Menu
Opinion

Houston ready to present ‘world-class’ Super Bowl

Houston Texans owner Bob McNair has a vision of what he wants the world to think of his home city after it hosts Super Bowl LI in February 2017.

“The world will see what a great city Houston is, and what an outstanding job the people here have done to put on such a presentation to the world,” he said earlier this month before 400 of Houston’s business leaders. “They will see how efficient, well-coordinated and friendly it will be. They are going to see a world-class presentation that is going to be very impressive and very enjoyable.”

Texans owner Bob McNair and Ric Campo of the Super Bowl Host Committee discuss preparations for the February event.
Photo by: DAVID A. BROWN
McNair, dressed comfortably in white slacks and golf shirt, and light blue blazer, was joined by Houston Super Bowl Host Committee Chairman Ric Campo for a discussion previewing the city hosting its first Super Bowl since 2004 (when Super Bowl XXXVIII featured Carolina-New England and Janet Jackson). The panel came 150 days ahead of the Super Bowl, and I facilitated the event hosted by the Greater Houston Partnership.

The city’s leaders stressed they are on schedule to showcase a city that will be far different from the one that hosted 12 years ago, and touted a market well-experienced in hosting big events, as in the span of 10 months, it will have hosted the Final Four, three Copa America matches and the Super Bowl. But Campo recalled how tough it was to bring the game back to Texas when it was up against Miami in a 2013 vote, and in perhaps the most eye-opening remark of the day, remembered the negative perception of Houston from the league’s New York office.

“This wasn’t easy,” he said. “I remember going to the league office in New York City and sitting there and talking up all the benefits of Houston, and a league guy looked back at me and said, ‘Houston is no fun.’ I said, ‘What do you mean it’s no fun?’ I was taken aback. But once we really showed them everything and showcased the city — and maybe that’s a battle we continuously face — they finally began to understand how great it is.”

But Campo also noted the real reason the league is returning to Houston is due to McNair’s influence, respect and capital among ownership. “The Super Bowl would not be here today without Bob McNair wanting it to be here,” Campo said of the 79-year-old Texans owner, who chairs the finance committee and is a member of Commissioner Roger Goodell’s recently announced chairmen’s committee. “He spent an incredible amount of time and a great deal of his personal resources on this.”

As is his way, McNair deferred such praise and instead pointed to the attractive mix of Houston — NRG Stadium, two major airports, new hotels under construction, the restaurants/entertainment mix and the overall market — as a reason the game returned. “This is a tremendous sports market,” he said.

McNair, Rootes seeking national profile for Texans

The best part about Bob McNair is his improved health. He said he is feeling good after bouts with two forms of cancer – chronic lymphocytic leukemia and squamous cell carcinoma, a non-melanoma skin cancer. He looks good and told me his energy is slowly coming back, about 80 percent of the way.

What’s keeping him enthused is his football team, as he’s excited for the Texans hosting the league’s return to Mexico City in a “Monday Night Football” game on Nov. 21, and the team’s prospects on the field, as he believes it’s the best roster since the team debuted in 2002. “If we stay healthy, I think we will be very competitive and could go a long way,” he said.

Everywhere you look in Houston, there is something about the Texans. The local news led with the team’s opener, which was four days away; billboards dot the city; and the team was the first topic of sports conversation during my brief visit. It is evidence of the hard work and energy McNair, team President Jamey Rootes and staff have done to integrate into the community.  Just browse through the team’s 54-page Community Impact Report to get a sense of the Texans’ local impact, and Rootes was frequently cited by business leaders for his tireless efforts.

While the team is strong regionally, it still seeks more national attention, which was one of the driving factors for its appearance on “Hard Knocks” in 2015. McNair, and the crowd, laughed when he was asked if he missed being on the show.

“There were a lot of different opinions within our organization about appearing on ‘Hard Knocks.’ But I felt like it was a good opportunity for our team, players and coaches, because it would expose them to the rest of the country,” he said. “We have great support regionally, but we don’t have that much support nationally because we’re the newest team and people haven’t seen the players and the coaches. This was an opportunity to introduce them, and at the same time, I thought it was great for Houston and attracting a lot of attention here.”

— Abraham D. Madkour
The one beef about Houston hosting big events is the city’s size, with everything seemingly spread out. No one will question its scale; it soon could be the third-largest city in the U.S. But the plan is to hold more Super Bowl events in the city’s downtown core. Campo noted $6 billion worth of investment in Houston’s center city since 2004, including the development of the 12-acre Discovery Green park, which opened in 2008. Campo also stressed the production of Super Bowl Live, which will draw over a million people during a 10-day window.

“We will have a NASA-wow factor, with a spaceship feel, it will be an iconic symbol about how Houston is a great place to work, live and play,” he said. “The fan experience will be a great deal bigger and more choreographed this time with getting out our message on Houston.”

Game broadcaster Fox Sports will be posted up at Discovery Green. Meanwhile, ESPN will be located at the city’s Midtown Park, where it will broadcast hours of live coverage with Houston as the backdrop. “The world is just going to get saturated with images of Houston,” McNair said.

Campo also touted the city’s new light rail system, as well as 2,600 new hotel rooms downtown, allowing for more activity in that part of the city. The NFL’s official hotel will be a brand-new Marriott Marquis, a 1,000-room hotel costing an estimated $375 million due to open in October.

“So many of the activities this year will take place right in that downtown area, so it’s a wonderful opportunity to show off the city,” McNair added. “Discovery Green is a wonderful open space, a wonderful venue to be able to host a large number of people, but in a manageable way. People will experience the enthusiasm and the energy but at the same time, not feel like they are overwhelmed.”

On Super Sunday, there will be the normal concerns of traffic, but with a roof, $50 million in renovations to the 14-year-old stadium and $20 million in food service upgrades, there is little doubt NRG Stadium will show well. The building has enhanced Wi-Fi ready to host the roughly 72,000 expected for the game, with 80 percent of the attendees from out of state.

And of course, no discussion on the Super Bowl would be complete without a prediction of who will be in the game. Campo sparked some snickers when he said, “The Texas answer would be the Texans and the Cowboys,” he said. “With the Texans winning.”

McNair gave me a lengthy pause and slight smile. Recognizing that his team went undefeated in the preseason (and was 1-0 after opening weekend), he deftly said, “If we can remain undefeated, we will be one of them.” It brought down the house — the man knows how to play to his audience.

Abraham D. Madkour can be reached at amadkour@sportsbusinessjournal.com.

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 19, 2024

PGA Tour/PIF inching closer? Another NWSL sale for a big return and MLB's Go Ahead Entry expands

ESPN’s Jay Bilas, BTN’s Meghan McKeown, and a deep dive into AppleTV+’s The Dynasty

On this week’s Sports Media Podcast from the New York Post and Sports Business Journal, ESPN’s Jay Bilas talks all things NCAA. Big Ten Network’s Meghan McKeown shares her insight into the Caitlin Clark craze. The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn chats all things Bean Town. And SBJ’s Xavier Hunter drops in to share his findings on how the NWSL is making a social media push.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2016/09/19/Opinion/From-The-Executive-Editor.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2016/09/19/Opinion/From-The-Executive-Editor.aspx

CLOSE