HOUSTON — Normally when you think about Houston’s big sports venues, you think games and concerts. However, this year it will also be where Harris County voters can cast their ballots.
“We’ve taken a lot of care to make the process, as painless as possible," said Ryan Walsh, executive director of Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation at NRG Park.
They have three Texans home games scheduled during early voting.
“Hopefully they will come to the game, tailgate a little bit, go vote, go walk into the game, go the team store and head home," Walsh said.
Toyota Center and BBVA Stadium are also opening up their facilities for polling locations. An opportunity, Walsh said, to pick up some business during a slow year.
“COVID has hit everybody hard, and live entertainment venues are no stranger to that during the COVID times, so we certainly had a lot of downtime, lot of opportunity to utilize the facility," he said.
“I would recommend voters make a plan," said Dr. Annie Johnson Benifield, Vice President of Voter Services for the League of Women Voters.
She's also a political science professor at Lone Star College - Tomball. Benifield said most importantly, know which county you live in and where you can vote.
“It’s not required that you wear a mask. All the poll workers are required to wear a mask, inside of the polling location, but voters are not required to wear a mask," she said.
Benifield said expect lines to look longer because of social distancing. New options like drive-thru and 24-hour voting at NRG Park could be an attractive option for voters looking for convenience.
“That’s one thing we are no stranger to is large crowds, so we are certainly prepared for that and hopeful that we do have a large turnout," Walsh said.
The agreement with NRG Park was made specifically for this year because the Harris County Clerk's Office needed more space for social distancing due to the pandemic. Walsh said if all goes well this year, he could see voting becoming part of the wide array of events they host regularly.