70 years in the making

In with the new: Demolition begins on Robertson Stadium as Coogs look ahead to afresh $105 million facility

After seven decades at the heart of the University of Houston's athletic program, Robertson Stadium saw its final day on Monday as demolition began to make way for a new $105 million stadium.

At a recent UH gala event, Joe Chastang — owner of Chastang Ford and a huge Cougar fan — won the honors of kicking off Robertson's demolition and, at 10 a.m., found himself in the seat of a massive yellow wrecking machine. A crowd of roughly 75 students and faculty applauded as the giant mechanical claw made the first move by tearing through the roof of a former restroom facility.

"I used to play high school football here," said Joe Chastang. "Right now, though, I'm anxious to get the new stadium underway."

"It's exciting to have a chance to do this and much more fun than I thought," laughed Chastang. "I used to play high school football here . . . Right now, though, I'm anxious to get the new stadium underway."

University of Houston president Renu Khator followed up Chastang's efforts with some honorary destruction of her own.

While perhaps not as dramatic as Sunday's demolition of the historic Ben Milam Hotel, the leveling of Robertson marks what many see as a bold new chapter for UH athletics, which has been enjoying an ever-growing national presence in both football and basketball.

Completed in 1942 as a joint project between the Houston Independent School District and the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA), Roberston began as a 20,000-seat venue. In the early '60s, an agreement with the then-new Houston Oilers increased capacity to 36,000. The fabled team called the stadium home for five seasons.

While the aging stadium enjoyed a brief 21st-century renaissance as home base for the Houston Dynamo, UH officials announced Robertson would be replaced with a new 40,000-seat facility that could be expanded by another 20,000 seats at a later date.

After the six to eight week demolition process is complete, the university will break ground on the new-and-improved Cougars Stadium, which officials say will open in time for the 2014 football season.

Thanks, Queen Bey

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

Beyonce Super Bowl

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.”

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