HOUSTON -- Houston got its third major sports arena since
2000 when the keys to Toyota Center were handed over to Houston Rockets owner Les Alexander Thursday.
The Rockets will play their first NBA season at the $202 million
downtown facility this fall, joining the Houston Astros, who got a
new home at Minute Maid Park in 2000 and the NFL Houston Texans,
who moved into Reliant Stadium last season.
"That's the last one. We've spent a billion dollars so we're
out of money," said Billy Burge, chairman of the Houston Sports
Authority.
The Rockets played their final game last season at Compaq
Center, where they won back-to-back NBA titles in 1994 and 1995.
They haven't made the playoffs in four straight years.
The new arena, on the edge of downtown near the George R. Brown
Convention Center and Minute Maid Park, has 94 luxury suites, a
gourmet restaurant, a wine cellar and a scoreboard that offers
nearly twice the resolution of those found at other arenas.
It also may give the Rockets an advantage.
"This is a very intimate arena where the stands come right down
to the floor and I like that," general manager Carroll Dawson
said. "It's going to be very loud and we have great crowds that
have supported us over the years. I think it gives us a home court
advantage."
Compaq Center, with 16,285 and 20 luxury boxes, was the NBA's
second oldest facility. Toyota Center will seat 18,500 and also
will be the home of the WNBA Comets and the Minnesota Wild's minor
league hockey affiliate, the Houston Aeros.