Floods in Houston Send Sparks Home

Flood waters that poured into Houston’s Compaq Center Friday night and engulfed the floor level forced the postponement of tonight’s game between the Sparks and the Houston Comets.

The game will be made up later on an as-yet-determined date in the schedule, according to the WNBA.

The Sparks learned of the postponement while having their luggage checked in at the Minneapolis airport, as they were preparing to fly to Houston. They had defeated Minnesota Saturday night, 62-60.

With the storm situation in Houston worsening in recent days, the Comets and the WNBA looked at playing the game at another Houston venue, such as the University of Houston’s Hofheinz Pavilion.

But when the Sparks were minutes away from boarding their flight from Minneapolis, the league advised team General Manager Penny Toler to fly home instead. So the Sparks were given some time off before their home game against Orlando Thursday night, but making up the game at Houston later will be troublesome for both teams.

For the remainder of the 32-game regular season, there are only two two-day stretches--July 26-27 and July 31-Aug. 1--when both the Sparks and Houston are idle.

Compaq Center is a 26-year-old, 16,285-seat facility located in Houston’s Greenway Plaza district. The arena’s floor level is about 12 feet below street level. Storms sent water runoff pouring down the service vehicle ramp.

It’s the five-year-old WNBA’s second game postponement. Last June, thunderstorms forced postponement of a Washington-Indiana game at Indianapolis.

Sunday morning, Compaq Center looked more suitable for water polo than basketball. The basketball floor, which was destroyed, was under four feet of water.

Yet building officials said they had a backup floor available and were hopeful they could drain the arena and make repairs sufficient to allow the Comets to play Portland there Thursday.