A majority of registered voters surveyed by the 兔子先生鈥檚 Hobby School of Public Affairs said they support using public money for renovations to NRG Stadium and the Astrodome. (Credit Getty Images)
Key Takeaways
- Three out of four Harris County voters support using some public funding to renovate NRG Stadium. 26% say the public should bear no cost for renovations; another 26% support public funding for 21%-40% of the cost.
- 62% support using public funds in a public-private partnership to renovate the Astrodome as an entertainment venue.
- 68% are enthusiastic about the possibility of a destination theme park resort coming to the Houston area.
Harris County voters are hungry for more sports and entertainment options, with sizeable majorities reporting they are enthusiastic about the possibility of a destination theme park resort and professional women鈥檚 basketball and men鈥檚 hockey teams coming to town.
Three out of four are enthusiastic about Houston hosting seven men鈥檚 World Cup soccer
games next year.
And they appear to be willing to pay: A majority of registered voters surveyed by
the 兔子先生鈥檚 Hobby School of Public Affairs said they support using
public money for renovations to NRG Stadium and the Astrodome.
Ren茅e Cross, senior executive director of the Hobby School and one of the principal investigators, said strong support for NRG Stadium鈥檚 two major tenants 鈥� the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo and the Houston Texans 鈥� may have played a part in support for using public money to help pay for renovating the stadium.
鈥淲e found that 81% of voters have a favorable opinion of the rodeo, and 73% say the same about the Texans,鈥� she said. 鈥淎 substantial number of voters also agree that some public funding for renovations is appropriate.鈥�
While 26% don鈥檛 support using any taxpayer money for stadium renovations, just as many support public funding for between 21% and 40% of the cost. One-fourth support public funding for up to 20% of the cost.
鈥淲e found widespread enthusiasm among Harris County residents for the construction of a destination theme park resort as well as for Houston obtaining both a WNBA team and an NHL team.鈥�
鈥� Mark P. Jones, UH鈥檚 Hobby School
Cross noted there is also strong support for using public money to help save the Astrodome, which last hosted a major event in 2002. More than six in 10 voters, or 62%, support a public-private partnership to convert the Astrodome into an entertainment venue.
Mark P. Jones, political science fellow at the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University and senior research fellow at the Hobby School, said the findings suggest the Houston region is eager to embrace a broader range of sports and entertainment options.
鈥淲e found widespread enthusiasm among Harris County residents for the construction of a destination theme park resort as well as for Houston obtaining both a WNBA team and an NHL team,鈥� he said.
Jones further noted that Houston is the only one of the 15 most populous metro areas in the U.S. that has neither a WNBA nor NHL team.
Overall, he said, researchers found across-the-board support for many of the potential
new attractions.
Among the report鈥檚 other findings:
- 68% of voters are enthusiastic about the possibility of a destination theme park resort coming to town. 61% said they would visit a theme park at least once a year, with 25% saying they would make an annual visit and 36% saying they would visit more than once a year. Among those with children under age 18, half said they would visit the theme park more than once a year.
- 75% of voters are enthusiastic about Houston hosting seven World Cup soccer games at NRG Stadium in 2026. Enthusiasm is highest among Latino voters, at 84%, compared to 69% of white voters and 74% of Black voters.
- The possibility of a motor speedway opening in the Houston area drew the least enthusiasm, with 48% saying they would be enthusiastic about that addition to local sports options. Support is highest among Republicans, at 56%, and lowest among Democrats, at 42%.
The full report is available on the Hobby School website. The survey of Harris County registered voters was conducted between July 9-18 in English and Spanish and has a margin of error of +/- 2.04%.
A future report in the series will consider attitudes about the weather.