The NFL has reportedly required up to $50 million in upgrades to NRG Stadium in advance of the 2017 Super Bowl.  Many of the upgrades would be to the luxury boxes and club section inhabited by the Swells.   The question of who will foot the bill is up in the air and no one is stepping forward.  To his credit, County Commissioner Steve Radack has stated that Harris County should not be on the hook.  The Houston Chronicle reports that Radack is adamant about not spending taxpayer money on a perfectly good stadium.

If the NFL has its way, luxury boxes and club seats at NRG Stadium will undergo major upgrades at the expense of Harris County or its tenants before Super Bowl LI arrives in Houston in 2017.

But if the decision is up to Harris County Commissioner Steve Radack, using public funds to improve suites for corporate executives and billion-dollar companies would be a non-starter.

“I’m not about to vote to spend a single dollar of county money updating these luxury suites,” Radack said.

 With 21 months to go until the sporting event that launches Houston onto the world stage for one glorious Sunday, much work still remains to prepare for the big party. One of the most significant tasks appears to be dressing up NRG Stadium. The price for seating updates and other improvements could rise as high as $50 million, including $5 million to enhance the facility’s WiFi capacity, sources previously have told the Houston Chronicle.

Red likes the Texans and likes going to at least a couple of games each season.  Red’s tickets are in Section 547 – up there with the Riff and the Raff. Nonetheless, Red is all on board for upgrading WiFi at the stadium.  It is almost impossible to get a signal from some of the carriers during a game.  But there is no way that taxpayers should be paying for upgrades to luxury boxes and club level seats.  The denizens of those hallowed grounds are the last ones who should be looking for a hand out from Harris County – since no doubt a goodly number of them are virulently anti-tax.

Photo of oddly legless bulls in front of NRG Stadium from stadiumjourney.com

Jordan Spieth won the Masters Sunday in record-tying fashion carving out an 18 under par total of 270 for the tournament.  He also broke a drought for Texas players winning the tournament that had lasted for 20 years since Ben Crenshaw claimed his second Masters title in 1995. Texans have now won a total of 13 Green Jackets in the 79 years the tournament has been played – or almost 16% of the total titles.  Here is a list of the Texans who have put on the Green Jacket: Byron Nelson – 1937 and 1942; Ralph Guhldahl – 1939; Jimmy Demaret – 1940, 1947 and 1950; Ben Hogan – 1951 and 1953; Jack Burke, Jr – 1956; Charles Coody – 1971; Ben Crenshaw – 1984 and 1995; and Jordan Spieth – 2015.

Hope springs eternal on opening day for all 30 Major League clubs.  Some, of course, are more hopeful than others.

The Houston Astros host the Cleveland Indians at 6 pm at Minute Maid Park. The Astros hope to improve on their not disgraceful 2014 showing after losing more than 100 games three seasons in a row and being unavailable on TV for a large part of the local market.  A retooled outfield with George Springer and Jake Marisnick as anchors should help as well as a bullpen that should not give away too many wins even if it is still in search of a true closer.  Starting pitching is not a joke – at least for the first 2 spots with Dallas Keuchel and Collin McHugh.  The big questions are Brad Peacock and Brian Oberholtzer.  The Astros must have more than 10 wins from at least one of them.  On the offense front, it’s even possible that the team will have a player with more than 40 home runs for the first time since Lance Berkman in 2006.  Look for either Springer, Evan Gattis or Chris Carter to start out hot and have a chance to hit 40 bombs.  Jose Altuve shows all the signs of being the real deal – but the team needs at least one other star.  Maybe it will be Springer or Luis Valbuena.    Red predicts the Astros will be relevant until at least mid-August and will have their first winning season in recent memory – although just barely at 82-80.

Meanwhile, in Arlington, the Rangers home opener against the Astros will be on April 10.  The Rangers might be lucky to avoid 90 losses this season.  Yu Darvish is gone for the year which is bad news for a pitching staff that had the third highest collective ERA in baseball last season.  After starters Yovani Gallardo and Derek Hollandand the bullpen is filled with holes.  The Rangers do lead the majors in having the most players named after musicians commonly known by one name  –  but beyond Prince Fielder and Elvis Andrus the everyday lineup is fairly makeshift.  Adrian Beltre and Neftali Feliz probably won’t finish the season in Rangers Red or Blue or whichever color they are wearing now.  The “Ball Park” (or whatever it is called now) is still a great place to watch a game.  Red will probably visit at least once and predicts the Rangers will go 70-92 and finish in last place in the AL West.