HOUSTON – Workers were in the final hours of preparing to open the NFL Experience inside the GRB in downtown Houston Friday. There you can test your football skills, check out the latest in virtual reality and take lots of photos.
"You can go to your high school football field and you can kick a field goal,” Mary Pat Augenthale, the vice president of NFL Events, said. “You can do that a number of times. You don't have to stand in line. You don't have to pay. But when you do that here, there's something special about the electricity in the air."
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There are even mockups of what it looks like inside an NFL team’s locker room. Everything is depicted, right down to the players' socks and deodorant.
"We've had experiences where NFL players have shown up and running backs have shown up at the 40 yard dash and not in uniform, walked up and been like 'you ready?'” Augenthale said. “And the little kids are like 'are you kidding me?'"
Inside the NFL Experience, you could see the football greats and even check out the Lombardi Trophy, which arrived at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. You could even take home a piece of the action. The NFL opened a preview inside the souvenir shop where there is a local touch.
"We've got the official Nike SB 51 jersey emblazoned with the state of Texas logo to make all of the native Texans very happy," Amir Bashiri said.
The NFL Experience in the GRB Convention Center and the NFL Live in Discovery Green open at 10 a.m. Saturday.