Popular NFL fan gathering will be at the George R. Brown

By Bill Murphy
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle

NFL Experience, an attraction expected to draw tens of thousands of fans daily during the run-up to the Super Bowl, will be at the George R. Brown Convention Center, a league official announced Monday.

The league chose the site over Reliant Park in part because of the success enjoyed when the NFL Experience was held near the Gas Lamp District in San Diego, a popular tourist mecca, in January.
The pavilion housing the NFL Experience typically has been held near the stadium where the game is played.

Jim Steeg, NFL senior vice-president in charge of the Super Bowl, has said he likes the idea of having the pavilion near Houston's downtown, where people can walk to restaurants and other attractions.

He made the announcement at a Houston Super Bowl XXXVIII Host Committee Luncheon.

NFL Experience gives fans the opportunity to run pass patterns, compete in football throwing games, obtain autographs, hear live music, and buy souvenirs.

With few locals expected to obtain tickets to the game, the pavilion is among the few venues open to the public, though there will be an admission fee.

In other business, Don Henderson, chairman of the Host Committee's hotel oversight committee, said the majority of local hotels have agreed not to engage in price-gouging during the weeks before the Super Bowl.

Those hotels have agreed to charge no more than 10 percent more than the maximum room rate, said Henderson.

The NFL, he said, could decline to pick Houston for another Super Bowl - Houston hopes to get the Super Bowl seven years from now - if hotels and other industries exploit tourists.

"We're already thinking about 2010," said Henderson.