Re: Q&A here with Oliver Luck - Weds. 03/15 7:00 pm Thanks for the kind words. Ticket sales are going fairly well. I don't know if we will get to a sellout, but we think there will be a 20,000-plus crowd in the building. Solid crowds throughout the year create an important perception in the community that soccer is a viable, long-term sport for Houston, and that is extremely important as we look at the possibilities of creating a soccer-specific stadium.
Re: Q&A here with Oliver Luck - Weds. 03/15 7:00 pm We have been running radio and print since March 13th, with most of the Spanish and English media clusters. It will pick up next week, as we get closer to game day.
Re: Q&A here with Oliver Luck - Weds. 03/15 7:00 pm One area where we have performed well is with sponsorship. At this point in the pre-season, our sales team has more than doubled what the Earthquakes had generated in San Jose. We have some blue-chip companies, like Methodist Hospital, McDonald's, Budweiser, Reliant Energy, (just to mention a few) on board. There does not seem to be much of a correlation between the name change and ticket/sponsorship sales, although there were a number of Hispanic-owned businesses that came on board after the switch to Dynamo.
Re: Q&A here with Oliver Luck - Weds. 03/15 7:00 pm Again, there does not seem to be much of a correlation between ticket sales and sponsorship and the name change (see last question). I appreciate your comments on Glenn. Unfortunately, because of his HDNet responsibilities, he will only be able to do two of our Fox Sports Southwest broadcasts.
Re: Q&A here with Oliver Luck - Weds. 03/15 7:00 pm The reality is that we really did not produce much 1836 merchandise. I sent the last two t-shirts I could find to the Daughters of the Texas Revolution, so that they could raffle them off to raise money for the upkeep of the OLDE LOG CABIN that they maintain. I also invited the Daughters to attend one of our games.
Re: Q&A here with Oliver Luck - Weds. 03/15 7:00 pm Yes, there have been some overtures from local folks who have expressed an interest in purchasing the franchise. At the end of the day, it is a decision that Mr. Anschutz will make, although I do not anticipate a sale of the team in the short or near term. As far as a new venue, it takes a good 26-28 months to design and build a stadium. Based on my experience, it is difficult to speed up the process.
Re: Q&A here with Oliver Luck - Weds. 03/15 7:00 pm All I can say about CA is that I have no information of any discussions taking place with AEG about Houston Dynamo.
Re: Q&A here with Oliver Luck - Weds. 03/15 7:00 pm TV Informa 43 will broadcast 11 games with Danny Gonzalez as the commentator. They are also doing a show from 6 to 6:30 p.m. every Tuesday. Radio Concierto 850 AM/101.7 FM will broadcast every game, home and away, live with Dagoberto Puello as the lead commentator. ESPN is planning to broadcast 4 games, and Fox Sports Southwest will broadcast 11. HDNet will be doing an undetermined number of games, but HDNet will be doing the opener. ESPN 790 AM will feature the Dynamo Power Hour every monday (except for April 3) from 7 to 8 p.m., hosted by the dynamic Glenn Davis. Glenn also will keep his show Wednesday, 9 to 10 p.m., on ESPN 790 AM. All in all we have been able to put together a pretty good broadcast package for TV and Radio.
Re: Q&A here with Oliver Luck - Weds. 03/15 7:00 pm The lawyer in me is telling me to not go into detail on this question. Sorry.
Re: Rescheduled Rally towels will be distributed on April 2nd. See previous answers for answers regarding print and Radio advertising.
We've sold over 2,000 season tickets. I really don't know how this compares to other clubs. In terms of a single table, I don't know if that is a discussion taking place within MLS.
They'll take requests. The only rule is no Country-Western, except for the ocassional "Bob Willis and the Texas Playboys" song. Seriously, the idea is to generate some excitement. Since the band will be in sync with the supporters club, you can consider it the fife and drum corp for the Texian Army!
U of H is doing a number of things to upgrade the stadium, although some of what they are doing will not be evident to most fans, eg, upgrading the electrical grid. We are hanging a lot of banners at the stadium to identify it as the home of the Dynamo. In fact, if you have a chance to drive down Cullen Blvd., or Scott St., you'll be pleasantly surprised at the "new look" of Robertson. On game day, we are setting up "Soccer Fest", an interactive area with lots of attractions for families and kids.
So far, the response has been very good. Nonetheless, we realize that in order for soccer to work in Houston, we need to attract a significant number of folks who at this point have very little interest in the game. In other words, we need to do a lot of "missionary work" to convert Houstonians into soccer fans.
Oliver: I know that the first goal is for Houston Dynamo to strengthen their market in Houston. But. Thinking not so far in the future. Will Houston Dynamo ever play a friendly match here in the Lower Rio Grande Valley? Perhaps against a FMF team. Chivas USA has already played one game against Tigres last year. Could we something similar? chapulincolorado San Juan, TX
Oliver Luck has done a fantastic job with this club ... taking the time to answer questions on a bulletin board? Amazing.
...especially when he had the West Virginia v Texas game looming. We'll ask Oliver to come back later in the season after we've had a few Dynamo games and some actual game-day experience at the stadium.