| | HOUSTON -- A day after winning an expansion franchise for his hometown, the NFL's newest team owner was back at work, making plans and whipping up a publicity wave with sports fans and politicians.
|  | | Bob McNair paid $700 million for an NFL expansion team and only got a ball and a helmet from NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue, right, on Wednesday. |
"We still have a lot of work to be done," Bob McNair said
Thursday while basking in congratulations from county officials and partners.
NFL owners approved McNair's $700 million bid for the league's
32nd franchise Wednesday. As part of the deal, Houston will get to play host to a Super Bowl, most likely in 2004, an event officials estimated would pump $400 million into the Houston economy.
Topping McNair's agenda are construction of a planned $310
million stadium next to the existing Astrodome, selecting a team name and hiring a general manager.
Groundbreaking for the 70,000-seat stadium is set for March 8,
with completion Aug. 1, 2002, coinciding with the team's first season.
"This facility, in our mind, is going to have an equal impact to the impact the Astrodome had in 1964," McNair said. "It's the first open-air stadium with a retractable roof, natural grass playing field for football in the world, and we think it's just going to be gorgeous."
Naming rights for the stadium will be sold to the highest corporate bidder.
"The only thing I can say is, if we set a record on the price we paid for the franchise, I hope we set another record on the price for naming rights," McNair said.
Steve Patterson, vice president of McNair's Houston NFL
Holdings, said the stadium will set the "standard for the new
millennium." Ticket prices, he promised, will not.
Patterson said general admission prices will be consistent with
other NFL teams, ranging from about $25 to $75. But about
two-thirds of tickets will require the purchase of personal seat
licenses. License costs have not been determined.
Pocketbook concerns didn't stop fans from trying to line up
season tickets for 2002.
Patterson said the organization's website in its first hour
Thursday received 200,000 hits. A toll-free phone number providing
ticket sales information had a one-hour backlog.
"If anybody asks if people in Houston love football, all you
have to do is look at those facts," he said.
McNair said a campaign to name the team will get under way
quickly, emphasizing fan participation. Early registered nominees
include "Texans" and "Roustabouts." One name has been ruled
out, however.
"We're not going to be the 'Roughnecks' because the press has
already told me the first thing that'll happen is they'll
abbreviate and start calling us the 'Necks,' or 'Rednecks,' or
something," he said.
Patterson said the name should be announced before the March
groundbreaking. Selection of team colors will require guidance and approval by the NFL.
Hiring a general manager might not take as long. McNair said he
has already received inquiries and hopes to make a decision within three or four months.
One potential candidate who has spoken with McNair is former Washington Redskins general manager Charley Casserley, who was forced out by the Redskins' new owner two months ago.
"He's certainly a qualified person and a person we'd want to talk to," McNair said.
McNair also hopes to put scouts in place quickly. Hiring a coaching staff will come later, he said. | |
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