Robertson may get Field Turf

Well, that would be unfortunate. Of course, the field at Reliant gets much more use than Robertson (the Texans play at least twice as many games as UH), TSU also plays some games there, Rice has played some games there (and I don't mean the UH games), they have the occasional high school football game and are trying to get more high school football, plus whatever interntational soccer games the Texans' soccer organization wants to use for their reserved dates outside their reserved NFL dates. And then there are concerts, exhibits, etc. The field at Reliant already has even more use than the field at Robertson. Adding MLS games would affect the field at either location. The problem applies to both venues.


Once again, there are no perfect short-term solutions.

 

Sounds like Maggard is trying to get something out of this. Can't blame him really. I'd still like to see a SSS in the future.

 

Field turf would be okay I guess, but would really SUCK if permanent football lines are on the field.

 

Crap. I wouldn't exactly call this the defining decision whether or not a team should come here, but it certainly doesn't help. We'll see what happens.

I thought you could change the stripes/markings on a Field Turf field relatively easily - just swap out different colored patches/plugs, no?

 

The addition of 15 soccer games will ruin the field? This sounds like the same idiots who blamed soccer for the poor field conditions in Chicago.

I think MLS should state unequivocally to any prospective investor. No grass, no franchise. But, I guess it's a little to late for that.

Do these guys realize how HOT field turf gets in the Texas heat. I don't care if it is FIFA approved or how nice some people think it is. It still ain't as good as the natural stuff.

 

Maggard may also just be engaging in a little pre-negotiation posturing. Adding a demand for FieldTurf means that he has another chip that he can give up in exchange for something that he really wants in the lease terms. Not necessarily a bad strategy, as long as you don't get too clever for your own good and end up painting yourself into a corner. CA/Televisa aren't exactly amateurs, so I'd still bet on them getting the better end of the deal in a negotiation with Dave "yeah I thought it was a great idea to hire Clyde Drexler" Maggard.

 

Preach it!!!

In 1995 Houston was originally given the MLS franchise that became the Tampa Bay franchise. Team Houston was going to play at Rice Stadium on its Astroturf as it is a FIFA wide enough field. Robertson at that time was not satidfactory for FIFA minimum standards. O'Quinn put up the money for a major face lift in 1999 so now it is.
Hugo Maradona was up here training Mike Sorber and some other local talent that would form a core for the new leagues' Houston team. I've known some of those guys and that's what they told me happened. They still play in the HFA and our local men's leagues.
FIFA mandated in 1995 that ANY First Divison pro outdoor league play on natural grass. This was before FieldTurf and FIFA wanted to keep the U.S. league from playing on the fake crap.
Thus Houston lost its franchise and Tampa Bay was next in line.

This restates my gripe with playing at Robertson. I've stated before that Robertson is a galactic pitfall for a relocated MLS team like SJ. Now this crap about FieldTurf and how the natural grass will not stand up to that kind of use.
All this highlights what I've been preaching in that Reliant is the ONLY option for a MLS team here until a SSS can be built with Club America money so that they own it outright and control all dates and revenue.

Again, Reliant Stadium has what is called a "tray system"...Christ! I feel like Dr. Evil in explaining "lazers" to some of my fellow Houstonians on our threads...but anywho. The tray system that McNair paid for WITH HIS OWN MONEY strikes down any problems with overuse on the grass at Reliant. The "tray system" allows for the Texans to remove any roughed up or damaged areas of grass and replant new sections (8 yd x 8 yd IIRC) without taking the WHOLE field out. Thus McNair had the foresight to see into the future when, after a Reba concert, there is a college gridiron game the next night to be played and the natural grass field can be loaded and painted ready for kickoff.
Also before the Texans started playing in 2002. The Texans website clearly stated a list of improvements over the Astrodome. One item was that the Texans made sure that Reliant was wide enough to serve MLS...not serve FIFA but serve MLS.
It's McNair at Reliant, McNair and CA together at Reliant or CA will fall for the pitfall that is Robertson stadium.

That council man's comment about our city's footie market. "we've got a stong Hispanic population here." SO WHAT??? Why does other diverse cities like Chicago and Dallas have a hard time pulling them to MLS matches? They are a walk up crowd at best and don't see MLS style and skill as something they want to be season ticket holders to.

FieldTurf...I wonder what CA is thinking now. SJ goes from grass to FieldTurf..."uh Senyores...FieldTurfo...this is not what we saw in buying into La Liga Norteamericana."--CA Official.

 

Absolutely. McNair will spend to replace trays in the field at Reliant so that the field is in good shape again before kickoff - of Texans games. He has good reason to incur those costs. The assets he has tossing themselves around the field in Texans uniforms are very valuable and the 60,000 people who pay NFL ticket prices want to see an NFL-quality field.

But, yeah, I suppose he'd also incur costs to replace trays for an MLS team that draws an MLS crowd. Sensible business people - particularly ones still in a cost-recovery mode on an asset on which they spent large sums - don't really care about cost control. Oh, wait, nevermind, replacing the trays wouldn't incur costs at all. It would be free, right?

Doh! I keep forgetting that tens of thousands of "footie" fans - you know, the masses that swell all the sports bars in town beyond capacity every weekend to watch Celtic and Rangers - will show up at Reliant and pay Reliant prices to watch MLS even though they don't show up to watch any other soccer at Reliant. So even if Reliant outprices the market that actually buys tickets at Reliant and Robertson to watch soccer it won't matter because all the "footie" fans - by far the largest MLS market segment anywhere over the past nine years - will show up by the tens of thousands in Houston just like they've done in LA, Dallas, and DC.

I love this wonderful world I just described - it's just like the brochure says.

It's just so silly to think that the short-term in either Robertson or Reliant for an MLS team in Houston would be rough bacuase of various limitations that apply to each venue.

 

I am glad to see that you are coming around to the idea of Team Houston playing at Reliant.

I knew you would see the light. Let's all hope Club America investors will also.

 

If Robertson puts in Field Turf, that would, in my mind, automatically rule that stadium out for any potential MLS play. Having seen it already in MLS in far, far, far milder climates than Houston, I'd absolutely hate the idea of asking players to play on it in there. I remember being told by several Fire players that their shoes would actually melt during matches on the stuff; Imagine the uber-crappy product that would be a byproduct.

So, does this mean that Reliant or the 'Dome are once again possibilites? Or are officials at U of H dumb enough to think that this move would actually attract MLS? Maybe MLS would be better off staying put in San Jose...

 

So 15 more soccer games is going to mess up the turf? Has anybody ever seen a field after the NFL has an exhibition game in Mexico? It looks like a tractor pull came through there. Sounds like the Field Turf thing is a bargaining chip for somebody.

 

That's pretty darn hot!

The loyal fans in San Jose would certainly be better off !