How 10,000-person Easter service forced UH football out of its stadium

The Houston Cougars annual spring football game is moving to a new location, though not by choice.

Houston was set to hold its Spring Game on Saturday morning at its usual home, TDECU Stadium, a common practice for college football programs across the country. But players and fans won’t pack the Cougars’ typical stadium Saturday. Instead, the festivities will be moved to the program’s outdoor practice fields, a change necessitated by an unusual situation with the TDECU Stadium’s field.

Per UH, program officials saw “damage to multiple areas of the playing surface,” during a recent walk-through, with the turf at TDECU ultimately deemed “unsafe to play on.”

The culprit of the field’s damage appears to be a recent church service from an iconic Houston institution.

TDECU Stadium housed the Easter service for Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church on April 5, in which a large stage was erected in the west end zone, and thousands of congregants stood by and sat in chairs extending past the 20-yard line. The church’s new cathedral, which opened over four years ago, offers a seating capacity of roughly 3,000 in the sanctuary. However, the church often handles larger crowds for major services—such as Easter—because its membership is well over 15,000.

Per the Houston Chronicle’s Joseph Duarte and Haajrah Gilani, a crane used to build the stage damaged the stadium turf, with the crane company contracted by Wheeler Avenue Baptist rather than UH. 

“Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church has enjoyed a decades-long partnership with the University of Houston,” a Wheeler Avenue Baptist spokesperson told the Chronicle. “That partnership was once again evident as we transformed the TDECU Stadium into our place of worship for Easter Sunday, accommodating over 10,000 individuals. Today, we were made aware of possible damage to the field, and we are in conversation with our partners in the athletics department regarding the matter.”

Wheeler has previously held services at other large venues, including NRG Stadium—home of the Houston Texans—due to their large membership. 

Houston’s spring game will begin at 9:30 a.m. CT on Saturday. Admission is free to fans, who can also participate in the “Frontier Fiesta” outside TDECU Stadium beginning at Noon CT.