The Josh Innes Show - New Stadium in Houston?

Episode Date: February 20, 2025

I was listening to local radio today and heard a sports topic that only a handful of people would care about. I hate when I hear disconnect between hosts and fans as it relates to what they find interesting. The Texans may want a new stadium. New stadiums don't benefit anyone but owners. I don't go to games for amenities. I go to games because I want to go to games. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When planning for life's most important moments, sometimes the hardest part is simply knowing where to start. That's why we're here to help. When you pre-plan and pre-pay a celebration of life with us, every detail will be handled with simplicity and professionalism, giving you the peace of mind that you've done all you can today to remove any burden from your loved ones tomorrow. We are your local Dignity Memorial provider. Find us at DignityMemorial.ca. The Dignity Memorial brand name is used to identify a network of licensed funeral cremation and cemetery providers owned and operated by affiliates of Service Corporation International. I think there's a big disconnect between the things that media people care about

and the things that the average person cares about. Like, whenever we watch ESPN and they talk about basketball, it's a very often repeated narrative that the NBA is better when the Knicks are good. Well, I am 38 years old and in my existence, the Knicks have never been good. They've never won the NBA finals in the time that I have been alive. Yet somehow these media people, many of whom are from New York, many of whom are New York Knicks fans, want you to believe that somehow the sport is better and the ratings are better and the world cares more when their basketball team is good. And it's bullshit. Like

I've never watched basketball and said, boy, I'm enjoying this game, but man, if the Knicks were in it, my life would be a whole lot better. Like nobody gives a shit about that. That's just them. And they say that about the same teams, like boy, life's better when Duke is good or life's better when the Dodgers are good or whatever. And I'm like, no, if my team is in the World Series, like if the Astros are in the World Series, I wouldn't say the only thing that would make this World Series better is if they were playing the Dodgers. No, I'd say let's hope they beat whoever the fuck they're playing, right?

Cardinals won the World Series against Detroit. Like, yeah, would it have been cool had the Cardinals played the Yankees in the World Series? Sure. The two winning World Series teams from each league, it'd make for a nice story. But they beat the Tigers and they won the World Series in 2006. So who gives a shit? But that's kind of these media narratives, right? These media people tell you that the sport is better when blank is good and blank is good and blank is good, right? Well, anyway, why do I bring this out? I'm listening to the radio today. I flip it on here, the local radio. Usually I'm listening to podcasts. I found this podcast that I enjoyed from Turner Classic Movies where it's a whole series. They have like five seasons of it.

It's called The Plot Thickens and it it has a topic, and it's like a seven or eight, you know, almost hour-long episode arc talking about a certain thing from classic Hollywood. Like, there was one season that was dedicated to the movie The Bonfire of the Vanities, which is considered one of the biggest flops of all time with Tom Hanks and Melanie Griffith and, oh, what's his name? Bruce Willis. And it It was pretty good. I listened to that. I was intrigued by it. Then I listened to a season that was about Peter Bogdanovich, the director. I listened to a season that was about Lucille Ball and Desi. I found it interesting. It's called The Plot Thickens. Maybe you wouldn't enjoy it. Maybe you would. I found it to be fascinating, so I listened.

A lot of times, I just listen to podcasts I'll listen again I bring this up every time I don't know why I continue to listen to wrestling podcasts because it's the same old fucking stories all the time I have no interest in current wrestling enough to listen to people break down AEW so I wouldn't listen to that and I've heard all of Eric Bischoff stories 9,000 times but I continue to listen to it because it's good background noise in the car. And I do that. So I find a couple of pods that I enjoy out the mud podcast, all that. Right. So generally speaking, I am a podcast listener in the car, but you'll get back in the car and your phone won't be synced up and the radio will be on and you'll hear whatever. So, uh, the sports station in town was on at about 10 o'clock this morning. And the first thing I hear from these people is,

well, Tiger and such and such are at the White House talking with Trump about unifying live golf and the PGA Tour. And I'm like, who gives a fuck? Like, no one gives a shit. People cared about golf when Tiger was in it because Tiger was a black dude that brought the black audience in. He was a younger guy and he was dominant. So it brought in a new group of people that had never watched golf before, a lot of black viewers, and he was young and good looking

and the best to ever do it. So of course it made it interesting. Other than that, no one gives a shit about golf. No one's like, boy, I can't wait to go watch Rory McIlroy grip it and rip it. Nobody cares. So I'm listening at 10 o'clock on a sports radio station in St. Louis and I'm no one's like boy i can't wait to go watch rory mcelroy grip it and rip it nobody cares so like i'm listening at 10 o'clock on a sports radio station in st louis and i'm listening to three white dudes break down live golf and the pga like it's just such an out of touch thing a lot of people play golf a lot of average jamokes play golf there's weekend hackers worm burner guys out there everybody a lot of people go play because golf is fun to play and it's a good place to just get drunk and have a good time, right? And every now and then if it's Sunday and Tiger's in the hunt or there's something

interesting, you might flip on the Masters or the Open or whatever. The average person does not give a fuck about golf, even to give it five minutes on the radio. They don't care. But what I've learned about media people is media people have this blinder. And if it's something they find interesting, then they go with it. Like media people find shit like golf to be interesting or they find the Knicks that most people don't give a shit about

because they haven't won shit since 50 years ago. Like that's what they go with. And it's just it's annoying to me so when i flip that on and i hear this i'm like who in st louis is listening to this going boy i need i really need a unified pga again i really need the live guys to get back in it with the pga so i can continue to not watch golf it's like hey do you watch golf no are you gonna watch now that the if you know president trump which you would think there'd be better things to do but uh you know like hey look i

understand this is not a trump rip this is just an overall thing like who gives a fuck who gives a fuck if the live golf guys team back up with the pga guys unless there's something to do with the saudi money and oil or some shit involved in it, which is all that blood money anyway. But like, who gives a shit? Like Trump's, you would think there'd be better things to do. Like, you know, hitting the button and ordering more Diet Cokes or whatever the fuck he is. They were pissing off Canada. Something important that isn't, hey, we got to get the band back together for golf.

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14 days limited time offer see terms at pick six dot draft kings dot com slash promos so i read this yesterday first i saw a tweet from uh brandon who's one of the guys over at 610, who's a talented kid. I think there are some good guys over at 610. They're just good dudes and they work hard and I appreciate them. Figgy is one of them. I think he does great video shit. I think Brandon puts out effort. I think Brandon very well could have been the guy leading the midday show and it would have been fine like i thought he sounded good doing it um but um he posted something about the texans desire for a new stadium and it was in the the chronicle about the texans uh wanting a new stadium the texans have started negotiating a new lease agreement at nrg stadium their publicly financed home since 2002 a recent facility assessment found the stadium was in average or below average condition compared to its peers, with a laundry list of needs from deferred maintenance over the years. But McNair's quote and the history suggest stronger ambitions. The team may want a new stadium entirely. Two sources familiar with the Texans' thinking told

the Chronicle the Texans have explored the possibility of a new stadium, though the team is not committed to that path. The team has not proposed a new stadium in the lease negotiations, and the ultimate decision will depend on what makes the most financial sense for the Texans, the rodeo, and Harris County, which owns the campus and leases it to the two organizations the two sources said. It could depend on the price tag of the renovation. If the combined cost of maintenance, $1.4 billion, is needed over 30 years at the stadium, according to a recent assessment,

and premium features the Texans may want to add begin to approach that cost of a rebuild, the team could decide a new stadium is the better option. I think stadiums are the biggest cash grab that benefits nobody other than the owners ever. Like somebody, I brought up the fact that the Texans have like one good season and now it's like, hey guys,

how about we get a new stadium? And some guy sent me a tweet and was like, well, I mean, look at places like, that's gonna be publicly financed, just look at Vegas. Well, yeah, Vegas was desperate to get a team. Houston isn't desperate to have a team, and Houston isn't going to lose the Texans, right? The Texans aren't going to go anywhere. So it's a different story. They're not comparable. You were able to steal a team from a city in

Vegas, and of course you're willing to put up more money because you're trying to get them to your city and validate your city. Stadiums to me are the biggest waste for fans. I get why the owners build them. You build a billion dollar stadium and the money just pours in. You get a better chance of hosting Super Bowls, although the Texans have hosted the Super Bowl before. But it's, hey, you want to host Super Bowls. You want to do all this. You want to host the Final Four. You want to host big college bowl games and college football playoff games like i get that but those are all things that nrg already does but the fans truly don't benefit from any of this right like i like to go to a football game because i want to watch a football game i don't want to go to a football game because there's a club i don't want to go to the football game because there's a whole play place for the kids. Like I go to games at Bush Stadium in St. Louis and I get baseball's different than football.

There's 81 home games. Every pitch doesn't matter. Every play doesn't matter. I understand that. But there's like a play place for children at the Cardinals game out in the outfield. And I'm like, who the fuck brings their kid to a baseball game? And I get it. Kids get bored.

Then don't fucking bring them. But like the idea of going to a baseball game and your kids out there, you know, sliding through a giant Fred bird slide, it's like, just go to the fucking park and save your money. This is stupid, right? Like I go to a football game because I want to be part of the atmosphere of that football game. I'm not going because the club is nice. Like I went to the Astros game last summer and we went up to one of the bars up in the upper deck in right field. I forgot what it's called. Coors maybe one of them. One of the beer spawns at Michelob. I don't know. And we went up there and just got a beer and each beer was like 17 or 18 or 19 dollars. I remember after I bought four beers and left a tip, it was like 90 something dollars. And I'm like, this is preposterous. I'm not going to a baseball game so I can be at a club and pay all these up prices. Here's why I go to a baseball game. I'm going to go buy a fucking hot dog. I'm going to get some beers. And then I want to watch the ball game. I'm here for the ball game. I'm here because I think being here is more beneficial to

me as a fan than sitting at home and watching it. You reason I went to the NFC Championship game in New Orleans five years ago, six years ago, is not because, oh, the view was going to be better, and because of all the amenities and the luxuries. I went to the game because I wanted to say I was there when the Saints went to the Super Bowl, and I wanted to feel that vibe and the rush, and I wanted to be part of the crowd. That's why I'm there. I'm not there for the amenities. I'm not there because, oh, wow, now in section 400, there's a brand new bar. Hey, how about you just get me my beer as quick as possible? Or how about this?

If you're the Texans and you claim you have $5 beers somewhere, here's an idea. Help me find those $5 fucking beers. Or don't screw me when I go through one of these self-checkout lines and charge me for a beer that wasn't the beer I got. How about you do that? Right? The state. Now, if you're in a dumpy, dilapidated stadium that's falling apart, that's different.

Like if you're playing at the Coliseum in Oakland, I get it. That sucks and you want something new. But like I hear about Kansas City. Kansas City wants a new stadium, right? They've done a lot of renovations to Arrowhead. You're losing a huge part of your image and what makes you you if you move out of that stadium into one of these $2 billion stadiums that all look the same for the most part, and they're all glamorous, and they all look like big, modern, expensive shopping malls. Kansas City, part of what makes the Chiefs the Chiefs is that it's Arrowhead

Stadium, and historically, they dominated Arrowhead Stadium in December. What's going to happen when you're at some fancy stadium with a fucking roof on it, and you price out all your diehard people? That's the other key thing here too, is the people that get screwed with a new stadium, and they sell you these new stadiums on the idea that they're glamorous and luxurious, and it's amazing that we have all these beautiful amenities. You know who gets priced out of those stadiums usually? The people that have been going to the old stadium forever because now the people that have the money will buy them up and the vibe is not going to be the same. Like you hear, we want to add more of these field level suites. Why? First of all, the view seems like it's fucking terrible. Like I get why they want to add them because dipshits will buy them.

But what idiot wants to sit in a field level suite in the end zone? Think about that for a second. You're sitting essentially behind a bunch of photographers who are taking pictures of the football game. You have no clue what's happening at the other end of the field. Who cares about sitting in a suite that's at field level, but they'll continue to take your money and somebody will buy them. Point being is you're going to get priced out and the atmosphere is going to change. If I want all the amenities of home, I'll stay at home. If I want the amenities of the football game, I go to the football game. Like the selling points of these places with like, boy, we got, we had like eight new bars and a bunch of TVs. You know who else did that? Buffalo Wild Wings. And I'm going to guess that it's cheaper to go to Buffalo Wild Wings or Hooters,

although Hooters very expensive now. It'd be cheaper to do that than go, like who goes to a fucking football game and is like, you know what I decided to do is hang out at the bar the whole fucking time or in the club the whole fucking time newer stadium would guarantee, you know, with a roof on it would guarantee that you would get, you know, final fours and it would guarantee you get Superbowls and it would guarantee you get WrestleMania and all that shit. And I'm like, cool. And I know that money is the most important thing here and you want to get rich, rich, rich, but part of what makes Philadelphia, Philadelphia is there's a chance that when you play a playoff game in the middle of fucking January, it's going to be dick cold outside. And you might get the opportunity, like you'll face a team like the Rams who play on the West coast in an indoor stadium. And you will have an advantage over a team like that. Or in theory, you should have had the advantage over Tampa when you shut down the vet

and they all came out their shirts off and shit. But that's like the advantage you have. Same with Buffalo, you know, part But that's like the advantage you have. Same with Buffalo. You know, like Buffalo's charm is the shitty stadium. The second Buffalo goes with this new stadium and everybody's going to love the idea of it and the owner's going to get rich and people are going to stroke each other over and it's great, we got a brand new stadium. We're in Buffalo now.

It's going to lose the charm and it's going to lose some of that edge. Oh, it'll be more comfortable. Great, I don't go to a football game to be comfortable. I go to a football game because I want, like, that's the main reason you go. Nobody goes because they're like, boy, I sure want to go to a football game and I want it to feel like I'm in my recliner at home. Well, you can watch your 80 inch TV from your recliner at home and you can buy a 24 pack and natty lights for $, and you're out $15 for the day instead of paying $100 just to

get in to spend $20 on a beer. So I don't know. I get why they build these stadiums. I'm not stupid. I get they're making money off of them. I'm giving you my perspective as a fan. And if you look at Houston, you got a 23-year-old stadium. I went to that stadium this year. I found nothing wrong with it. I'm sure there's some things in the bowels of the stadium that could improve. I'm sure there's places they could add luxury suites that would help them make more money. But at the end, how do I know you're even using this money

to better the team that benefits me? Or are you just lining your pockets even more? It bothers me. It annoys me. The whole new stadium game annoys me, especially when you're building new stadiums for stadiums that are 20 years old. Back in my day, a stadium would last 50 fucking years until it was falling apart, and then you'd finally get a new stadium.

The ballpark here in downtown St. Louis was built in 1966. They closed it in 2005. What is that, a 40? I think that was 40 years. So that bad boy lasted 40 years. All these concrete donuts lasted 40-something years. The Astrodome lasted 40 years. These stadiums, the vet lasted. All this.

And now it's kind of like, oh, geez, we built this new stadium with public money 20 years ago, but things have changed, and we kind of need to modernize it a little bit. What do you guys think? As I've told you before, I'm a Saints fan. If they tore down the Dome, I'd have no interest in going to Saints games anymore. The Dome is part of New Orleans. The Dome is the Saints. So they go in and they did a bunch of really nice renovations to the inside of it to make sure it was okay for the Super Bowl.

None of it interested me because I just want to go to the line, get a Coors Light, get a Bush Light, whatever, and go back to my seat, get a hot dog. I'm not here to spend $30 on your fancy offerings. That's the other thing I find funny when people buy fancy food offerings at a stadium. There was a list of all the new shit that the Astros have at the ballpark this year, and I'm like, who the fuck is going to wait in line for this shit? It's junk, and it's like you wait in line for this shit it's junk and it's like you wait in line for 20 minutes to get it let me see what the new really quick I want to see what the

Astros new Astro at their new Dakin Park Astros food uh for 2025 let's see what their new object I saw um what's her name doing a video about the new food. Okay. Delicious new ballpark eats rolled out by Texas baseball team. All right. Let's see. Here's some of the new shit. New stuff featured at the ballpark. Get your burnt-in fries.

Fresh-cut fries, queso blanco, pork burnt-ins, barbecue, barbecue, aioli sauce, and pickled red onions. They don't have the prices. I think that when uh what's her name julia morales posted it these had the prices and the prices were all like 20 like here's a texas rubin sandwich i'm not going to a baseball game to eat a fucking texas rubin sandwich i'm going to a baseball game to get a hot dog a burger some popcorn a sody pop some beer and watch the fucking game. The Daddy Mac Dog, a footlong Angus beef frank topped with chopped brisket, mac and cheese, barbecue sauce, and a crispy dill pickle. I guarantee you that that thing that's worth a dollar is probably $40 at

the ballgame. H-Town hot chicken loaded fries, pass, give me a hot dog. Again, I know I sound like some bitter old dude, but that's why I go to the ball game. If you want all of the amenities of home, then stay the fucking home. Like, I see people, like, Jilly loves to get this, like, these ramen noodle Chinese food shit at the Cardinals game. I'm like, that shit's like 20-something dollars. Go get one of these delicious hot dogs, and if you cash in, right, you go on like dollar dog day. You could be a glutton for life. But anyway. All right.

More to come.