Sugar Land’s Smart Financial Centre opens with Seinfeld
The majestic Smart Financial Centre opened in Sugar Land Saturday with speeches and laughs.
Gary Becker, the developer and president of Ace Sugar Land, welcomed the sharp-dressed crowd to his $84 million jewel of a theater. After a warm-up act, Jerry Seinfeld took the stage and had the crowd in stitches for over an hour with his comedy about the little things in life.
Look for Seinfeld on Netflix soon; he has signed a deal to do two stand-up specials and create content for the streaming service. His popular “Comedians in Cars” will move to Netflix, too.
His rants have changed since we last saw him on his “Seinfeld” TV show, which ended in 1998 after nine seasons. Now his jokes are about marriage (he’s been married for 18 years), fatherhood (he has one daughter and two sons), aging (he’s 62) and the Pop Tart (“when they invented it, the back of my head blew off”).
The grand theater holds 6,400 people, and the house was packed. Despite Seinfeld’s jokes about Sugar Land — he had never heard of it — the city can be proud of its new venue. As visitors left the venue, many looked back to admire the beautifully lit spaceship that has landed in Sugar Land.
The opening party brought out a Who’s Who of Sugar Land: Sugar Land Mayor Joe Zimmerman; former Sugar Land Mayor James Thomp- son; James Spark, CFO of Mercedes-Benz of Sugar Land, along with his executive team of Bernice King, Mike Baches and Derek Brown; and state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst and her husband, Jim.
Becker attended with his girlfriend, Tama Lundquist, and her twin sister, Tena Lundquist Faust. Smart Financial Centre GM Randy Bloom welcomed guests, including Larry Seidl, CEO of Smart Financial Credit Union, and Gary Tuma, former CEO.
Also spotted in the crowd: Doug Dempster, dean of the University of Texas’ College of Fine Arts; and KPRC “Houston Life” hosts Derrick Sore and Jennifer Broome.
Smart Financial Centre is booking some big stars — Dave Matthews (Wednesday), Reba (Friday), Kristin Chenoweth (Saturday), Sting, (Feb. 23), Billy Crystal (Feb. 25), Chris Rock (May 13).
For a calendar and ticket information, see smartfinancialcentre.com.