Houston`s Reliant stadium damaged by Hurricane Ike

Ike damages Texans' stadium, Monday's game iffy
Associated Press


HOUSTON -- Damage caused by Hurricane Ike was expected to lead to postponement of Monday night's NFL game at Reliant Stadium between the visiting Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans.

The storm tore chunks off the stadium's retractable roof and the damage can't be fixed in time to host the game, said Shea Guinn, the president and general manager of Reliant Park.


"There is no way this stadium will host a game on Monday night," Guinn said Saturday. "There are parts of the roof that are completely gone."

The retractable roof on the $352 million venue rolls open in nine sections. Guinn said five of the sections were missing and large pieces of debris had fallen into the stadium.

"It's hard to tell what came from where," Guinn said.

An official announcement on the game was expected later Saturday, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said.

"It certainly appears that the stadium is not going to be able to be used on Monday night," Aiello said.

The game, originally scheduled for Sunday, was moved to Monday earlier in the week as Ike approached the area.

The field is not scheduled to host another game until Oct. 5, but Guinn said he wasn't sure when repairs could be completed. He said the stadium also sustained some water damage at street level.

Reliant Stadium sits next to the Astrodome. Guinn said Saturday that he had not yet inspected the dome for storm damage. The Texans' air-supported practice "bubble" across the street was deflated on Thursday and was not damaged, Guinn said.

Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, the supervisor of the county's hurricane cleanup efforts, planned to visit Reliant Stadium and survey the damage later Saturday.

If Monday's game is postponed, it is unclear when it could be made up. The Texans' off week is Oct. 26, while Baltimore's is Nov. 6.

Three years ago, when the New Orleans Saints were displaced because of Hurricane Katrina, they played four of their scheduled home games at LSU's Tiger Stadium, three in San Antonio and one in East Rutherford, N.J., against the New York Giants.

I'll bet that very few people would be showing up for that game even if the stadium was ready. I am sure other things are a priority for them right now.

i totally agree utter blitz..just posting the report really....makes ya think how powerful this hurricane is and the devastation its causing to regular homes when it can do that amount of damage to a relatively new state of the art stadium like Reliant...

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Originally Posted by Ramblin` Ram

i totally agree utter blitz..just posting the report really....makes ya think how powerful this hurricane is and the devastation its causing to regular homes when it can do that amount of damage to a relatively new state of the art stadium like Reliant...

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Mother Nature is very powerful that is for sure. A big stadium that is inland will survive better than some little houses closer to the water.

I feel for the people down there. There is going to be a lot of damaged property. I hope the death toll stays down and the people that stayed have safe places to be. They are used to seeing storms so hopefully they prepared. It is easy to say that they should all evacuate, but the reality of it is not everyone has the time or money to run at every storm potential. They also have gridlock problems that don't allow for a quick exit. It must be tough for people that have livestock and property to leave it when they want to protect it.

I think I'll send some money in to the Red Cross to help a little.