Miami Dolphins moving opener, Texans starting NFL season in Houston
The Houston Texans will celebrate the opening of a new season on home turf on Sunday afternoon.
The Miami Dolphins will not.
Despite the massive flooding which plagued the Houston area following Hurricane Harvey, Houston mayor Sylvester Turner declared his city “open for business” and that includes Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at NRG Stadium.
On Tuesday afternoon, the NFL announced that Miami’s scheduled home opener will not by played Sunday in South Florida due to the threat of Hurricane Irma — nor would the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers be moved up to either Thursday or Friday.
According to the NFL, the Dolphins-Bucs will play Sunday at a nuetral site or the game will be played at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens later this season — perhaps in November when the two share an off week.
Jacksonville owner Shahid Khan had offered to swap dates allowing the Texans an extra few weeks before opening the stadium doors for a football game.
NRG Stadium, like many sites in the region, has been serving as an emergency shelter and was visited by President Donald Trump this past weekend.
The Texans will visit division rival Jacksonville on Dec. 17 as scheduled.
“What's most important to me and everyone in Jacksonville isn't where we'll play the Texans on Week 1,” Khan said last week, “but that the City of Houston and its people recover quickly, safely and successfully.”
In the wake of Harvey, the Astros moved a three-game series against the Texas Rangers from Houston to St. Petersburg. The Astros returned to Minute Maid Park to play the Mets this past weekend.
Happening Now: @POTUS and @FLOTUS arrive at NRG Stadium in Houston. #Harvey pic.twitter.com/GjqHvktOIK
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 2, 2017
Turner told CBS’ ‘Face the Nation’ that although there is still flooding in his city, the airports are open and transit system is running.
“Let me be very, very clear,” Turner said, “the city of Houston is open for business.”
MIAMI HERALD: Irma is now a Category 5 storm as of Tuesday morning
The Miami Dolphins still had not announced final plans for Sunday’s scheduled opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as of Tuesday afternoon.
The two teams were scheduled to kick off their 2017 season at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens at 1 p.m. (WSVN-7) on Sunday.
For those asking: Last time a Dolphins game was moved to Fri. for a hurricane (Fins-KC in 2005),game was aired only on CBS affil.in S.Fla&KC
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) September 4, 2017
High school football games in Miami-Dade, Monroe and Broward counties — as well as throughout the state — are expected to be moved up, postponed or canceled due to the incoming storm.
Schools in all three of those counties are closed Thursday and Friday meaning no after school activities are allowed either.
Rocky Gillis of the Broward Coumty Athletic Association said BCAA games scheduled for the weekend would be moved to Wednesday at various sites around the county.
The Miami Hurricanes currently plan to leave for their game at Arkansas State on Friday; FIU has yet to announce its plans for Saturday’s home opener against Alcorn State. FAU is on the road at Wisconsin.
MIAMI DOLPHINS VS. TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
▪ When, where: TBA.
▪ TV/Radio: WSVN-7; WQAM-560; WKIS-99.9.
This story was originally published September 5, 2017 at 8:42 AM with the headline "Miami Dolphins moving opener, Texans starting NFL season in Houston."