I understand that the property is perhaps far too valuable, but I think the perfect place would be the empty lot where Astroworld used to be. They wouldn't have to build any new parking space, so there would be plenty of room for a few youth fields if they're dead set on doing that. It's also on the west side not terribly far from where this supposed "population center" exists. People are already used to driving to that part of town for sports, and it's not incredibly far from where the Dynamo are playing now. Still, I bet that land is earmarked for some ugly-ass stucco condos.
Well the going rumor on HAIF last week was that Downtown was to be the site of the future home of the Dynamo. The rumor was started by someone who has been a reliable source for information before, particularly in discussions in regards to Houston Pavillions. But I wouldnt call him HAIF's Doc Rocket or anything like that, to be honest..... The site that was tossed around was due east of Minute Maid Park. Some believe it to be the Astros parking lots, since they are owned by the county and could be easily replaced with garages to accomadate the Astros and even the Dynamo. Furthermore, we all know of Dynamo GM Oliver Luck's ties to HCHSA and the Astros, since he oversaw construction of Minute Maid Park. It could make obtaining this site and convincing the Astros to follow along with this plan that much easier.....
Is a football complex really really necessary? What is wrong with just building a football-specific stadium itself. Why does there to be 50 football fields around the stadium?
That's fine... why do they have to play/practice right next to the stadium? Frankly, as great as it was for the Dynamo to win.... I'm not sold on the MLS succeeding long term (especially not in a bandwagon town like Houston).
Don't be sorry. You know you mean it. You don't mean anything BAD by it. I was there as well, and the atmosphere was great. It is too big to hold MLS games. The Barcelona/America game was the only other one that sold it completely out. I do believe that if you bring Soccer to the west side, like in Katy, we'll be there more often times than not. There are more soccer people living in the west side than anywhere else and I can prove it. We have PLENTY of land around Katy. Oliver Luck knows it. the Harris County Sports Authority should really get someone to buy the DYNAMO here in town and keep them here.
Being near the stadium isn't by any means a must-have but if possible, it's nice. Also, MLS has been around for 11 years. Next year ESPN is investing tons of money in the league and will be hosting an NFL-Countdown-like show for MLS every Thursday night along with the MLS Thursday game of the week. I don't think the league is going anywhere.
they really should do a joint venture with UH to make a new on-campus stadium that suits both teams to a tee.
One of the problems is that the football lines and painted logos are an eyesore; not to mention the fact that the painted areas of the field are much more slippery for the players. That and the fact that they would still have to share revenue with UH. What they want here is a stadium specific to soccer.
there have been mentions of having field turf installed at robertson. don't know how that surface plays for soccer, but it would elminate the who logo/line issues. and as far as revenue sharing, that would all depend on the contract and portions paid for construction. I would really, really hate to see the team move somewhere out in BFE instead of staying inside the loop..
I agree that it should be kept close to downtown. With regards to field turf, it's a pretty bad playing surface for soccer. After having surgery on his knee, Brian Ching reactivated it by playing on field turf. It's basically like playing on carpet laid over cement.
Fieldturf is bad for soccer and a lot of players feel it leads to injuries. Also, from my understanding most places get the lines permanently put on so it could make the problem worse.
Oliver Luck on the problems with Robertson Stadium: The pavilion area outside Robertson Stadium is where the Houston Dynamo likes to host its special VIP parties. Sometimes it comes complete with lakeside dining, Dynamo president Oliver Luck says. That’s when it floods. All things being equal, the Dynamo won the national MLS title which should give its players and fans a little more bargaining power. Given that and the upcoming holiday season, it’s time for a wish list. Post championship, I called Luck to see what the suits on the business side would like to do for the team which plays in the University of Houston’s aging Robertson Stadium. Luck started out modestly enough, but built up steam as he went along. (He asterisked all of this with frequent mentions of how great it has been to work with UH.) To begin with, in his best-of-all-possible-worlds list, he’d like better ingress and egress to Robertson Stadium. “It’s difficult getting in on Cullen and Scott,” he said, neglecting to also mention how Interstate 45 on a game day often shuts down. UH and Houston police both help with the traffic, but it still remains “a challenge,” he said. For his second wish, Luck moved from driving to parking, as in: it’s really tough to park at a university. So tough, in fact, that they’ve had to forget about hosting mid-week “friendlies” games between top teams from other countries – El Salvador was one — the kind of games that tend to double the crowd attending Dynamo games. “UH had to turn down a couple of friendlies games,” Luck said, because the lots were filled with students attending classes. Losing these kind of games means lost income. In a perfect stadium, there wouldn’t be football hash marks, Luck said. National television doesn’t like to show games with soccer fields divided up in 10-yard increments. That’s kept the Dynamo off national TV when they play at home, including the Western Conference finals, Luck said. According to Luck, this is not aesthetically pleasing to the pure soccer fan. The No. 1 fix Luck would like to make remains the concessions. The Dynamo need bigger and better concessions, Luck said. Fans are used to walking into Reliant Stadium, Minute Maid Park, even the University of Texas’s football stadium and expecting a level of choice, cleanliness and service that so far hasn’t surfaced at Robertson. This has been discussed all season and there’s been no solution. Aramark can’t seem to get out of slo-mo and get the food and drink into the stands. Fans lose out on the non-stop game if they line-up for a dogger. Three things the experienced Dynamo fan knows: 1. Don’t buy any drinks there because if you do, you’ll have to go to the restrooms. The plumbing there is 60 years old and it’s not holding up. 2. There’s not a very good selection of beer. Bud and Miller Lite. Houston may be an international city, but we’re a gulag when it comes to beer variety in Robertson. There’s also not an especially good selection of food. 3. Either get there early and get your food ahead of time or get something on the road before the game. Unless Dippin’ Dots with a beer chaser appeal to you, dine out elsewhere first. Oh and by the way, the stadium’s underlying electrical grid is 60 years old. The Dynamo had to haul in lights for its first several games because there wasn’t enough candlepower going on, Luck said. As for Robertson’s “suites,” the Dynamo hasn’t been peddling those real hard for corporate sponsorships, Luck said. “They look like and they are a converted press box. The air conditioners in there, some of them work and some of them don’t. They all drip.” Locked into two more years at Robertson with the prospect of more if some big sponsors and donors don’t show up to finance a stadium all its own, the Dynamo management team has to debate how much additional money it wants to sink into making Robertson nicer. One red flag: the master plan for UH calls for filling up its parking lots with more buildings. http://www.houstonpress.com/blogs/?p=340#more-340
"Experienced" dynamo fans.. hah... compared to.. oh, I don't know.. Cougar fans who have been going to robertson for a decade? let's see.. 1. Never had one problem with the plumbing at the Rob, ever. And I've taken some awesome dumps there. 2. Budweiser is the official sponsor of basically the entire ISP sports network, that includes UH athletics, and as a result, Robertson stadium. And beyond that, Robertson is one of the few college stadiums in the country that serves ANY beer at all.. so would you rather have bud, or nothing? Hell, even the selection at Rox/Stros/Texans game is limited to Bud/Coors/Miller and sometimes Shiner depending on how expensive your ticket is. (and since when were MLS fans beer snobs?) 3. Who the hell goes to an MLS soccer game, or any sporting event, to eat fine dining? Unless you plop down some major dough for a club level seat you'll be eating the same ol' sh*t everywhere.. popcorn.. hotdogs.. nachos.. lather, rinse, repeat. And yeah, getting there early helps, because then you can eat tailgate food.. usually for free. The things I agree with are that the luxury boxes, press boxes, and lighting need to be upgraded. They've made good improvement on the lighting so far, but they need to completely replace the boxes on both sides.. the new scoreboard also helped a great deal. The capacity of the stadium is fine for another 10 years at least, and there really isn't a bad seat in the house.. so it's not like the stadium doesn't support the fan perspective for soccer.. the fans are extremely close to the field and have good lines of sight all over, even on the concourse. Either way, UH will be renovating the stadium piece by piece over the next decade until it comes time for seat expansion.. so the Dynamo could just take the free ride for now.. personally I think it's a bit early to be asking for a soccer only stadium... I want the Dynamo to stay as close to the heart of the city as they can.
3 million dollars is a lot to be paying for a "free ride", and that doesn't count the money they miss out on from not controlling their own stadium. For the team to make money and remain in Houston they'll have to get their own stadium. I think the concession problems were blown out of proportion in that article, sure having more options would be better but like you said, people aren't going to games for fine dining. And I haven't had a problem with the bathrooms there.
by free ride I mean letting UH finance the improvements.. and yeah, the concessions thing is a joke.. like much of that article... they even bring up bleachergate.. sounds like somebody just had a bone to pick. what is the complaint about "bringing beer to their seats" nonsense? does she mean like waiters? or just the regular beer guys who haul tubs of brews around the stadium? cause we have plenty of those... and the thing about the UH master plan calling for more buildings in the parking lots.. also a complete load of BS... those "buildings" are going to be mostly parking garages.. and some residences.. (at least near the stadium side) both of which would be good for Dynamo attendance.. the rest of the land will be coverted into green space.. http://www.advancement.uh.edu/masterplan/
Yeah, that article pretty much makes Robertson out to be a total dump, which it isn't. It's a good place to see game for many reasons, namely its intimacy and its central location. The concessions and bathrooms there are fine, if not ideal. That said, the Dynamo moved because they needed a stadium. Robertson is ideal for them as a stopgap, but far from ideal as a permanent home. The biggest reason is money. The Dynamo can't make money if they have to share the gate and concessions with UH. Additionally, sharing a college's stadium just makes the team seem minor-league. To truly succeed in the way they want to, they need a home of their own that they can brand top to bottom with orange and navy. They also do need real luxury boxes to attract those all-important corporate bucks.
