Hundreds of thousands of people are lining the streets in Houston to celebrate the Astros’ first-ever World Series championship. The franchise is scheduled to have a parade and rally with its fans in the downtown area beginning at 2 p.m. local time Friday.
Watch a live stream of the parade and rally at the top of the page.
Many of the streets in Houston are expected to be packed to capacity, which has prompted city officials to extend the parade route to accommodate the significant amount of people.
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo told ABC News 13 that the parade will begin on Smith at Lamar and head north on Smith before turning east on Walker and then south on Milam, west on Pease and north on Smith. It will end at Lamar Smith but is being extended two blocks south to St. Joseph.
Check below for a map of the parade route:
Update! Big crowds –> bigger parade route @abc13houston @astros
At the parade’s conclusion, a rally will be held outside of Houston’s City Hall and attendees are encouraged to wear team colors in an effort to “paint the city orange.”
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner announced the parade and subsequent rally minutes after the Astros defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series on Wednesday.
Mayor Sylvester Turner invites all Houstonians to join him for the Houston Astros World Championship Parade and Celebration on Friday, November 3rd to honor and celebrate the team’s historic 2017 World Series win. ‘It’s a true privilege to proudly host this magnificent salute to our hometown team that was earned history,’ said Mayor Turner. ‘As we bounce back from Hurricane Harvey, we are more than ready to welcome our heroes home in proper form.’
The parade and rally will include many Astros players and their families, including World Series MVP George Springer and second baseman Jose Altuve. Also present will be shortstop Carlos Correa and his new fiancee, Daniella Rodriguez.
Following the victory at Dodger Stadium, Correa, 23, was being interviewed by Fox Sports before he segued flawlessly into a marriage proposal.
“Right now I’m about to take another big step in my life,” Correa said before reaching in his back pocket for the ring. “Daniella Rodriguez, you make me the happiest man in the world. Will you marry me?”
Check out Correa’s proposal and Rodriguez’s answer in the video below:
Houston’s championship victory came after a multi-year rebuilding project. Coincidentally, a 2014 issue of Sports Illustrated correctly predicted that the Astros would win the 2017 World Series.
3 years ago Sports Illustrated predicted the Astros would win the World Series in 2017. They were right!
The Astros started the 2017 season on the right foot, jumping out to the best start in 55 years, and had an American League-best 60-29 record at the All-Star break. They finished the regular season with a 101-61 overall record.
In the first round of the playoffs, Houston dispatched of the Boston Red Sox before beating the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series to advance to their first World Series since 2005.
In August, Houston suffered catastrophic damage from Hurricane Harvey, which brought massive flooding throughout the Houston and southeast Texas area. Because of the flooding, many parking garages in the downtown area along the parade route are still closed.