The Houston Texans have been the paragon of safety and caution amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and handling hurricanes is in their wheelhouse.
Operating with the same abundance of caution that has netted zero positive COVID-19 tests since the start of training camp, the team has decided to close NRG Stadium at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday
“The @HoustonTexans will close the stadium at 2:30pm to ensure everyone gets home safely with the threat of Hurricane Laura looming,” Texans vice president of communications Amy Palcic tweeted. “The team will meet virtually on Thursday morning and reassess if it is safe to come back for the scrimmage scheduled for Thursday evening.”
The @HoustonTexans will close the stadium at 2:30pm to ensure everyone gets home safely with the threat of Hurricane Laura looming. The team will meet virtually on Thursday morning and reassess if it is safe to come back for the scrimmage scheduled for Thursday evening.
— Amy Palcic (@amypalcic) August 26, 2020
Laura is expected to hit the mainland late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning. The storm’s path is not expected to hit Houston, veering more towards to the east and traveling up the Texas-Louisiana border into Arkansas.
Coach and general manager Bill O’Brien doesn’t believe it will the same as Hurricane Harvey, which hit Houston and south Texas hard in August of 2017, but will have its own unique effects.
“We’re on top of it and we’ll make a call when we have to make the call,” O’Brien said. “I think this one is different than Harvey, right.”
According to O’Brien, the concern the Texans would have from Laura’s effects would be damaging the practice bubble at Houston Methodist Training Center.
