According to NFL’s Monday announcement the preseason game between the Dallas Cowboys and host Houston Texans, which was scheduled for Thursday, will be relocated at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, “thanks” to the severe weather conditions in Houston which are a direct effect of Hurricane Harvey.
The official statement from the league is “Due to public safety concerns resulting from the ongoing weather emergency related to Hurricane Harvey, Thursday’s Dallas Cowboys-Houston Texans game originally scheduled to be played in Houston at 7 p.m. CT has been relocated to AT&T Stadium in Arlington.” They continued by adding that “Kickoff on Thursday will remain at 7 p.m. CT. Details on tickets, parking and other game day logistics will be announced later this week.” This move was logical and expected since the hurricane slammed into Southeastern Texas over the weekend and made a huge damage and flooding to the region. To mitigate this unfortunate event Cowboys executive vice president and CEO Stephen Jones offered to host the game at AT&T Stadium.
The Texans practice on Monday went well, and it took place at the Cowboys’ facility in Frisco, Texas. The interesting thing that happened after that is that Texans opted not to fly back to Houston following their game against the Saints in Louisiana over the weekend. The good news is that NRG Stadium home of the Texans is actually safe and untouched but there is flooding very near it, and it is not safe to use it.
Hurricane Harvey made a lot of damage to Houston and everyone is aware of that which is why the Texans announced they are donating $1 million to the United Way of Greater Houston’s flood relief fund, but that is not all. The NFL Foundation is matching the Texans’ donation, and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is matching up to $1 million in donations to American Red Cross relief efforts in the region. Texans star J.J. Watt is also doing something to help the people impacted by the Hurricane, and he has already raised $500,000 in flood-relief funds as part of his $1 million goal. It is truly sad when things like these happen, but it is also very nice to see that there is still some humanity left in people and that there are plenty of those willing and able to help, when in need.
But back to the topic at hand. There is one more piece of info left, and it regards the Texans and their schedule. As you know, they are opening the regular season at NRG Stadium on September 10th against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but as of now, no decision has been made as to whether that game will be relocated or not. According to the statement from the league “The NFL and the Texans will continue to closely monitor the situation in Houston and adjust the team’s plans as necessary.”
