When Is The Houston Astros World Series Parade? Date, Start Time, Route

For the first time in franchise history, the Houston Astros are able to celebrate a World Series championship. They’ll do so Friday afternoon with a parade less than 48 hours after beating the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2017 Fall Classic.

The festivities will start between Smith and Taft at Lamar in downtown Houston at 2 p.m. CDT, concluding with a celebration at City Hall. Traffic will be blocked along the parade route starting at 1 p.m. CDT.

“It's a true privilege to proudly host this magnificent salute to our hometown team that has earned history," Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said in a statement after Houston clinched the title. “As we bounce back from Hurricane Harvey, we are more than ready to welcome our heroes home in proper form.”

Turner said he hoped 750,000 people would show up for the celebration. Houston high schools will even be given the day off so kids can attend the parade.

“Let's have the largest championship parade that's ever been seen in the state of Texas,” Turner said at a news conference Thursday. “Let's show up in a major way.”

It’s been a long time since Houston was able to celebrate a championship by one of its professional sports franchises. The Houston Rockets won the NBA Finals in 1994 and 1995, but the city hasn’t won any titles since then.

The Astros had made just one World Series appearance, getting swept by the Chicago White Sox in 2005. The Houston Oilers won AFL championships in 1960 and 1961, but they never even reached the Super Bowl before the franchise moved to Tennessee in 1996.

The future for Houston sports appears to be bright, following the 2017 World Series.

The Astros could be good for years to come with a core of young hitters that are led by Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa and George Springer. Dallas Keuchel and Justin Verlander give Houston a front-end of the rotation that can go toe-to-toe with anyone, making them favorites to reach the World Series again in 2018.

The Houston Texans haven’t been in an AFC Championship Game since their inception in 2002, let alone a Super Bowl. That might not be the case for much longer, now that the team has Deshaun Watson at quarterback. The rookie is already one of the NFL’s best players, and he could be a top quarterback for the next decade.

Winning another championship won’t be easy for the Rockets, though they are among the best teams in the Western Conference. When Chris Paul gets healthy, Houston might be the biggest threat to the defending champion Golden State Warriors.