Super Field

The field at NRG is Super Bowl ready, but rain may scuttle Lady Gaga roof rumors

The field is ready for Super Bowl LI

Photo by Eric Sandler

Whatever happens Sunday night between the Patriots and the Falcons — the Pats are a slight favorite to win their fifth Super Bowl — the field at NRG Stadium will be ready. So says NFL Director of Events Eric Finkelstein, who offered the media a sneak peek at the turf that’s been painted with Super Bowl LI graphics and the logos of both teams.

“Our job is to make sure that everything performs at the highest possible level for the Super Bowl, the field being one of them,” Finkelstein said. “We have our standards that we meet, and we look to exceed those, especially on Super Bowl Sunday.”

Beyond the action on the field, the two biggest questions about the stadium are related to the roof. Will it be open? And are the rumors about Lady Gaga planning to perform her halftime show on top of it true?

“I can’t really speak to that,” Finkelsaid said. “I can only tell you that it’s going to be a special performance. I don’t know all the specifics. They keep it pretty close and tight to the vest.”

He did affirm that he’s been on the roof before and that it could support people and objects, and Lady Gaga told a Boston radio station that her plans include being suspended from the roof.

However, with a 60-percent chance of rain being predicted for Sunday, hopefully the stunt doesn't depend on the roof being open. Whatever the pop star wants, it's the league that will decide on game day whether to open the roof after studying the conditions. Regardless, Finkelstein has high expectations for Super Sunday.

“It will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, as it is every year,” he said. “Whether you’re here in person or watching on TV, it’s going to be a very special day on Sunday that I know will be a great game as well.”

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”