Toyota Center, the indoor arena ahead of you in Houston, Texas, is home to the Houston Rockets. It wears the name of the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota, which paid US$100 million for the naming rights. This is the home of the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association, and it was once home to the Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League and the Houston Comets of the Women's National Basketball Association.
The building you face is the result of years of negotiation: Rockets owner Leslie Alexander first began requesting a new arena in 1995 and attempted to release the team from its lease at The Summit, which ran until 2003. He was denied by arena owner Chuck Watson, then-owner of the Aeros, who also sought control of a new arena. The two sides agreed to equal control in a deal signed in 1997, but that proposal was rejected by city voters in a 1999 referendum.
An amended agreement between the city and the Rockets in 2001, excluding the Aeros, finally moved the project forward. Construction began in July 2001, and the arena officially opened in October 2003 at a total cost of $235 million, with the city paying the majority and the Rockets funding enhancements. Notice that this arena finally opened in October 2003.