The NFL game between the Baltimore Ravens and Houston has been rescheduled to Nov. 9 after the roof of Texans’ Reliant Stadium was severely damaged by Hurricane Ike.
The Texans’ home opener was originally scheduled for yesterday, then postponed to tonight as Ike approached the Gulf Coast.
The storm slammed into Texas on Friday night and moved into Houston early on Saturday morning.
Ike tore chunks off the stadium’s retractable roof and the damage couldn’t be fixed in time for the game, said Shea Guinn, the president and general manager of the Reliant Park precinct, which includes Reliant Stadium.
“There are parts of the roof that are completely gone,” he said.
The retractable roof on the US$352 million venue rolls open in nine sections.
Guinn said that five of the sections were missing and large pieces of debris had fallen into the stadium.
“It’s hard to tell what came from where,” Guinn said.
The Texans said alternate sites for tonight were considered, but logistics made them impossible.
The new date also affects the Cincinnati Bengals’ schedule.
Houston was originally scheduled to play against the Bengals on Nov. 9.
Now, those teams will play on Oct. 26 and Cincinnati will take its bye week on Nov. 9, when the Texans now play the Ravens. Baltimore had an open date on Nov. 9 on its original schedule.
The Texans are not scheduled to play at home again until Oct. 5, but Guinn said that he wasn’t sure when repairs could be completed.
He said the stadium also sustained some water damage at street level.
Reliant Stadium sits next to the Astrodome. Guinn said on Saturday afternoon that he had not yet inspected the dome for storm damage.
The Texans’ air-supported practice “bubble” across the street was deflated on Thursday and was not damaged, Guinn said.
Three years ago, when the New Orleans Saints were displaced because of Hurricane Katrina, they played four of their scheduled home games at Louisiana State University’s Tiger Stadium, three in San Antonio and one in East Rutherford, New Jersey against the New York Giants.
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