The NRG Arena (formerly the Astroarena and Reliant Arena), is a 350,000 square feet (33,000 m²) sports center in
NRG Park
NRG Park, formerly Reliant Park and Astrodomain, is a complex in Houston, named after the energy company NRG Energy. It is located on Kirby Drive at the South Loop West Freeway (I-610). This complex of buildings encompasses of land and consists ...
, in
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
, Texas, USA.
Building format
The main partition on the first floor is the "Arena Proper", a 24,000 gross square foot arena that seats up to 8,500 people.
In addition to the Arena Proper, there are four exhibit halls within the NRG Arena. The largest hall is Exhibit Hall D, boasting of space. The second is Exhibit Hall A, which has of space. Exhibit Halls B and C each have of floor space as well.
The upper level maintains smaller meeting rooms and office space as well as the "Stockman's Club".
History
Construction of the Astroarena was completed in 1974 adjacent to the Astrohall. Although the Astrohall (renamed Reliant Hall temporarily) was demolished in May 2002 to make way for a parking lot when
NRG Stadium
NRG Stadium, formerly Reliant Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. Construction was completed in 2002, at a cost of $352 million and has a seating capacity of 72,220. It was the first NFL facility to have a retrac ...
was being completed. Astroarena was renamed to Reliant Arena in 2000 when
Reliant Energy
Reliant Energy is an American energy company based in Houston, Texas.
History
Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Reliant Energy, a subsidiary of NRG Energy, is one of the largest Texas electricity providers serving over 1.5 million Texans. Relian ...
bought the sponsorship of the facility.
The Arena has since been utilized for several other events, including the National Catholic Youth Conference in 2003 and the peripheral events of the
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, also called RodeoHouston or abbreviated HLSR, is the largest livestock exhibition and rodeo in the world. It includes one of the richest regular-season professional rodeo events. It has been held at NRG Sta ...
.
After previously occupying the
Compaq Center from 1998 to 2000, the
PBR PBR may refer to:
Science and technology
* Passive bistatic radar
* Partition boot record
* Pebble bed reactor, a type of nuclear reactor
* Peripheral benzodiazepine receptor, another name for translocator protein
* Phosphorus bromide
* Photobio ...
held a
Bud Light Cup event in Reliant Arena in 2001; this was their last big-league event in Houston to date.
In 2005, the Arena was used as auxiliary housing and a field clinic for residents displaced by
Hurricane Katrina after it was deemed that the
Reliant Astrodome
The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Hous ...
would be insufficient for comfortably housing over 30,000 residents.
On July 16, 2007 the arena played host to the first indoor stop on the 2007 Vans
Warped Tour
The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touri ...
.
On July 13, 2008, the arena hosted
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment.
Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promo ...
's
Victory Road event.
Reliant Arena became the home of the
Women's National Basketball Association
The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...
's
Houston Comets for what proved to be their
final season, 2008.
On March 12, 2014, the arena was renamed as the NRG Arena, after the sponsor, Reliant Energy, had been acquired and absorbed into
NRG Energy
NRG Energy, Inc. is an American energy company, headquartered in Houston, Texas. It was formerly the wholesale arm of Northern States Power Company (NSP), which became Xcel Energy, but became independent in 2000. NRG Energy is involved in ener ...
.
References
External links
Arena details and floorplansMore Reliant Arena details and floorplans
{{Authority control
1974 establishments in Texas
Arena football venues
Basketball venues in Houston
Houston Comets venues
Indoor arenas in Texas
Music venues in Houston