How the Oilers left Houston and set the stage for the Texans

The Texans are preparing to enter their 15th season, but they would have never existed if the Oilers and owner Bud Adams hadn't picked up and moved in 1997 after failing to get the city of Houston to build them a new stadium.

The tumultuous times led to Adams getting the new stadium he wanted in Nashville, Tenn., then one of the country's fastest-growing cities, and set the stage for Bob McNair to finally getting the NFL franchise he had coveted.

Adams' disenchantment with Houston began in 1994, the worst possible time. The Oilers fell from a 12-4 AFC Central champion in 1993 to 2-14 the next year, the biggest one-season plunge in NFL history.

It was the worst possible time for Adams to get political and business support for a new, multipurpose downtown stadium to replace the decrepit Astrodome.

Adams first became disillusioned with the Astrodome and his landlord, the parent company of the Astros, in 1993. As a member of the NFL's finance committee, he was privy to everything St. Louis was offering the Rams to relocate from Los Angeles.

More Information TIMEline 1959 Oilers founded as one of original members of the American Football League. 1960 Oilers win first AFL championship over the Los Angeles Chargers at Jeppesen Stadium. 1970 Oilers and the AFL merged with the National Football League. 1993 season Oilers had franchise-best 12-4 record but lost opening playoff game to Kansas City. 1997 Oilers moved to Tennessee. 1999 NFL awards an expansion franchise to Bob McNair. 2002 Texans play first NFL game at Reliant (now NRG) Stadium. "Bud" Adams

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Adams studied the sweetheart deal the Rams were offered and considered the sky-high rent he was paying for the Astrodome, which needed millions in renovation.

Adams wanted a deal similar to what the Rams received to start playing in St. Louis in 1995. He told his right-hand man, executive vice president Mike McClure, to get a better deal from the Astros. When the Astros refused, Adams told McClure to look around for a city willing to build him a new stadium.

Adams was told about Baltimore building a new stadium to replace the Colts. He didn't want to fly that far for home games. Then he was informed about Nashville, a city of 500,000 and a television market that ranked 33rd compared with Houston's 11th.

Nashville built a new downtown arena and pursued the New Jersey Devils of the NHL. The Devils got a new deal to stay at home.

Nashville mayor Phil Bredesen, a visionary who knew little about football, realized what a boon an NFL franchise would be to his city and state. He convinced Adams to sign an exclusive negotiating agreement. If Nashville gave Adams everything he wanted before the agreement expired, the Oilers would relocate.

At that point, Houston's political and business leaders turned on Adams, who was an unpopular owner to begin with. In 1987, he had threatened to move to Jacksonville, Fla., unless the Astrodome was expanded. The county approved the expansion of 7,500 seats.

Houston's late mayor, Bob Lanier, knew the only way he wouldn't win a final term in a landslide was to join Adams' efforts to get public money. He led the anti-Adams brigade whose numbers grew by the day.

Local media, ignited by the Chronicle and Post, blasted Adams and urged Lanier not to give in. There was never a referendum to see what the public wanted.

"You've got warring parties on all sides," McClure said. "Powerful egos are at play. To sum it up, it's a big mess."

The city and county's basic message to Adams, who offered to contribute $85 million if the public would provide the rest for a $280 million stadium: "Don't let the door hit your backside on your way out of town."

Many thought Adams would never leave. The Oilers' lease didn't expire until after the 1997 season.

While Adams waited, Bredensen was proactive and had to convince Davidson County voters to approve $80 million in bonds to get the football rolling on a new $292 million downtown stadium as well as a practice facility and relocation fees. The referendum passed 59 to 41 percent.

"People who never voted for anything came out to vote for this," said Dave Cooley, who organized the "Yes for Nashville" campaign.

At that point, Houston officials began to realize they were going to lose the Oilers.

"This was really the last frontier on our expansion list," Adams said.

NFL owners still had to vote. Commissioner Paul Tagliabue tried to convince Adams to remain in Houston, but it was too late. The owners approved the move 23-6-1.

"This is an historic move for all of us," Tagliabue said. "We're the first major sports franchise in Tennessee."

Voting against the move were Buffalo, Cincinnati, Minnesota, the New York Giants, Pittsburgh and Washington. Oakland abstained.

"The academic analysts who point out you can't justify a new stadium in economic terms, well, they're right," Bredensen said. "But there are so many intangible reasons, and in our case, we were also able to totally renovate an eyesore on the other side of the river (for the new stadium).

"Nashville will now be known more broadly now. We have been well-known for a city of our size because of our music, but this was a chance to round out that image."

There was a well-publicized rally downtown to save the Oilers. It was poorly promoted by fans, and only a handful showed up. The media used it as an example of how few still cared about the Oilers.

Despite the circumstances, the Oilers still had to play in Houston because of their lease. Jeff Fisher, who was named interim coach in 1994, coached two full seasons in Houston.

Adams bought out the last year of his rent. In 1996, their last season at the Dome, the Oilers played before small crowds but finished 8-8, including 6-2 on the road.

In June of 1997, the Oilers made the move. In their first season in Nashville, they played home games at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis. In 1998, they played home games at Vanderbilt Stadium before moving into their current home in 1999, the year they were renamed the Titans and the season they went to the franchise's only Super Bowl.

"It was never my intention to leave," said Adams, who passed away in 2013. "I didn't want to pull up anchor, but I couldn't remain competitive while leasing from a baseball owner (Drayton McLane Jr.).

"Nobody listened to me. How soon people forget. Now the city and county are looking into building facilities for all three sports."

After the Oilers left, the Astros (Minute Maid Park) and Rockets (Toyota Center) got new homes downtown. When McNair was awarded his expansion franchise for Houston, Reliant Stadium was built for the Texans.

All owe a debt to Adams.

After the Oilers left, Houston waited eight years for the NFL to return in 2002 when the Texans beat Dallas in a prime-time game signaling pro football was back in H-Town.