In August 1995, Houston Oilers owner Bud Adams announced a deal to move the city's professional football team to Nashville, Tennessee. The stunned local fanbase swiftly abandoned the once beloved franchise. Just over 15,000 people attended the Oilers’ final game on December 15, 1996—the smallest home crowd in the team’s 37-year history. 

Houston’s concern over sports franchise wanderlust did not end with the Oilers’ departure. Both the Astros and the Rockets also considered leaving town. Local officials quickly realized that the city must compete with lucrative relocation packages if it hoped to retain its professional teams into the twenty-first century. The main solution: replace aging venues like the Astrodome with new, money-making facilities. As plans for a new ballpark, football stadium, and basketball arena took shape, Houston sought not only to safeguard what was but also imagine what could be. The city agreed to host the 2004 Super Bowl and submitted a proposal to host the 2012 Olympics.