The team has gotten used to the weather. There's a reason we're so tough to play in Houston. New York had to sub out some of their best players because they were gassed. I'm not saying it's not tough but putting a roof on the stadium isn't necessary and has two negatives that come with it. First, it places a cap on the capacity as further expansion would be too expensive. Second, it would add a lot of money to the costs of building the stadium. What's going to happen is they'll build the stadium so as to take advantage of wind flow which will cool the field a little. Also, I expect the MLS calendar will be changing in the next 5 years or so to be an August - May calendar which would mean we have no summer competition.
For reference, here are some of the current MLS Soccer Specific Stadiums: Columbus Crew Stadium (Columbus Crew): Spoiler Dick's Sporting Goods Park (Colorado Rapids): Spoiler Pizza Hut Park (FC Dallas): Spoiler Home Depot Center (LA Galaxy & Chivas USA): Spoiler BMO Field (Toronto FC): Spoiler Toyota Park (Chicago Fire): Spoiler DC United's Proposed Stadium: Spoiler Real Salt Lake's Proposed Stadium: Spoiler Red Bull Park (Proposed design; likely to change this week): Spoiler
Great, that means they better put a roof on the stadium and heaters to keep me toasty. On a serious note, why are they doing this? Is the reasoning so it doesn't interfere with the World Cup, or other big events? Now you got to compete with Football, basketball, hockey (yeah right), and college sports for the dollar.
Soccer, like hockey, is very different in person. Yaozer, you should really consider going to at least ONE game. It's an experience that is only matched by Golden State in the playoffs, Boston in October, or UT vs. A&M. Soccer fans are crazy, and the Dynamo games are a real experience. Texian Army ftw.
That's a lot of money for a soccer stadium. I think Houston fans are really casual so if the team starts sucking, they might not get a lot for attendance. It would be nicer if the MLS has double the teams or maybe 30 teams. Don't they get bored of playing the same ol' teams over and over again? Good thing they only have 30 games. I was thinking.. why can't they play at Reliant? Or maybe give them the dome?
That's exactly the reason. As it is, teams lose key players for months during the season for FIFA competitions. Competing with other sports will be tough but MLS has been building strong support for a long time and I think they'll be switching calendars soon enough. If not it's no big deal, of course.
There will be 18 teams by 2010 with the schedule likely being each team playing every other team once home and once away.
will they be going with a single table? how do they do it in europe? most points wins the league title. they don't have a playoff system?
I doubt they'll ever go single table. Playoffs are a part of American sports and the fans here will expect it. You're right about how they do it in Europe. Each team plays one home and one away against every other team. 3 points for win, 1 for draw. Most points at end of season wins the league championship. The reason it works over there is because of the way it's set up. They have multiple levels so each team is competing for something. In EPL for example: - Spots 1-4 goto UEFA Champion's League. - Spots 5-6 goto UEFA Cup. - Spots 18-20 are relegated to the lower league (with 3 teams from lower league promoted to EPL) I prefer playoffs because more teams are alive at the end of the season. Some people prefer the single table because every regular season game means something. However, it usually means that the same teams always win the league. Either way, it could wind up as a single table with the top 8 spots qualifying for playoffs. Different strokes for different folks, I guess. No way is inherently better in my opinion.
While they did well, I thought they only got the really big crowds for the "Beckham" no-show game and the playoffs. Let them play in the dome.
why dont they remodel the astrodome. the structure is already there. parking is already there. if they want it smaller, then reconfigure it to be smaller and add restaurants, bars, and shops in the unused space. saddly... mcnair would probably object bc hed be "losing" money
I went to Pizza Hut Park in Dallas and watched some soccer (went once to FC Dallas and once to a high school soccer tournament there), and it really is different watching in person in a stadium with about 30K seats. I think FC Dallas made a mistake going way up to Frisco for their stadium. It's too far for a lot of people who would otherwise be interested in going to the games. On the other hand, Frisco was willing to pay for it, so I assume that made the decision for them.
thats y they should renovate it. w/ the money they save they could probably add a retractable roof! how many mls teams have a retractable roof much less an indoor stadium?
Blow up the Dome and put the stadium there. If they can't find a spot downtown and/or a legit plan to do something constructive with the Dome, I don't see why this wouldn't be a good idea.
