Wait - the below comments were from you last July, right? Are you know saying the East Club is a bad idea? Are optics more important than revenue now?
That was me. The reason we should care is that doing so would be a decision to not compete for championships. It would just be a better version of Brener's approach that still maxes out at a 2017 type season. That would really satisfy you? Really? While 20 other teams in the league are fighting to win silverware? Having said that -- please realize the operative word was always "could." Jury is out. I think the investments in the stadium are good signs of his intent, even if I don't agree with them all. The expansion of technical staff is the most important and also tremendous positive sign. That is excellent news.
Matt Doyle of MLSsoccer.com writes the following: While gratifying to read someone basically supporting exactly what I said yesterday, it bothers me greatly since I've always been highly critical of his analysis which is usually just ridiculous. Maybe I'm finding out I'm just as ridiculous? Or perhaps he reads our forum?
If one is not a Houston Dynamo junkie but plows through our Houston forum, reading our content and coming back for seconds. Jeez, get him to a doctor asap!
I mean for what it’s worth they’re talking about two different things. The Pitch Zone and Sports Deck work because they are seating areas that weren’t generating a lot of money and the team made them into specialty areas. Where Sports Deck differs from the East Club is that you don’t see it on the main camera shot. It’s tucked out of the way so if they don’t fill up the area it doesn’t look as bad. The East Club is a good example why hiring local can matter. UH basketball has had the same issues because the club area is where the main camera races. It’s not as bad as the Dynamo have had the first two games because it’s indoor and they are good, but you definitely see more empty seats than you would usually do for a high ranking team. If you get someone local to Houston (the city not necessarily the school) in a decision making role you can have some situational awareness to mitigate this, hypothetically at least.
Could they fix this situation by making the club associated with upper level seats. Just put a couple staircases in?
Yup. Or had built this project on the West side of our stadium. Or just switch the camera crow nest to the East side in a pinch. Till they figure how to get people to watch 45 minutes of the sport and then go socializing inside this East Club suite at halftime. Return for the second 45 minutes of Dynamo ball in their seats. I.e. pretend to be there for our players who have trained all week in preparation for the match.
Possibly but the way they may have designed the club you might have to go through it to get to the lower level seats. I’ll have to take a closer look at the stadium next game
Sadly the new challenge you face is shooting the camera towards the direction of the sun in the evening. I don’t think you get Apple on board with that.
For sure, if the camera crow nest is positioned up above the 200s when temporarily switched to the East Stand. The way around this is of course to easily place the camera crow nest above the 100s stand. The West Stand blocks any setting Sun at a lower camera angle. Like how watching matches at old Highbury Stadium was all those years. Watching Arsenal on TV back then made the viewer feel like being close to the run of play.
They aren't going to change the camera angle. It just really sucks, I don't get why you pay money to see a sporting event live and then hang out inside. I certainly understand wanting to get out of the heat for a few minutes but the entire point of going life is the feel the pulse of the crowd and add your voice to it.
I used to have Club seats. Perfect midfield, back of the four rows, so I could stand behind my seats. Had them for many years. Almost NO one who is in that club was there to watch the game. (there were exceptions) You overheard the most inane conversations. Guys talking about their toys. (35yo guys.) just crazy conversations. I eventually could not stand the lack of any atmosphere in the club and moved up above the club. I'd rather stand alone, or with a buddy, than be surrounded by tourists. Those seats up in 2d level were still with club access -- so all good for me. Then the idiotic basketball executives decided to forcibly move me to the lower bowl. All club access had to be lower bowl seats. Stupidest decision ever -- and for my taste I don't like lower bowl MF. I like upper bowl MF. So that is why I now spend like $350 a year or whatever it is for supporters tix and just sit whereever I like that is open. Stupid fkrs turned a 7-8K/year account into a 400/yr account. Preparing for the future they are! I'm not bitter at all.
to get to the lower level club seats, you have to enter via the club another possibility, and the most probable to me, is that they simply didn't sell enough club level seats as STH tickets. So unless there is a compelling reason to spend high level money for those tickets to a one off game, there won't be anyone there to sit in them
Not wanting to cause any offense to anyone here, my experience in the 15 or so years I've lived in Houston is that Houstonians on average are weather wimps. It's cold - not sitting outside. It's hot - not sitting outside. It's raining - I might melt in the rain. I don't understand it. I grew up in Chicago. I've sat outside in Soldiers Field I'm January with a wind-chill of -40. I've sat outdoor in daytime baseball games in the high 90s. I hate indoor stadiums. I'm in the vast minority here, though.
Come join us in the Sports Deck. Get upper bowl view (totally agree with you on that) with solid amenities with the exception of no indoor space which suits me just fine.
If weather was a factor last Saturday you would have a valid point, but it was perfectly fine and still they stayed inside. Also, yes you are in the minority as far as I am concerned, give me indoor all day if I have a choice!
I might be wrong, but I felt like there were more people in the outdoor East Club seats against NYCFC than against Austin. Against Austin they were definitely all inside staying warm. I also don't think at this point they've sold a ton of seats over there. I know they've tried to convert Sports Deck people over there. For example, they've offered me to swap out for a game and sit in the East Club.
There's the two toppers (two seats to a table) and four toppers (4 seats to a table). Not sure how much the 4 topper is. 2 topper, I think we pay something like $5500. That's all Dynamo and Dash games, food and beverage inclusive. It's the lone thing I splurge on. With kids, the inclusive food and beverage is a godsend. They fight over who gets to go, and it ain't for the soccer.
Damn! That is way more than I thought it was. Ain't no way I'm upgrading from my current tickets. I don't eat at the stadium that often anyway.
To be clear, it is $5500 for the table not per seat. So $2750 per seat. If you have no interest in the Dash, it is harder to make the numbers work but since we go to all of the Dynamo games and all of the Dash games, that averages out to $88 per ticket per game. From there, though, take the match against Austin.... my son and I both had burritos. He had a hot dog on top of that. We had two boxes of snack mix (this new snack mix they got this season that is great, has some nice heat to hit). He had 4-5 mini-cans of soda (plus brought 2 more home with him). He also had a bottle of water. I had 2 Dos Equis tall boys plus 2 bottles of water. That was actually low for us. Usually we'd get nachos, maybe some popcorn. Add the cost in stadium of all of that up and offset it against the $88 per person per game and now you're getting down to the equivalent of maybe $40 per game plus food costs. All to sit in sweet swivel chairs with a table, table side service, parking in lot C is also included (so net that off). It comes out to be a bargain, really. But that all assumes that you'd spend for parking, that you'd go to Dash games, that you'd spend for food and drink.
Parking is already free for me, I have a Lexus. That would be a major factor for me though if I didn't or if they change sponsorships, at 30 dollars it adds up. I'd love to get drunk at game but sadly, Brian no longer goes to games with me so I still have to drive home. I agree, if you are going to both games then it makes more sense.
lol. Yeah, if you're really drinking then it is easy to make these seats pay for themselves quickly. I arranged for my daughter's soccer team to attend the Dash home opener and go on the field for the pregame festivities. Since we were sitting with her team, my wife went with my son and sat in our regular seats. Since I was driving, she took "open bar" as a challenge. Pretty sure we got more than our money's worth for that game.