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Super Bowl LI (51) will bring tens of thousands of people to Houston. They'll stay at our hotels, eat at our restaurants, and frequent our stores. (Not to mention add to our traffic). Meanwhile, Houston will be front and center on the TV screens of a hundred million more Americans. Will we be ready? And could hosting a successful Super Bowl open up other opportunities for Houston?
On this edition of Houston Matters, we discuss ongoing preparations to host the Super Bowl in 2017.
Our guests are Sallie Sargent, President and CEO of the Houston Super Bowl 51 Bid Committee, Janis Burke, Executive Director of the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority, and A.J. Mistretta, Public Relations Manager with the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Also this hour: Lawmakers in Austin are considering a proposal to allow students, faculty and staff with proper licenses to carry firearms on college campuses, including in classrooms. Senate Bill 11 has 19 co-sponsors. That's enough to bring it to the floor for a vote. Lt. Governor Dan Patrick appears to be fast-tracking the bill — it was referred to committee in just the fourth week of the legislative session, and the Senate State Affairs Committee will take it up on Thursday.
Currently, only seven states allow concealed carry on public college campuses. But several more, including Florida and Arkansas, are considering similar measures. While there seems to be some momentum in favor of the bill at the statehouse, there is strong opposition from gun control advocates, and universities across Texas. We consider the political and practical implications of the campus carry bill, as we talk with Allen Fletcher, who represents the 130th State House district, serving portions of Northwest Harris County. He sponsors the campus carry bill in the Texas House. We also hear from an opponent of the proposed legislation, Andy Pelosi, President of Gun Free Kids.
