The rodeo and spring break in Houston may finally be over, offering some semblance of peace in the streets, but they were just stress tests for what’s to come. Houston needs to start grappling with the fact that it’s already become the “cool” city with the biggest events.
Despite the reality, there are still doubts about why people even come to Houston in the first place. The “why would anyone come here” argument is a sort of pessimistic homerism that plagues any discourse about Houston. You might not realize it, but Houston has long established itself as a city that should be reckoned with. It’s the fourth-largest city in the country and is rightfully starting to act like it.
Austin has long been “the cool city” in Texas, and while its status as the best live music city in the Lone Star State isn’t up for debate, Houston has become the city where big things happen.
The city is poised to see an estimated 500,000 visitors for the World Cup, with fans from Portugal, Germany, Cabo Verde, Sweden and more flooding the city to support their countries during the group stage of the tournament. There’s going to be a giant fanzone on the East End; businesses are preparing for the influx of visitors, and the city is scrambling to make roads pretty and finish projects like turning Main Street into an appealing pedestrian paradise.
Not only should we be anticipating the World Cup, but spring break enjoyers are already planning to come back, according to TikTok.
If the young people coming to the city didn’t learn their lesson about the traffic in the city and extremely predatory and taxed club promoters, they certainly will this time when they experience the Houston heat in the summer, waiting outside in obscene lines.
Houston is also staking its claim as the biggest convention city in Texas over Dallas and San Antonio. Houston is hosting Dream Con this summer, which will bring thousands of young Black anime and nerd culture fans to the city after a successful first year in Houston last summer. We have Comicpalooza coming in May. There’s no shortage of conventions the city is attracting.
Houston, being a destination for tourism and conventions, is the main reason the city has gone ahead with its massive (and inconvenient) freeway expansion and the George R. Brown Convention Center plan on the East End. It’s a preparation for what’s to come.
Houston, being the “it” city, is just going to be the reality going forward. Hopefully, this influx of visitors and conventions leads to some actual, long-lasting infrastructure changes, like better public transit and greater walkability, which will not only help visitors but also improve the everyday lives of the people who call the city home.