Husky Stadium - Houston Christian Huskies

Photos by Aaron S. Terry, Stadium Journey

Stadium Info FANFARE Score: 3.00

Husky Stadium 7502 Fondren Rd Houston, TX 77074

Houston Christian Huskies website

Husky Stadium website

Year Opened: 2014

Capacity: 5,000

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Dawgs Up!

With a picturesque view of downtown Houston in the distance, and overlooking both the HCU soccer and baseball fields, Husky Stadium is a wonderful stadium in the Football Championship Subdivision. Opened in 2014, the current record crowd in this 5,000-seat venue is 4,125, with an average attendance last season around 2K per game.

Despite being over 10 years old the turf field looks brand new, and the orange and blue color scheme of the Huskies pops nicely. The stadium’s grandstand is located on the southwest side and is topped by a small press box, providing fans with a little relief from the Texas sun as the afternoon, or evening, wanes.

Food & Beverage   3

Husky Stadium does not have a ton of food and beverage options, but there is more than enough to cover you during the game, and the food is fresh, fresh, fresh! Burgers, sausage, hot dogs, and sometimes marinated grilled chicken are made to order on a portable grill in the middle of the concourse (you order your food at the concession stand next to the ticket booth and pick it up over at the grill). You can also get the Texas favorite Frito pie, nachos, chips, candy, popcorn, and other snacks, as well as bottled water, soda, iced tea (of course, this being the South), and sports drinks. Most items are $5 or less, with only sausage-on-a-stick ($7) and Black Angus 1/3 lb. cheeseburgers ($9) costing more.

Atmosphere   3

The Huskies boast the traditional band, cheerleaders, and costumed mascot, and have a decent student section as well. The scoreboard behind the southeast end zone does have video capability, but it seems to only be used for HCU logos and crowd prompts; I did not see any instant replays.

On the plus side there is a team gear stand under the seating, which sells mostly Dawgs shirts and hats, but also socks, which you don’t often see. There are also several other stands with giveaways or promotions about upcoming HCU events.

Neighborhood   3

Houston Christian University is located about halfway between Sugar Land, TX and downtown Houston – as mentioned above downtown Houston can be seen in the distance from the grandstand, but is actually about 13 miles away.

Of course Houston has plenty to see and do, including perhaps the most well-known attraction, Space Center Houston, but also boasts other sporting events like the Texans, Rockets, and Astros, as well as several other college football stadiums if you are looking to double or even triple up during your visit.  But if you want to stay closer to HCU, there are plenty of restaurants in the area, mostly Tex-Mex with a few pizza places sprinkled in, but a few other cuisine types as well. There are also plenty of hotels and motels nearby, with options for any budgets – almost all of these are located right along nearby I-69.

Fans   2

The Huskies have a decent crowd – they are loud enough and cheer at the appropriate moments, and the student section especially is decked out in team gear. Unfortunately there are just not enough fans at present to fill up the grandstand. However, they do have sort of a fan fest outside the stadium before the game, which seemed well attended.

On the plus side, during my most recent visit I saw barely any visiting fans, which I appreciated – at a lot of venues, you will see more visiting fans than home fans.

Access   4

Accessing Husky Stadium at Houston Christian University was much easier than I expected – due to the traffic around the nation’s fourth-largest city, I expected the drive in to take much longer, but probably thanks to the distance from downtown Houston, the drive was actually very easy. In addition, there is free parking available at the Brown Administrative Complex or the Morris Cultural Arts Centers, which leaves a short walk to the facility, but not bad. Note that Lot 5 is reserved during football games for pass holders, although it is open for all other HCU sporting events.

There is also plenty of room to move around the concourse; the ticket window and concession stand are both located at the main entrance, which is on the west end of the grandstand (the opposite side from where the scoreboard is). Lastly, since the venue likely will not be full, you can sit anywhere in the stands you want, so even if you didn’t buy the chairback seats (the section in the middle of the stands), you can probably grab one of those seats anyway.

Return on Investment   4

General admission seats are only $15, so with the free parking I consider this a great return on investment; remember also that the food and beverage prices here are cheaper than you will probably see at most other sports venues. Chairback seats, if you want to make sure, cost $25 each, and those under 18 can get in for $8.

Extras   2

For non-Saturday games, the on-campus cafeterias will actually give dinner to the students at Husky Stadium itself, for example during a Thursday night contest I recently attended, the cafeteria was closed, and the students had to come to the stadium to eat – I thought this was a great way to boos attendance, and try to drive student interest early in the season.

Final Thoughts

Texas is known for football, and the city of Houston is no different, with 1 pro team, 2 FBS teams, and 2 FCS teams – for any math nerds out there, that means Houston has twice as many major football programs for its population size compared to the United States in general. That said, I would definitely recommend a visit to Husky Stadium; even though it is not the biggest, it is a great stadium with a pleasant atmosphere and picturesque views. While it may not have all the amenities you can find at some of the larger stadiums in Houston, it is an enjoyable and stress-free way to enjoy the game we all love.