The next Big Game is on the way
Mayor Sylvester Turner and Waltrip High School students celebrate the Super Bowl LI Countdown Clock’s unveiling at NRG Stadium Thursday.
Houston is counting the days until Feb. 5, 2017, and Super Bowl LI — literally.
Confetti rained down Thursday morning at NRG Stadium as Houston’s first city Super Bowl countdown clock was unveiled. And city leaders didn’t waste any time discussing the work that needs to be done between now and kickoff.
“Today we celebrate that Houston is officially on the clock — a point of pride for all Houstonians,” said Sallie Sargent, host committee president and CEO, noting that Bayou City leaders received the football from San Francisco in a handoff ceremony Monday.
Committee chairman Ric Campo said Houston will need 10,000 volunteers to prepare for kickoff.
“It’s so important that the game be done right for the teams, for the fans and for the media — we want them all to leave town saying, ‘This was the best game, the best facility ever,’ ” said Harris County Judge Ed Emmett. “Harris County is ready to make that commitment, but we’re going to need a lot of help and a lot of people, because a facility is more than just a stadium — it’s the service that we provide the stadium, the friendliness (and) the traffic management.”
Harris County Precinct 1 Commissioner Gene Locke said he will use $12.5 million of his budget for road repairs around NRG Park.
“We would have gotten to them anyway. This gives us a platform and the opportunity to do it now,” he said. “We’re going to take the most dilapidated roads first and also pay particular attention to the roads that are going to have a lot of traffic so that people will have a good entrance and exit from the facility.”
Sections of Holly Hall, Knight, Ardmore and El Rio streets are scheduled for repairs, according to a news release. The Commis- sioners Court is expected to vote on the project Feb. 23.
Matthew Hahn, who attended the unveiling and lives in the area, was excited to hear about the road repairs and said he is thinking about volunteering in other areas of need.
“The last Super Bowl that was here (in 2004), the weeds out there on the freeway were 4 to 5 feet high, and I think that we need to address that and the trash that’s out on the 610 Loop,” Hahn said. “The gutters are full, the ditches are full, and I think I want to be part of that cleanup.”
The Astrodome has been power washed, repainted and awaits a new purpose as city officials eye it as the iconic image of Houston.
“In San Francisco, we kept seeing on television one thing over and over and over: the Golden Gate Bridge,” Emmett said. “Whether we like it or not, there’s going to be a picking-out of an iconic structure (and ours) is next door.”
Houston has 359 days and counting to prepare for the event.
“As I said in California, when you come to Houston, Harris County, we’ll take you to space, but we’ll also travel you all across the world,” Mayor Sylvester Turner said. “They’ll see space, they’ll see internationalism, but they will also get some southern charm and some southern hospitality. Bring it on; we’re ready to play.”