<\/p>\n
A rendering of what the new Reliant Stadium signage will look like on the home of the Houston Texans and Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo when it’s changed back back from NRG Stadium to its original game in August 2026.<\/p>\n
Courtesy photo\/NRG Energy<\/p>\n
When the Houston Texans<\/a> begin play in their 25th season, they\u2019ll do so with a familiar name back on their home venue.<\/p>\n After 12 years of being called NRG Stadium, the home of the Houston Texans and Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo<\/a> is reverting to its original name: Reliant Stadium. The change was approved Wednesday by the Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation.<\/p>\n Reliant Energy, the company based in Houston, bought\u00a0the 30-year naming rights for the stadium and\u00a0surrounding buildings in 2002 for $300 million. NRG Energy purchased Reliant\u2019s retail electricity business in 2009 and opted to change the name of the stadium in 2014<\/a> to reflect the brand of the parent company.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Although there are no changes with the business\u00a0\u2014 Reliant is still a subsidiary of NRG Energy\u00a0\u2014 the publicly traded energy company\u00a0now has decided to go back to using the Reliant branding on the stadium. According to NRG, a recent survey revealed that 90% of their Houston-based customers supported the return of the stadium\u2019s original name. NRG Consumer president Brad Bentley\u00a0said the survey \u201cjust dialed in what we knew to be true.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the brand that they connect with, that they do business with, that they trust to deliver their power and that we have relationships with, so we\u2019re excited to bring it back,\u201d Bentley told the Houston Chronicle. \u201cWe think we\u2019ll have a lot of good momentum and excitement among our customers.\u201d<\/p>\n Although the decision was made solely by\u00a0NRG, which owns the naming rights to\u00a0the stadium through 2032, the timing works out for the Texans, who have events planned to celebrate their 25th season in the NFL.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think you could have mapped it out better from our perspective,\u201d Houston Texans team president Mike Tomon<\/a> said. \u201cWe\u2019re excited to celebrate 25 seasons of Houston Texans football back where it all began when it was Reliant Stadium. To be in this situation, where you have one of your founding partners that has really been with us from the very beginning back in 2002, to have it rebranded back to Reliant as we celebrate 25 seasons, I think it lines up perfectly.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n WHO WILL TEXANS DRAFT?: Houston Texans mock draft 4.0: A stout D-Lineman, a mean guard and couple playmakers in 7 rounds<\/a><\/p>\n Houston has been through this before with the home of the Rockets switching names from\u00a0The Summit to Compaq Center in 1998 and more recently Minute Maid Park changing to Daikin Park after the 2024 season<\/a>. No matter the rebranding strategy, there always will be holdouts that never accept the new name. That was the case for some with NRG Stadium, and those folks now can stick with what they know: Reliant Stadium.<\/p>\n \u201cIt comes up a lot,\u201d said Martye Kendrick, executive director & CEO of the Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation. \u201cI still find that when I talk to people, they sometimes call it Reliant first, or they will have memories, ‘Oh, I remember when it was Reliant.’ So, I think that energy around the name caused the company to think about how they are rebranding and how that could\u00a0be something\u00a0they could honor as far as Houstonians’ emotional connection to that name.\u201d<\/p>\n