Football fans from around the world were concerned that the stadiums in the United States wouldn’t be on par with pitches in places where soccer is the most popular sport. Our stadiums are for American football, not fit for the world’s game. The fact that stadiums like NRG had to ship in actual grass for the field was cited as proof that the matches and atmosphere would be lacking when things finally kicked off.
This idea was further compounded by the opening match of the 2026 World Cup in Mexico City at the historic Estadio Azteca, a football cathedral that has tons of history and is quite breathtaking. Social media was a buzz with claims that the World Cup should forgo the American arenas because they couldn’t possibly match something like Mexico’s pride and joy.
That was until visitors from abroad got their eyes on the home of the Houston Texans. Just like our food, how big everything is in Texas, Buc-ee’s, the European mind cannot comprehend how great NRG Stadium—or “Houston Stadium”—is.
“Never thought people would hype up NRG,” one comment said, reflecting many Houstonians’ thoughts around our football stadium.
The photos and videos from Houston’s first World Cup match between Curaçao and Germany are genuinely amazing. The entire stadium was filled to the brim with more than 71,000 fans, and the actual game-watching experience looked amazing. The pitch fits perfectly, and NRG provided a proper environment for such a big event.
As someone who has been going to Texans games for 20 years now, NRG is lowkey a really great stadium. Sure, they never open the roof, and the AC can be extremely cold, and it might not have the most cutting-edge technology newer stadiums have, but it’s a great place to watch the NFL. There are no bad seats at NRG, and for soccer, the experience seems even better as the pitch is stretched out over more area than a football field. A nosebleed seat for the World Cup would be more than well worth it.
The stadium’s reputation and status are surprising to fans from around the world because the way we operate in America is much different:
We aren’t concerned with history; we want the newest, hottest thing, and that goes double for our stadiums and arenas. There are only a handful of American sports sites that are historic and prioritized for preservation and updating rather than replacement with a shiny new toy, such as Fenway Park or Lambeau Field. Meanwhile, in Britain, places like Old Trafford in Manchester or Anfield in Liverpool feel like fixtures that will be around forever or incur the wrath of fans. San Siro in Milan or the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid are places that the sport wouldn’t feel the same without.
The sheer size of NRG and its comforts have shocked visitors, who months ago would probably have thought pretty negatively of our stadium. Not just Houston’s stadium got high praise; Dallas’s AT&T Stadium was praised during Japan vs. the Netherlands, and similarly looked like an incredible venue to watch the World Cup. The discourse around America’s stadiums not being up to par was put to an end in Texas.
NRG is a far cry from the futuristic Mercedes-Benz Dome in Atlanta, which will surely blow people’s minds when they venture there for the World Cup. However, the it is proof that despite its problems, our stadium can still measure up to an event as big and storied as the World Cup.