Houston Astros' Daikin Park hosts first indoor car show at MLB stadium, drawing thousands
People look at cars on display on the field of Daikin Park during the All-Stars Car Show, presented in partnership with Coffee & Cars in Houston Saturday August 2, 2025. (Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle)
Hundreds of fans witnessed history Saturday at Daikin Park, but not the baseball type. The home of the Houston Astros was transformed into a showcase for the city's automotive culture at the first car show held inside a Major League Baseball stadium.
The All-Stars Car Show featured 400 vehicles, including classic, exotic and import cars, 99% of which are owned by Houston-area residents, said Abe Levitz co-founder of the event. The inaugural event is the result of a shift in car show culture, he said, in part steered by the Houston-based car show company Coffee and Cars, which promotes family-friendly events and informal gatherings.
"When people think car culture in the United States, they think Los Angeles, they think New York, they think Miami, think Vegas. Now today, they're going to think Houston. Because look at this," he said, eyeing the dozens of vehicles lining the perimeter of the playing field.
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The idea for Saturday's car show first came together last summer, said Rachel Quan, vice president of special events for the Astros, after a friend approached her with the idea to combine luxury cars and Houston's Major League Baseball stadium. The event is the first of its kind.
Cars are shown on display outside Daikin Park during the All-Stars Car Show, presented in partnership with Coffee & Cars in Houston Saturday August 2, 2025. (Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle)
"I think that's the Astros mindset, to try something new," she said. "We're here for baseball all the time, but year round, our facility has all sorts of different events."
Quan said the car show has been well received by both car and Astros fans, evident by the thousands of people at the event.
"I think for sure we would like to do this again," she said.
Troy Hawkes from Waller attended Saturday's show with several of his cars, including a white 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner that he said won the world land-speed record at Bonneville Salt Flats Race Track.
"It broke many world records, getting up to 220 miles an hour in the mid '80s, and then it was retired from racing in '89," he said.
With decades of car shows behind him, Hawkes said he's noticed the shift in car show culture over the past 10 years, as outdoor events start and end earlier - before temperatures reach their highest in the late afternoon.
People look at cars on display on the field of Daikin Park during the All-Stars Car Show, presented in partnership with Coffee & Cars in Houston Saturday August 2, 2025. (Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle)
"I would say over the last six to seven years, maybe a decade, the car show, regular car show has kind of dwindled and it's really famous now as a coffee and cars because of the heat in Houston and the humidity in the summer," he said. "Now organizations are focusing on show up at 7 a.m. and then they leave by 11 or 12."
Hawkes said he attends many car shows in the area with his wife, Shelly. After hearing about the event through a TV commercial, Hawkes said he pitched himself and his cars to be a part of the show.
"(I go) to have fun to talk to people, talk to interested spectators and to be honest, to talk about my car," he said. "I've been doing this for 45 years, showing cars, old classic cars, and that's kind of my thing."
