A downtown arena, like the new Enron Field, would be a focal point for visitors to downtown and create the kind of fun and exciting night life and weekend activites other cities already enjoy. They are an outside attraction for conventions, businesses and tourists With the addition of the new football team and stadium comes the Super Bowl. Any added arenas helps our chances of getting the Olympics in 2012. As with the growth of any city, the Rockets and Comets are direct contributors to the prestige of Houston. Businesses want to come here and be a part of the excitement and so do tourists.
Conventions can make use of the added facility space and bring more revenue to the city.
The buzz created by a world-class city like Houston grows even stronger with the committment to its sports franchises. No city has ever complained that they should have let a team leave rather than build them a new facility and keep them. However, we all know the pain associated with allowing a team to leave and watching them succeed. We know that feeling too well. We don't want to feel that again.