Reliant Stadium to get new HD video screen displays in Reliant Stadium

  Pooja LodhiaHOUSTON (KTRK) -- Reliant Stadium has hosted some big moments in this record breaking season, but if city officials want Houston to host another Super Bowl, the relatively new stadium will need some upgrades.

The upgrades we're talking about are a pair of "super screens" that would rival those in Cowboy Stadium. That kind of technology won't come cheap, but commissioners say the upgrade is necessary because the current screens are more than 11 years old.

"It's going to be 40 percent bigger than that screen in Cowboy Stadium," said Leroy Shafer with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

Commissioners with the Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation just approved a plan to build two new scoreboards here at Reliant. Each end zone will feature a screen that's 52 feet high and 277 feet wide, so there will be plenty of space for instant replays, statistics, and commercials.

"Certainly this is going to be an integrel component to that bid for the Super Bowl we present to the NFL in May. They're looking for experience, the experience for the guests coming in here," Houston Texans President Jamey Rootes said.

The new boards are expected to cost about $16 million. Commissioners are still negotiating the details but tell us they will be paid for with county restoration funds. The Houston Texans and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo will loan the county money up-front.

"The money that goes into this R&R fund comes from hotel/motel tax, rental car tax, from the ticket tax," Shafer said.

"So is there any chance that ticket prices could go up to help pay for this?" we asked Shafer.

"No, not at all," he said.

If you remember, Minute Maid Park got its own HD screen last year. It's 54 feet high and 124 feet wide. But did the screen really improve the experience for fans?

"It's hard to say what people come here to see, because a lot of people come to be entertained, some people come to see baseball," Astros Production Co-Ordinator David Congdon said.

Construction is expected to begin in April, and the screens should be ready to go in time for next year's football season.

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Fan who fell to death at Texans game at Reliant Stadium was legally drunk

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- We have an update on a story we first told you about last month. A man who fell to his death at a Texans game was legally drunk.

The medical examiner says 25-year-old Jonathan Kelly had a blood alcohol content of .16. That's twice the legal limit.

Kelly fell 60 feet to his death in the Texans final preseason game August 30 at Reliant Stadium. Eyewitnesses say he and some friends were riding the escalators handrails when he lost his balance.

The medical examiner ruled Kelly's death as accidental and says he died of multiple blunt force injuries.

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Loss aside, TSU fills new stadium with team spirit

  Pooja LodhiaHOUSTON (KTRK) -- It was a big night for Texas Southern University. The football team debuted in its new home, transforming BBVA Compass Stadium into "Tigers Stadium" for the first time. They lost to Jackson State 45-35, but fans were excited nonetheless.

It was pouring Saturday evening ahead of the game, but the band was still jamming and the fans were still dancing.

"It's a very historic day, playing in the BBVA stadium," TSU fan Vincent Watkins said.

"It's been a long time coming -- about a four and a half year process," said Charles McClelland, TSU's athletic director. "We've been a transient program for quite some time, and to be able to open this stadium in such grand fashion -- the exuberance is overflowing."

For the past four and a half years, the TSU Tigers have been playing at local high schools and other stadiums.

The historic game brought school spirit everywhere you looked, from the vendors to the students and alumni.

"It's all about school spirit, and we're hoping to win the conference again," TSU alumnus Eleanor Forbes said.

But everybody knows you don't go to a TSU game just for the football. TSU's Ocean of Soul marching band rocked the crowd at halftime.

"I love the band," student Jazmine Robinson said. "I'm always dancing."

And the team didn't disappoint. They scored a touchdown just minutes into the game.

The Tigers were up 21-14 at the half, but their lead turned into a back-and-forth battle late in the game with TSU scoring 14 points within a minute at one point, only to fall back again.

TSU ended up falling to Jackson State 45-35.

TSU has two more games this month at BBVA Compass Stadium. They are playing Alabama A&M next Saturday and Sam Houston State University on September 27.

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Texans fan injured at Reliant Stadium speaks out

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- For the first time, we're hearing from a Texans fan who was smacked in the head by a falling piece of equipment during Sunday's game at Reliant Stadium.

It turns out he was badly injured and has hired an attorney.

Marcie Van Matre says she was sitting with her boyfriend, Scott Woodard, in Section 115.

"We were all excited. We were in our white jerseys for White Out Day," Van Matre said.

At that point, the Texans were losing 3-0 but there was also trouble in the stands when a metal object came flying from above.

"It hit my neighbor and I looked at him first, because I saw it hit him first and he got a knot on his head. Then when I looked over at Scott, it hit his scalp and he had blood gushing down," Van Matre said.

Cell phone photos show Woodard after a long section of a metal frame that had been attached to one of the scoreboard signs dislodged and fell on him.

"I didn't know what was going on. I thought someone had hit me over the head with a beer bottle," Woodard told us in a phone interview Monday.

Compounding Woodard's issues, he claims that medical attention was slow in coming.

"I was injured in the first quarter and they didn't have an ambulance for me until the final hour," he said.

"It was just scary being in an emergency situation and it taken that long for help," Van Matre said.

Woodard says he now has seven staples in his scalp and has slept little since going to a game he saw little of.

As engineer for NASA, Woodard is concerned over the design and construction issues associated with the equipment which fell on his head.

He's hired Brent Coon to handle the case.

"We are obtaining a temporary restraining order to preserve the evidence and allow us the opportunity to further inspect the equipment involved, the pieces that fell, why they fell, and whatever else the investigation draws to our attention," Coon said in a statement released Monday. "Maybe they should have given out helmets instead of 'terrible towels' for fan appreciation day."

Reliant Park released a statement Monday as well, blaming the incident on "mischief":

"First and foremost our concern is for the well being of the two guests that were injured as well as the safety of all of the Reliant Park guests. At approximately 12:40 p.m. CT September 9, 2012 at Reliant Stadium an aluminum cover for one of the North end zone LED display boards dislodged and fell approximately 15 ft. to 18 ft. onto the guests seated below. One guest was treated at the scene by event medical staff and transported to an area hospital at approximately 1:35 p.m. for additional medical treatment. The other guest was treated and returned to the event. At the conclusion of the game, the manufacturer (Daktronics) reinspected all of the panels. We are continuing to work with the manufacturer to determine what caused the panel to fall, but at this time it appears that the cause may have been mischief."

Stay with Eyewitness News and abc13.com for the latest as we continue following this story.

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Police investigating fatal escalator fall during Texans game at Reliant Stadium

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A Texans fan died after falling from a stadium escalator. Witnesses say the man was trying to slide down the handrail and may have been dared to do it by a friend.

We are waiting for the results of an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death of Jonathan Kelly, 25, who fell from an escalator at Reliant Stadium. It happened during the third quarter as some fans were leaving the Texans' final pre-season game.

Reliant park staff members say they are taking a hard look at safety procedures after that deadly fall that took place on the northeast side of the stadium.

The escalators just beyond the Coca-Cola gate at Reliant Stadium aren't moving. They've been shut down after a man fell to his death during Thursday's pre-season game between the Texans and Minnesota Vikings.

Eyewitness Veronica Mares recalled, "We're watching the body go down, and he lands and we're like OK, he's not moving. He's dead you know?"

Mares says she and her family were on the escalator during the third quarter when they witnessed Kelly's 60-foot fall. Mares says she saw the 25-year-old Houston man and two of his friends holding drinks and playing around, riding the escalator's handrails.

"He rode the rail for like two or three seconds and after that you just see him falling," she said. "He couldn't grab anything. I mean, there was nothing he could have grabbed."

We took an up close look at the area where the accident happened. There are no stairs nor walls that could have cushioned that deadly drop from the fifth level to the ground.

"They were horseplaying when they shouldn't have been," Mares said.

During a news conference Friday morning, administrators for both Reliant Park and the Texans expressed their sympathies for Kelly's family.

Houston Texans President Jamey Roots said, "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of this young man."

For now, administrators are staying rather tight-lipped about certain details in the investigation while making sure safety inspectors take a look at these escalators. We did ask whether alcohol was a factor in that fall. Reliant Park's manager mentioned that could be a factor in the investigation. The medical examiner's autopsy results have not been completed.

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Dynamo to hold ribbon-cutting today for new stadium

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The Houston Dynamo are holding a ribbon-cutting ceremony for their new stadium today.

BBVA Compass Stadium will hold its first Dynamo game Saturday, May 12 against DC United. The 22,0000-seat venue will also hold international soccer matches as well as concerts and TSU football games.

Today's ribbon-cutting ceremony begins at 10am outside the stadium on Texas Street just east of downtown.

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Copper stolen from new stadium for Sugar Land Skeeters

The stadium is still under construction. Opening day for the Sugar Land Skeeters is set for April 26th.

SUGAR LAND, TX (KTRK) -- Police are looking for the thieves who stole several reels of copper which was to be installed at the new stadium being built for the Sugar Land Skeeters.

Workers discovered the copper missing from a storage room at Constellation Field on Friday, December 30. The reels of copper are worth approximately $25,000.

A source with knowledge of the incident says the thieves must have used heavy equipment to remove the reels from the site and haul them away.

The stadium is still under construction. Opening day for the Sugar Land Skeeters is set for April 26.

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