2004
SUPERBOWL - HOUSTON, TX
Reliant Stadium - Houston, Texas.
Home of the Houston Texans, Reliant
Stadium was the first of its kind in the NFL, with a retractable
roof when it opened in September 2002. Prior to 1997, Houston had
a NFL franchise, the Houston Oilers. After thirty years of playing
in Houston, TX at the Astrodome, the Oilers began demanding that
a new football only stadium be built in the mid 1990’s. After
numerous attempts to get a stadium failed, the team decided to move
to Nashville, TN after the 1996 season. Once the Oilers left for
Nashville, a group including Bob McNair, got HOK sport to design
a new retractable roof stadium, that could help lure a team back
to Houston. In 1999, convinced by the Houston group, the NFL awarded
the area a new franchise, the Houston Texans to begin playing in
2002. The Texans partnered with the Livestock Show and Rodeo in
building a stadium. Groundbreaking ceremonies for the new stadium,
which was built near the Astrodome, began in early 2000. The stadium
is capable of accommodating both football and rodeos. In October
2000, Reliant Energy purchased the naming rights, thus the facility
was named Reliant Stadium.
Super Bowl XXXVIII will be the second
Super Bowl hosted in the great city of Houston. Super Bowl VIII
was played at Rice Stadium on January 13, 1974. When the big game
returns to the Lone Star State in 2004, NFL fans will be treated
to a true 21st century experience at Reliant Stadium.
Houston
- just the facts
Location
· State of Texas, southwest U.S.
· Upper Gulf Coast (50 miles from Gulf of Mexico)
Population
· 1.8 million /city
· 4.3 million / county metropolitan statistical area
· Houston is the seat of ethnically diverse Harris County.
· Houston is 54 percent white, 23 percent Hispanic, 19 percent
African American and 4 percent Asian.
Size
· 617 square miles / city of Houston
· 8,778 square miles / CMSA
History
· Founded in August 1836 by brothers Augustus and John Allen.
Houston is named after General Sam Houston, who led the Texas Army
in its victory over General Santa Anna's Mexican forces at the 1836
Battle of San Jacinto. In 1837, Houston was incorporated in the
Republic of Texas and served as its capital from 1837 to 1840.
Accommodations
· More than 46,000 hotel rooms in the city
Major Airports
· George Bush Intercontinental Airport
· William P. Hobby Airport
Architecture
· Chase Tower, the tallest building west of the Mississippi
River, and Williams Tower, the tallest building outside a central
business district, are two examples of Houston's award-winning architecture
Economic Health
· Houston's job count is 206 million - more than all of Colorado.
The city also is an affordable place to live with a cost of living
21 percent below the average for 17 metro areas with more than 2
million people.
Arts
· One of the few U.S. cities with permanent ballet, opera,
symphony and theater companies.
· More than 30 museums.
· With 10,000 theater seats, Houston ranks second only to
New York.
Transportation
· Buses: The Metropolitan Transit Authority operates nearly
1,400 buses on 128 routes throughout the city. In FY 98, METRO had
more than 100 million bus boardings.
· Freeways / expressways: 570 miles
· High Occupancy vehicle expressways: 86 miles carrying 85,000
people each weekday.
· The third-largest taxi cab fleet in the country with 2,000
vehicles.
· A free downtown trolley system.
Recreation
· 500-plus parks in Harris County
· 12,236 water-covered areas
· 32 miles of public beaches in area
· 100-plus golf courses in greater Houston
· Third largest concentration of pleasure boats in the United
States
Restaurants
· More than 8,000 restaurants feature a wide variety of ethnic
cuisine.
Shopping
· The Galleria, Houston's largest and best-known retail mall,
features 320 stores and is visited by more than 16 million people
annually.
· The oldest shopping district is the River Oaks Shopping
Center.
· Walk Rice Village's charming sidewalks and scour its hundreds
of shops.
· There are six major outlet malls in the area, offering
great discount shopping.
Sports
· Houston Rockets, basketball
· Houston Astros, baseball
· Houston Aeros, hockey
· Houston Comets, women's basketball
Weather
· Mild year-round climate
· 66° average high winter temperature
· 91° average high summer temperature
· 79° average high spring / autumn temperature
Time Zone
· Houston is located in the Central Time Zone.
Sales Tax
· The sales tax is 8.25 percent.
· 6.25 percent goes to the state, 1 percent goes to the city
and 1 percent goes to the transit authority.
Bed Tax
· Houston's hotel/motel tax is 17 percent.
· 7 percent goes to the city for maintenance of its civic
center facilities, funding of the arts and funding of tourism and
convention marketing efforts, 2 percent goes to for expansion work
at Astrodome USA, 6 percent goes to the state and 2 percent goes
to the Houston / Harris County Sports Authority
Seat Belt Law
· All drivers and front-seat passengers in Texas are required
by law to use safety belts whenever they ride in safety belt-equipped
cars or trucks of 3/4 capacity and below.
|
|
