Filed under: Texans, AFC South
With Reliant Stadium losing five roof tiles in Hurricane Ike and the Texans not being completely sure when the roof will be ready for play, they've gotten an interesting offer for a temporary home - Minute Maid Park, crosstown home of the Astros. I don't know if there have been any serious discussions about this, but Astros' owner Drayton McLane told the Houston Chronicle today that he'd be willing to lend Minute Maid Park to the Texans until Reliant Stadium is ready to go.
This probably isn't going to be necessary since Texans owner Bob McNair sounds confident that Reliant will be ready by October 5th and is considering playing at Rice's stadium if it's not. There's also the issue of whether or not a football field, complete with sidelines, end zones, and goal posts could even fit into the unique dimensions of Minute Maid. I don't think fantasy owners would be happy to see Andre Johnson go down with a twisted ankle on that goofy hill they have in center field.
Of course, the damage to the stadiums and where the Texans play isn't all that important in the grand scheme of things. As Stephanie Stradley has noted, many of the players saw damage to their houses during Ike and there are still a lot of people without power and water in and around Houston. It would be great for the Texans to play that October 5th game against the Colts at home, but it's understandable if fixing Reliant is low on the "things to do" list in Houston, especially with other viable nearby locations for the game.
