It’s time to let the new jewel of Houston shine.
The Houston Cougars will start the 2014 season against UTSA, while opening up a new era of UH football at the stunning TDECU Stadium.
What started as a conference room planning meeting in 2010 is now reality. TDECU Stadium is a state-of-the-art, 40,000 seat stadium that can be expanded to seat 60,000 in the future.
The stadium is one of only a handful in the country to have the end zones in the east and west sides of the stadium. That was done on purpose so fans (plus recruits and people watching at home) can get a great view of the Houston skyline. One end zone features a silhouette of the skyline, while the other has the Cougars mascot. Fans will also be reminded of the team’s website, UHCougars.com, and its presence on Twitter with the hashtag “#GoCoogs”.
Speaking of online presence, this stadium also comes with its very own website—HoustonFootballStadium.com—where you can buy tickets, learn all sorts of facts about the new stadium, and get an inside look at the construction. There are two web cams where you can watch the finishing touches being made. They even have a cool time lapse video which shows the project from groundbreaking to what awaits Houston fans this season.
The company that purchased naming rights for the stadium is Texas Dow Employees Credit Union. It was a big boost for the $120 million budget, but there are still plenty of reminders this is the home of the Cougars.
The name of the field remains John O’Quinn Field, a carry over from Robertson Stadium. The field was named after the famous alum back in 1999 for his love of the University of Houston and his generosity to the athletic department.
And when you go to the stadium you’ll see something very unique at the 11-yard line: On both sides of the field you’ll see the number 11, in honor of the jersey number of 1989 Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware. Long thought of as one of the most amazing quarterbacks in college football history, Ware was the first African American quarterback to win the prestigious award.
During the unveiling ceremony earlier this month, the typically humble Ware said, “I just happened to be the guy who got the keys to one of the greatest cars in the history of college football.” When asked how he felt about this honor, Ware said that “this school has been so good to me.”
So with all of the history on the field, one has to wonder what the future holds? This impressive new stadium should allow Houston to be a major player in the new American Athletic Conference for years to come. The facilities are top notch, giving Houston more of an even playing field when it comes to recruiting players in the talent-rich state of Texas.
The Cougars might still lose out on the five-star recruits to the likes of Texas and Texas A&M, but combine the new facilities, the school’s rich history and one of the largest cities in the country, and you have what should be a recipe for success.
And we get to see it all play out starting Friday night.
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