Super Bowl LI XXXVIII in 2004, which also featured the New England Patriots against that season's NFC South champion Carolina Panthers. It was also the third time the Super Bowl has been played in Houston, with Super Bowl VIII in 1974 having been held at Rice Stadium. With the Astros baseball team reaching the World Series eight months later, Houston would become just the fourth city to host both the Super Bowl and Fall Classic in the same calendar year, following San Diego (1998), Detroit (2006) and Arlington, Texas (2011); and the first among the four to win the Major League Baseball championship.
Super Bowl LI hosted Super Bowl Live, a 10-day festival which featured live concerts and other attractions, including projection shows, fireworks shows, and a virtual reality attraction, "Future Flight", in conjunction with NASA. The neighboring George R. Brown Convention Center hosted the annual NFL Experience event, which featured interactive activities and appearances by players. Super Bowl Opening Night, the second edition of the game's revamped media day, was held on January 30, 2017 at nearby Minute Maid Park. Super Bowl Live was organized by the Houston Super Bowl Host Committee, which was led by Honorary Chairman James A. Baker, III, Chairman Ric Campo,