History
Construction of Reliant Arena originated in the early 1970s and completed in 1974 adjacent to the Astrohall. Although the Astrohall (renamed Reliant Hall temporarily) was its next door neighbor, it was demolished in May 2002 to make way for a parking lot when Reliant Stadium was being completed.
The Arena has since been utilized for several other events, including the National Catholic Youth Conference in 2003 and the peripheral events of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
The Arena has also been a favorite stop for professional wrestling promotions such as World Wrestling Entertainment and World Championship Wrestling. Over the past decade, it has hosted multiple episodes of WCW Thunder and WWE SmackDown!, shows hosted by each company. Additionally, it hosted WCW's Fall Brawl pay per view in 1993.
After previously occupying the Compaq Center from 1998 to 2000, the PBR held a Bud Light Cup event in Reliant Arena in 2001; this was their last big-league event in Houston to date.
In 2005, the Arena was used as a shelter for residents displaced by Hurricane Katrina after it was deemed that the Reliant Astrodome would be insufficient for comfortably housing over 30,000 residents. It served as auxiliary housing for victims of Hurricane Katrina along with other parts of Reliant Park, and was the site of the field clinic set up to care for those displaced by the hurricane. This led to the cancellation of a My Chemical Romance concert, which led to a small riot.
The Arena is a potential home for a relocated af2 team, the Texas Copperheads. The Copperheads played the 2006 season in nearby Katy.
On July 16, 2007 the arena played host to the first indoor stop on the 2007 Vans Warped Tour.
On December 12, 2007 team owner Hilton Koch announced that the Comets would be moving from the Toyota Center to Reliant Arena for the 2008 WNBA season.
In July 2008, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling held its Victory Road 2008 pay-per-view event at the arena.
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