devore: It started with the Data Analytics vice-president looking at our units sold and determining these four items would have the most impact on fan cost and overall value.
How much back and forth did you do figuring out which items to discount?
Devore: We agreed from the get-go on the four items for this year.
Are these really the four most-ordered items at Texans games?
Devore: Yes.
How did the Aramark home office react when you told them you were cutting the price of the favorite food items?
Devore: Our collective priority is to be the best possible partners to the Texans as well as the fans. So we were all aligned that this would be a beneficial program.
What does Chris Devore order at a football game?
Devote: My go-to is a footlong chili cheese dog. But lately I have been digging the Nacho Grande.
As Dr. Rick says, people expect high food prices at movie theaters and sports stadiums. What’s been the response to NRG Stadium and the Texans lowering prices?
Devore: Since it was announced on Monday, I’ve had colleagues and friends reach out to me asking about the program. I'm hopeful that indicates the same buzz is also generating throughout our fan base.
What brand of hot dogs do you sell at NRG Stadium?
Devore: Holmes Smokehouse.
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Nick Chubb didn’t expect to be a Houston Texan. At least, not until he got the call on a quiet Saturday at home and was on a flight the next day. It happened fast — too fast, even, for the four-time Pro Bowler to fully process what it all meant. But now that he’s here, it’s clear this wasn’t a random landing spot. This was a calculated leap, one Chubb had been quietly considering from afar.
The reasons he chose Houston speak volumes not only about where Chubb is in his own career, but where the Texans are as a franchise.
For one, Chubb saw what the rest of the league saw the last two seasons: a young team turning the corner. He admired the Texans from a distance — the culture shift under head coach DeMeco Ryans, the explosive rise of C.J. Stroud, and the physical tone set by players like Joe Mixon. That identity clicked with Chubb. He’d been a fan of Ryans for years, and once he got in the building, everything aligned.
“I came here and saw a bunch of guys who like to work and not talk,” Chubb said. “And I realized I'm a perfect fit.”
As for his health, Chubb isn’t running from the injuries that cost him parts of the past two seasons, he’s owning them. But now, he says, they’re behind him. After a full offseason of training the way he always has — hitting his speed and strength benchmarks — Chubb says he’s feeling the best he has in years. He’s quick to remind people that bouncing back from major injuries, especially the one he suffered in 2023, is rarely a one-year journey. It takes time. He’s given it time.
Then there’s his fit with Mixon. The two aren’t just stylistic complements, they go way back. Same recruiting class, same reputation for running hard, same respect for each other’s games. Chubb remembers dreading matchups against the Bengals in Cleveland, worrying Mixon would take over the game. Now, he sees the opportunity in pairing up. “It’ll be us kinda doing that back-to-back against other defenses,” he said.
He’s also well aware of what C.J. Stroud brings to the table. Chubb watched Stroud nearly dismantle Georgia in the College Football Playoff. Then he saw it again, up close, when Stroud lit up the Browns in the postseason. “He torched us again,” Chubb said. Now, he gets to run alongside him, not against him.
Stroud made a point to welcome Chubb, exchanging numbers and offering support. It may seem like a small thing, but it’s the kind of leadership that helped sell Chubb on the Texans as more than just a good football fit — it’s a good locker room fit, too.
It appears the decision to come to Houston wasn’t part of some master plan. But in retrospect, it makes perfect sense. Chubb is a player with a no-nonsense work ethic, recovering from adversity, looking to write the next chapter of a career that’s far from over. And the Texans? They’re a team on the rise, built around guys who want to do the same.
You can watch the full interview in the video below.
And for those wondering how Joe Mixon feels about Nick Chubb, check out this video from last season. Let's just say he's a fan.
I’ve seen some speculation indicating that Joe Mixon may not be happy the Texans signed Nick Chubb. If that is what you believe, watch this clip from an interview with @greenlight pod last year & get back to me. pic.twitter.com/3vaip85esj
— Houston Stressans (@TexansCommenter) June 11, 2025
*ChatGPT assisted.
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