Inside Houston’s abandoned former sports arena, now turned into a $95 million house of worship

The FORMER home of the Houston Rockets is almost unrecognizable from its days as a sports venue.

The Compaq Center was purchased by the Lakewood Church and converted from an NBA court into a place of worship.

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More than $95 million has been invested in renovating the former basketball arena over the past two decades.

Opened in November 1975, the Compaq Center was originally known as The Summit.

Basketball, ice hockey, wrestling and indoor football were held in the arena, which had a capacity of 16,800 people.

The arena has hosted the NBA Finals on four different occasions and was Houston’s main concert venue in the 1970s and 1980s.

Legendary rock band The Who were one of the first to play there, with Led Zeppelin, Queen and Aerosmith also taking the stage.

In 2003, the Rockets left the arena and headed downtown to the state-of-the-art Toyota Center.

The site was temporarily abandoned while the city of Houston attempted to lease it.

Later that year, the city signed a long-term lease with the Lakewood Church.

The megachurch is one of the largest congregations in the country and averages about 45,000 attendees per week.

In 2001, the city signed a 30-year lease with church leader and television pastor Joel Osteen.

Less than a decade later, the church spent more than $80 million on improvements, for NBC.

The building was reconfigured in extensive renovations that lasted more than 15 months.

Changes were made to increase capacity, with five additional floors added to the structure.

“Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? This is a dream come true,” Osteen told the congregation during the church’s first service in July 2005.

In 2010, the city sold the arena to the church for $7.5 million, per CHRONO.

“Crazy, how this used to be one of [the NBA’s] best arenas”, recalls a Rockets fan, via Reddit.

“I watched many games there sitting in special seats. They were still great seats, before luxury boxes became big business,” said another.

“Great place to watch a game,” agreed a third.

Since moving to the Toyota Center, the Rockets have failed to add to their two NBA titles.

The team is currently in a four-year postseason drought after finishing 41-41 in 2023.

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