Profits over kids? No more graduations to be held at Reliant Stadium

Updated 1 hour ago
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- The corporation that operates Reliant Stadium says the venue will no longer host graduation ceremonies for area school districts.

The Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation (HCSCC) tells ABC13 that those ceremonies will now be held at Reliant Arena.

"Utilizing Reliant Arena for graduation ceremonies allows Reliant Park to continue hosting these important community celebrations while keeping Reliant Stadium available for other large-scale events during a peak booking period," they said in a statement to ABC13.

Members of the Humble ISD community attended Harris County Commissioners Court earlier this week in hopes of reversing the decision.

District officials who spoke at the meeting said they believe Reliant Stadium is the only venue in the area that allows graduates to bring their entire support groups to the ceremony.



"We were told that concerts generate more revenue than high school graduations," said Humble ISD Trustee Chris Parker. "This is a concern for me."

Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey said he was taken aback by the news.

"It blindsided me," said Ramsey. "It'd be nice if (HCSCC) had a conversation with us before passing policy like that."

Other commissioners said they wanted to learn more about the financial trade-off for prioritizing big events at the stadium over graduation ceremonies.

ABC13 reported last year that a study estimated Harris County, which is responsible for stadium maintenance, could have to pay $1.4 billion in such costs over the next 30 years.



"We challenge (the Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation) to figure out how to be profitable," said Harris County Precinct One Commissioner Rodney Ellis.

Harris County commissioners court ultimately decided to discuss the matter further at its next meeting, in part to discuss the possibility of reversing the HCSCC decision.

The next meeting of Harris County commissioners court is on Sept. 17.
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