Officials Assessing Damage to NRG Stadium’s Roof from Hurricane Beryl

Hurricane Beryl has battered Houston, and the Houston Texans’ home stadium, NRG Stadium, hasn’t escaped damage.

Authorities are assessing how bad the damage is.

The Category 1 hurricane had winds of up to 80 mph.

Aerial shots of the stadium show that at least three roof panels are missing from the retractable roof. The field can be seen through one gap.

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Hurricane Beryl Slammed Houston

Authorities are still assessing damage to the stadium’s roof.

While damage to a football stadium doesn’t mean much compared to what Houston residents are facing, the Texans still need to take damage seriously, especially before games are hosted this fall.

If lingering damage hurt any fans, that would obviously be a tragedy and open the Texans up to legal action.

Power is out for a lot of Houstonians, and many are likely dealing with damage to their homes, but public buildings must also be checked for damage and fixed if necessary.

Ryan Walsh, the CEO and executive director of the Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation, said in a statement:

Major League Baseball’s Houston Astros call Minute Maid Park home, and that stadium, located in downtown Houston about seven miles from NRG Stadium, was undamaged. The Astros are scheduled to host a home game at Minute Maid tonight.

Houston, as a city, is no stranger to hurricane damage. Nor is NRG Stadium. The Texans’ 2008 season home opener was delayed after Hurricane Ike caused damage to five roof panels. The repairs cost $5 million.

There will be time to fix any damage — the Texans do not have a preseason home game until August 17. Their first home game of the regular season is scheduled for September 15.

That doesn’t mean the stadium is empty during the summer, though. The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus was set to perform at NRG July 19-21, and musician Zach Bryan has a concert scheduled for July 27. It’s unclear if any performances will be postponed or canceled.

Hurricane Beryl is now Tropical Depression Beryl. The storm knocked out power for almost 3 million homes and businesses in the Houston area and killed at least nine people. Those numbers will likely change as damage assessments continue.

Over 100 counties are being declared a disaster area by the federal government.

Circus attendees and Zach Bryan fans will have to watch for updates to see if those shows will go on as scheduled. The Texans, however, have some time to work with.

It’s likely too early to put a dollar amount on overall damages, let alone what the repairs at NRG Stadium will cost. That said, the stadium repairs will almost certainly have a price tag in the millions.

For example, Hurricane Ike – a Category 2 storm back in 2008 – caused $5 million worth of damages to the stadium’s roof.

Source: NBC Sports/Pro Football Talk

All statistics courtesy of Pro Football Reference unless stated otherwise.

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