The Houston Texans have made big moves before in regard to their football operations. For a three year period, not all that long ago, they made firing and hiring head coaches an annual tradition. They’ve made big trades up in the draft for Deshaun Watson and Will Anderson. However, the announcement of their new headquarters and entertainment space in Bridgeland, set to open in 2029, is by far the biggest business move the franchise has made in its history. 

If you missed the news from late last week, the Texans are partnering with Harris County, along with private equity firm Howard Hughes, to move their headquarters and football operations to an 83-acre parcel of land in planned community Bridgeland.

Twenty-two of the 83 acres will be dedicated to Texans properties — the headquarters, practice facility, and other applicable football operations elements — while the remainder will house retail, entertainment, hotel, medical, and community event space. 

This is all very exciting! We had the report of this announcement last Friday, but after several interviews with Texans’ luminaries, including team president Mike Tomon appearing on my radio show on SportsRadio 610 on Friday morning, we can now answer a few questions and provide somewhat educated observations. Here are four: 

The Houston Texans get “their own room” 

If you’ve lived in Harris County for any period of time, then you probably are aware of the nature of the Texans’ agreement with NRG Stadium. Unlike Toyota Center and Daikin Park, where the Rockets and Astros, respectively, are the primary tenants, the Texans share NRG with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

What this means is that, during rodeo season, the Texans’ employees are dealing with rodeo traffic, and rodeo functions inside the stadium. It makes getting work done more difficult, especially for the football team trying to conduct offseason workouts. With the new HQ, dubbed the “Toro District,” day to day life just got easier for the Texans. They’re like a kid that just got their own room after sharing a room with their sibling for 25 years. 

This is not a precursor to a new stadium in Bridgeland 

This much was made VERY clear by Tomon on my radio show last week. The first ting Texans fans began to wonder when the Toro District was announced on Thursday was “Is this the first step in moving EVERYTHING up to Bridgeland, including game days in a new stadium?” Tomon made it abundantly clear that the Texans’ first priority is exploring every avenue to revamping NRG Stadium and the surrounding area.

There are no designs on moving Sundays (or prime time games on other days of the week) outside of that part of town. Could things change? I suppose anything is possible, but Tomon was adamant about the absence of any connective tissue between the Toro District and the team’s stadium situation, when their lease expires in 2032. 

This will likely be the nerve center for every big Texans event

Now, back up to Bridgeland, to discuss what this area will entail. As I mentioned earlier, there are plans for retail stores, restaurants, entertainment areas, medical facilities and hotel properties. The last few years, the Texans have conducted their draft night parties at Miller Outdoor Theatre or downtown. I would imagine that the Toro District will be the new spot in 2029. Additionally, I could see the team conducting big watch parties for home and road games. Certainly, this gives the team an opportunity to reimagine how training camp functions for fans. Essentially, anything Texans-related, aside from games, will be conducted at the Toro District. 

It’s good to be a realtor in the Bridgeland area

Obviously, with all of the team’s functions housed at NRG Stadium, the vast majority of Texans employees, including players, have chosen to make their homes on the south side of the greater Houston area. Places like Pearland and Missouri City are go-to places to live, because of the easy access to the NRG Stadium area.

Well, I would expect that trend to shift significantly over the next few years, as 95 percent of the job description for an NFL player — practices, workouts, meetings, press conferences — will take place in the Toro District. Now is a great time to be a real estate agent in Bridgeland, as you’re about to see a nice bump in the amount of young millionaires with good credit moving to the area! 

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