Houston Business Journal: What Houston Texans’ new Bridgeland headquarters could mean for team’s future at NRG Stadium, by Chandler France
- Carrie Potter
- Mar 11
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 4
Featured Quote: “There’s a lot of interests at the table,” Potter said. “Everybody coming together to do what’s best for the fans — which is why we’re in this game to begin with — in addition to driving public benefit for the city and the county. It’s going to take all parties at the table coming forward and being willing to give up some of the things that might be included now versus reimagining what the deal structure could look like.”
March 11, 2026. The Houston Texans’ new headquarters in Bridgeland represents a commitment to Houston — but not necessarily to NRG Stadium, experts said.
The Texans are building a new training facility and team headquarters in northwest Harris County while simultaneously working with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the county on leases and the future master plan for NRG Park.
Such negotiations happen constantly across professional sports in the U.S. as teams seek upgrades to aging facilities. Sometimes those negotiations go south, and teams leave their longtime homes for new metropolitan areas. Houston is all too familiar with the situation, having watched the Oilers leave town for Tennessee 30 years ago.
With a new headquarters in Houston set to open in 2029, it doesn’t appear that the Texans are leaving the region any time soon, said Joseph Thompson, a professor at the University of Houston’s C.T. Bauer College of Business. Team President Mike Tomon previously said the Texans are committed to staying in Houston, calling a move out of Greater Houston completely off the table.
“Because (the Texans) decided to move their global headquarters to Bridgeland, that signals that they are here to stay and they are dedicated to the city,” Thompson said. “I don’t think we’re going to have an Oilers situation.”
Staying in Houston doesn’t necessarily mean staying at NRG Stadium, though.
Tomon also previously said that the team is focused on renovating NRG Stadium and staying at NRG Park rather than building a new stadium elsewhere. Moving to a new location likely remains Plan B, said Carrie Potter, professor in the Department of Sports Management at Rice University. But the team's willingness to relocate its headquarters to the suburbs suggests it could make the same move for its stadium.
“I believe Plan A is still to keep the Texans at NRG Park,” Potter said. “There is a commitment from the county and the (Harris County Sports & Convention Corp.) and all involved to make the renovations that are needed at NRG Park.
“(When) negotiating these things, sometimes there's not the ability to meet all the demands of both the county and the tenants.”
A number of factors likely will determine whether the Texans decide to stay at NRG Stadium or not, Potter said. For one, politics are at play with Harris County, the city of Houston, Harris County Houston Sports Authority, HCSCC and the two tenants all involved in negotiations.
“There’s a lot of interests at the table,” Potter said. “Everybody coming together to do what’s best for the fans — which is why we’re in this game to begin with — in addition to driving public benefit for the city and the county. It’s going to take all parties at the table coming forward and being willing to give up some of the things that might be included now versus reimagining what the deal structure could look like.”
The economics of a potential deal at NRG Park also play a role, Potter said. There are a number of funding options available combining both public and private resources. Where the Texans end up depends on how much money the team is willing to put forth for a stadium project and how much money it can receive from public resources for the project.
Either renovating NRG Stadium or building a new venue would both be multibillion-dollar projects. NRG Stadium is in need of $1.4 billion in deferred and ongoing maintenance costs, according to a recent facilities condition assessment. Billions more would be needed to renovate the facility to meet modern standards.
Meanwhile, new NFL stadiums are now crossing the $2 billion mark, with some upcoming projects — like the Washington Commanders' and Kansas City Chiefs' new stadiums — slated to cost more than $3 billion.
“There are certain things that a new building will bring that is impossible to retrofit to a 30-year-old building, and no one can deny that,” Potter said.
The new headquarters shows that a public-private partnership is possible, Thompson said. Harris County commissioners Lesley Briones and Tom Ramsey partnered with the Texans and Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. to make the new development in Bridgeland possible.
“If they have a public-private partnership out there at Bridgeland, why can’t they do that for NRG Park, as well?” Thompson said.
Building a new stadium in the suburbs has its benefits, such as lower costs and more space to build a mixed-use development surrounding the venue, Potter said. It also has challenges, including a lack of transportation options. NRG Park is currently accessible by the Red Line of the MetroRail, a key source of transportation the Texans would lose if they moved out to the suburbs.
Despite the potential challenges and all the intricacies involved, both Potter and Thompson said the Texans building a new stadium outside of NRG Park is a real possibility.
“If we’re looking out 10 years from now, I could absolutely see the Texans having their own stadium (in the suburbs),” Potter said.
