Writer: Esteban Pages
3 min read October 2023 — What does college basketball, football, professional golf and soccer have in common? The answer is Houston, as recent reports suggest.
The Energy Capital of the World is well on its way to becoming a top international sports destination: the 2023 NCAA Final Four, the 2023 LPGA Chevron Championship, the 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship, the 2025, 2027 and 2031 editions of the AAU Junior Olympic Games and the 2026 FIFA World Cup will all take place in Bayou City, to name a few. Added to the events-full calendar, there’s the sizable economic impact of its sports entertainment industry on the Houston MSA economy. According to the Online Betting Guide’s (OLBG) Most Valuable U.S. Sporting Cities by 2030, Houston ranked fifth, raking in $1.21 billion in 2022 from its two major league sporting teams, the NFL’s Houston Texans and the MLB’s Houston Astros. OLBG forecasts 51% revenue growth by 2030, amounting to $1.8 billion.
Five to eight of the 104 total FIFA World Cup matches will take place at the NRG Stadium, according to a Chron report. Houston will also host the FIFA Fan Fest, a 37-day event free to the public and estimated to attract between 4,000 to 8,000 people per day. The FIFA matches and related events in the city are anticipated to draw in as much as $1.3 billion, equivalent to hosting five Super Bowls within a three-week time frame.
What is at the root of the city’s sporting events success? For Daniel Gotera, senior director of communications for the Harris County–Houston Sports Authority, the explanation is simple: it’s all thanks to the fans. “Houston is a melting pot of cultures, ideas and yes, sports fans. That last one, enhances the city’s appeal to many events that are interested in reaching people from different backgrounds, which has the potential to grow their individual sports or brands beyond their core fan bases and supporters,” he told Invest:.
“In my time living in Houston and covering sports, day in and day out, I’ve seen the city welcome these events with open arms which isn’t always the case in other big cities. Houston not only hosts them but elevates expectations for those events when they go somewhere else the following year. Raising the bar on events keeps the city top of mind for event organizers and coordinators and sets Houston up for continued success in the future,” he added.
There are still some areas of opportunity Houston will need to address to rise to the top of the sports entertainment hill. The city ranked 29th among the 50 best cities for sports business evaluated by the Sports Business Journal, behind its Lone Star State counterparts Dallas, Austin and San Antonio. The city’s ranking results were hurt by the city’s sprawling nature and lack of walkability options. Another criticism raised is the lack of hospitality options around its sporting assets. The lack of appealing restaurants, bars and hotel options for visitors steals away from Houston’s appeal as a sports city.
Houston First and the South Main Alliance’s Main Street Coalition, are partnering up to address these issues, gauging different comprehensive plans to develop the area and consolidate a commercial developer catalyst. On the sports entertainment assets side of the equation, NRG Park is planning to revamp its complex over a period of several years while Minute Maid Park has recently upgraded its video display technology thanks to a new Samsung partnership, in addition to a 8,500-square-foot center field team store and new food options. The Houston Astros are doing their part to elevate Houston’s sport city status by tackling a mixed-use development adjacent to Minute Maid Park. The project is planned to include a hotel, an entertainment center, restaurants, an indoor tailgating area, as well as a walkway connecting the development to the ballpark’s club level.
Houston First CEO Michael Heckman is adamant about creating an entertainment district around sports and entertainment complexes to allow Houston to reach its full potential with a mature sports entertainment ecosystem, while NRG Park CEO and Executive Director Ryan Walsh is confident that by 2028, the area around the sports complex will look unrecognizable.
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