How Texans are exploring ‘great options’ for training facility, office space, want ‘brand new one in Houston area’

HOUSTON – When it comes to the Texans’ approach about where they practice and train and where they’ll play actual football games, it’s a set of different visions.

The Texans have expressed that they’ve outgrown their training facility and business offices at NRG Stadium and are actively exploring construction of a brand-new team site in the greater Houston area.

That facility could be the anchor for an entertainment, restaurant and retail district akin to how the Dallas Cowboys train at The Star in Frisco and play their games at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. This is the trend across the NFL to have a separate training facility.

As the Texans continue to dig further into ongoing, active negotiations on their stadium lease that expires in seven years in 2032, their central focus remains on finding workable, financially viable solutions to upgrade NRG Stadium.

The priority for the Texans regarding the multi-use, 72,220 capacity stadium built in 2002 at a cost of $352 million is to renovate the facility, which is in need of extensive and expensive repairs and general improvements, in partnership with Harris County, the Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

The vision is set on finding an effective, long-term situation with the stadium, where the defending AFC South champions are a tenant for the long-standing Kirby Drive structure owned by the county.

A new training facility would be an expensive undertaking, but could ultimately be a profitable endeavor depending on what kind of business partnerships they form.

Nothing is expected to happen fast or imminently regarding the training facility, or the stadium as the Texans will play and practice this year at NRG Stadium and perhaps for many years to come. It’s considered much more likely the Texans will remain at NRG Stadium, with a new lease, new terms and refurbishing the stadium in the offing. at some point. A new training facility would likely happen within the next few years, should the stated goal unfolds.

“We’re working with some really good partners with the rodeo and also the county,” Texans owner Cal McNair said during the team’s annual charity golf classic that raised more than $550,000. “It’s a complicated kind of a mixture. With the practice facility, we’re working on that almost every day. The lease, the overall lease, we’re working on that and where we wind up with practice facility, I’m not really quite sure yet.

“We have a lot of great options and we’ll sort of sort through that sooner rather than later, but we’re in a good spot and we’ll keep working at a complex problem.”

The Texans can remain at NRG Stadium, or in the immediate vicinity at NRG Park. There’s a lot of real estate for them to do a new build-out in the area. They could also look to the Houston suburbs for a new training facility.

“Well, what’s great is we’re okay where we are, and so that’s our starting point,” McNair said. “Would we move out? Yeah, we would move out and do a brand-new one somewhere, in the greater Houston area. The first thing is to make sure the players are taken care of in a first-class manner.

“There’s pluses and minuses. So some of the pluses is you start with a new clean slate and a new drawing board. The one we’re in has gone up in 2002, actually, before that. And, so, we’ve sort of outgrown that, both on the business side and on the football side. And so being able to get the proper sizing, the proper workflow, all those things in there will really help us.”

McNair, voted unanimously as principal owner a year ago at the NFL owners meetings, emphasized that the Texans, seven years out from the expiration of their stadium lease in 2032 as the primary tenants of the first NFL stadium with a retractable roof, want to improve the stadium.

Relocation to a new stadium, perhaps to the Houston suburbs, isn’t the Texans’ stated goal. They want to refurbish the stadium, which is already getting new video boards in advance of next season.

Negotiations are active and ongoing with lots of time left on the current lease. The Texans are attempting to be proactive about the stadium situation.

Contractually, the Texans are not responsible for the repair and upkeep of the stadium. That task lies with Harris County under the terms of the lease arrangement. The Texans have contributed millions of dollars, though, toward multiple repairs and maintenance of the stadium since the launch of the franchise in 2002 by the late founder Bob McNair, Cal McNair’s father.

Texans hire Mike Tomon as new team president: ‘Proven leader, extensive background in stadium development’

The Texans will lean heavily on the expertise of newly-hired team president Mike Tomon on this stadium issue and other projects, including a goal of construction of a new training facility.

Tomon has an extensive background with stadiums nationally and internationally with Legends Global Attractions. That includes working with SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabe’u Stadium, the Cowboys, the Las Vegas Raiders, Notre Dame, FC Barcelona, FIFA, Rugby World Cup, Allegiant Stadium, Highmark Stadium, The Star in Frisco, the Cowboys’ training facility, and work with the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

“For the training facility, I think it’s a pretty unique situation,” Tomon said. “You know, the value that the Texans can bring to a community, to the dirt, so to speak. We really see that there’s a great way that we can impact the community in a great way, to make sure that it’s the destination. It’s an asset for the community, for the folks who are there, and with that comes revenue opportunities. We’re seeing that there’s other organizations who have looked at it similarly when you start seeing how important or how much how popular entertainment districts have become.

“They’re great opportunities for corporate partners to engage, they’re great opportunities for other retail, local retail, national retail, etc. So you know there could be a meaningful revenue opportunity depending on how how you situate it. I think districts in general are interesting to us because of the impact they have on the community. To do a district the right way can be a real benefit for generations to come for the community, and that’s what interests us.”

Very few NFL teams train and hold their business operations at their respective stadiums, including the Texans, New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals and Carolina Panthers.

There have been multiple instances over the years when the Texans don’t have full access to their building because their schedule overlaps with the rodeo or concert events.

“There’s also very few stadiums that are used the way that we use our stadium and share it with the county and the rodeo,” said Hannah McNair, the Texans’ foundation vice president. “So, there’s not really much time to do everything we need to do in that building. And we actually have some people working off site, so not everyone is able to be in that building.”

As far as upgrading NRG Stadium, the Texans and the county have information reflecting the overall decline of the mixed-use facility and where it compares to newer stadiums across professional sports.

“So, the the county has done studies, but because it is the county’s, we are renters like you rent a house or apartment,” Cal McNair said. “And what has happened over time is it’s fallen behind on its maintenance. And so that’s what the studies that the county has done have shown.”

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans smiled when asked what he thinks about the training facility.

"Give me some grass, put the ball down, we‘ll practice wherever they want us to practice," Ryans said. “I’ll leave that up to the McNair’s and how they’ll handle that situation. But, hey, we just want to play football.

“It doesn’t matter to us. I know they’ll do a great job of leading the organization. They’ve done that for years. And they’ll continue to lead us and evolve and take us to where we need to go to the next steps.”

Talks are active with Harris County and the rodeo between the Texans with Tomon brought on board to lead the stadium efforts and other business goals.

“I mean, they’re ongoing,” Tomon said. “I’d say there’s progress in the fact that I’ve had an opportunity to speak with a number of different stakeholders, still some very important stakeholders to speak with, but, most importantly, out of the gates spending time with the partners really. So, between the rodeo and county, we’ve had some great conversations.”

Tomon, the replacement for former team president Greg Grissom, is a recognized leading stadium expert as the former co-president and chief operating officer of Legends, providing services in business planning, project management, sponsorships, premium ticket sales, merchandise, marketing and food and beverages.

The vision for the stadium effort is centered on improvement. Although NRG Stadium has gotten high marks for concessions and entertainment, there have been some complaints from fans about getting in and out of the stadium and other issues. There are lots of priorities, but the fan experience looms largest, Tomon emphasized.

“Right now, we’re having those conversations internally,” Tomon said. “Certainly, we are going through where can the capital be best spent? How can you bring to life the vision of having a world-class facility, a world-class experience that gives our fans the best and gives the team an advantage? When you’re doing something that large, that kind of has that wide of a mandate, you really have to drill down into all the different ways that capital can be spent wisely and get the most run out of it. That takes a lot of thoughtfulness, that takes lot of experts, as commission studies that we’ve gone about to kind of bring together.

“And, so we’ve been going through that process and trying to make sure we come out with the right end. We’re seven years out right now. While we know we’re at the right time to be having these conversations, we also know we have to move them forward as well. And so, right now, that’s kind of the push on making sure we have the rigor, making sure that we’ve been comprehensive, but making sure, at the same time, once we feel we get to that point, we can kind of move forward with a solution on those sides. So, more definition to come.”

Tomon will oversee the direction and management of all Texans’ business operations including marketing, communications, broadcasting, ticket sales and services, event services, corporate sponsorship, community relations, accounting, legal, human resources and general administration, as well as overseeing all aspects of Lone Star Sports & Entertainment.

Tomon has previously held senior roles with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Charlotte Bobcats and Phoenix Suns, focusing on premium ticketing, partnerships and sales strategy.

Tomon was the leader for global business development for the company, identifying new opportunities for growth and innovation as he oversaw Legends’ marketing, creative and communication divisions.

Under his tenure, Legends vertical quadrupled in size.

Tomon has two decades of experience in sports and entertainment.

He was a senior vice president of global partnerships at AEG working in new business development and instituted global premium sales strategy. He accounted for over $500 million in deals at AEG prior to being hired by Legends in 2014.

Now, he’s responsible for the business operations of an NFL team, including its stadium and the training facility. The Texans will explore NRG Park as a potential site, too.

“I think that’s one of the great things,” Tomon said. “I think if you look at certainly NRG Park, we’re a significant acreage there. At the same point, you know, we’ve been fortunate enough to have been invited into a number of different conversations and opportunities all with the requisite amount of acreage that you’d want to focus in on a world class training facility and/or district.”

In 2015, Tomon was named a Sports Business Journal Forty Under Forty award winner.

He has served on the Sports and Entertainment Council for the United Way and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

A graduate of Georgetown University where he played football, Tomon lived in Dallas with his wife and two children before relocating to Houston to work for the Texans.

“One of the reasons that certainly I feel fortunate to be here is that the McNair’s have great aspirations for the team, for the city,” Tomon said. “A lot that we talk about is a world-class experience for our fans, and that comes down to everything that supports that.

“And so you think about the stadium, you think about the team, you think about the training facility. And, at this stage, I think, working through with our partners, we’re all striving for that. We know we have areas where we’re not world-class at this stage. And so that’s a focus. That’s a drive.“

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.