page_title: NRG Stadium
section_title: Football
hierarchical_section_title: NRG Stadium / Stadium usage / Sports / Football
caption_attribution_description: English: Aerial photograph of NRG Stadium prepared for Super Bowl LI. The stadium has been seathed with decorative banners, and security fencing has been placed around its perimiter. This photograph was taken by Ozzy Trevino (of U.S. Customs and Border Protection) on Jan. 31, 2017 when air interdiction agents U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Air and Marine Operations, conducted a press event and a Black Hawk flyover of NRG Stadium in advance of Super Bowl LI.
context_page_description: NRG Stadium, formerly Reliant Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. It was constructed at a cost of $352 million and has a seating capacity of 72,220. It was the first NFL facility to have a retractable roof.
  The stadium is the home of the National Football League's Houston Texans, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the Texas Bowl, many of the United States men's national soccer team's matches, Mexico national football team friendlies where El Tri serves as the host, and other events. The stadium served as the host facility for Super Bowls XXXVIII and LI, and WrestleMania XXV.
  NRG Stadium is part of a collection of venues, which are collectively called NRG Park. The entire complex is named for NRG Energy under a 32-year, US$300 million naming rights deal in 2000.
context_section_description: The Houston Texans have played their home games at NRG Stadium (formerly Reliant Stadium) since their inception in 2002. The annual calendar consists of 8 regular season and 2 pre-season games, plus any playoff games the Texans host. The first game played was on August 24, 2002, in front of 69,432 in attendance as the Texans hosted the Miami Dolphins in their first preseason game. The first regular season game was played on September 8 of that year, where the expansion Texans defeated the Dallas Cowboys 19–10 in front of 69,604. The first Monday Night Football game in Texans history was held on December 1, 2008 at Reliant Stadium. Playing in front of a then-franchise-record crowd of 70,809, the Texans defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 30–17. Since then that record crowd has been broken in the next 2 Texans home games of that season. Their December 7, 2008 home game against the Tennessee Titans saw a then-record crowd of 70,831 and the December 28, 2008 home finale against the Chicago Bears drew then a current franchise-crowd record of 70,838. That record was broken on November 23, 2009, when a record crowd of 71,153 was in attendance during the Texans' second ever Monday Night Football game against Houston's former NFL team, the Tennessee Titans. The Texans' home finale of the 2009 season against the New England Patriots on January 3, 2010 drew 71,029.
  NRG Stadium has hosted 2 Super Bowls: Super Bowl XXXVIII (which was marred by a controversial halftime show) and Super Bowl LI (which was the first Super Bowl to go into overtime); both games pitted the New England Patriots against a team from the NFC South.
  NRG Stadium hosted Super Bowl XXXVIII on February 1, 2004 where the New England Patriots defeated the Carolina Panthers, 32–29 in front of 71,525 in attendance.
  NRG Stadium hosted the Texans' first playoff game in franchise history on January 7, 2012, with Houston defeating the Cincinnati Bengals 31–10 in an AFC Wild Card game, drawing 71,725, the largest crowd ever to see a Texans game at Reliant Stadium.
  NRG Stadium hosted Super Bowl LI in 2017, in which the New England Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history; it was also the first ever overtime game in Super Bowl history.
caption: NRG Stadium in Super Bowl LI livery.
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