Bill Murphy ask in the local/state section of today's Chron: Can soccer team beat the heat? It's a legitimate question, but it's hardly unusual for Houstonians to attend outdoor, nighttime events in the summer. Thousands of Houstonians attend outdoor concerts and shows at night every summer at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in the Woodlands and at Miller Outdoor Theatre in Hermann Park. We already attend events on the hottest muggiest, summer nights. Robertson has also hosted numerous international friendlies over the years that were scheduled at night during the summer. I've attended some of those night games in the summer in less than ideally comfortable business attire right after work. It wasn't that bad. But obviously we all know how to dress appropriately for summer nights.
I think Luck is right that soccer fans will come out, but milder sports fans may be wary of games in the middle (hotter part) of the season. And this may hurt attendance. I wonder what the micro-climatic conditions are though compared between the venues you just mentioned. Mitchell Pavillion and Hermann Park Amphitheater are surrounded by trees, grass and water. I know for a fact that Hermann Park Amphitheater picks up a breeze in the evening especially if you sit on the south side of the hillside making it comfortable. Robertson Stadium is in the middle of an asphalt parking lot. Not the best location for staying cool. Not sure I remember any breeze corridor in Robertson based on prevailing wind directions in the summer time. Hopefully Houston MLS is smart and uses some simple, available and proven technologies in their new SSS. Inexpensive fabric awnings for shade over the seating (like LA but more extensive), water misting devises and fans to disperse the mists. It may not get you done to a stadium-esque 72 degrees fahrenheit, but it will dramatically bring it down from the high 90s in the summer time. Houston fans are been pretty spoiled with their sports venues right now. And frankly they've always been (rememberd the crying going on with the Texans game earlier this year against Pittsburgh). The Astrodome and subsequent stadiums turned everyone soft.
As long as they don't schedule Houston for the Saturday afternoon games, it shouldn't hinder attendance too much but I could see it hurting attendance a bit. I've seen many a college football game in September that was smack dab in the middle of the day and it wasn't fun at all...even if you did dress appropriately.
The real key is that most games are at night. I've attended college football games at Rice Stadium in the middle of the day in September and college baseball games at Reckling Park and Cougar Field in the middle of the day in June. It's brutal having the sun beating down on you for a couple hours. But the night games in the middle of the summer that I've attended at Robertson over the years are a completely different experience - much better. Robertson Stadium was also designed to provide for as much natural air flow as possible. The corners are open, so you get more of a breeze than in a venue - like Reliant Stadium - with high, enclosed sides all around so that there are no channels for natural air flow. Reliant becomes like an oven with the roof open on hot days because there's no natural breeze. You actually get some breeze at Robertson. We also know that Luck is already planning on having some "cool zones" set up at various points. That'll help a bit. And while the area around the Woodlands Pavilion and Miller Outdoor Theatre are different and some spots in each of those venues are better than others, it still gets pretty hot and muggy for most people attending events at those facilities. Houston is also filled with restaurants and bars with outdoor seating areas that are still busy at night in the summer. I agree that some people won't want to attend some games even at night in the middle of the summer, but we shouldn't exaggerate the issue. Houstonians sit outside for a couple of hours at night in the middle of the summer all the time.
When they move to the SSS, they may seriously consider ways to cool off. Fans under the (fingers-crossed) roof, and/or mist sprayers would be relatively inexpensive and a great addition. They want to at least be able to host an afternoon game in August if they have to.
Fan-tastic! Alex Box Stadium, LSU's baseball facility, in Baton Rouge has oscillating fans. I haven't been there, but am told they really help with those hot day games in June:
So, no MLS Soccer Saturday in Houston this year? An ESPN2 game is generally the only thing that forces any MLS home game to a Saturday afternoon. If you want ESPN2 at all, it'll mean a Saturday afternoon match. And I think all teams had at least one ESPN2 game - and nowhere in MLS is particularly nice in July or August on a Saturday afternoon.
Water misting devices, like fine-spray fountains, were used successfully at the Barcelona Olympics. Those involved in building a new stadium would be advised to query people in Barcelona about their applications. Another key feature is plain, old grass on the field. For one thing it takes in CO2 and releases O2. SportTurf and the like only gets hot and hotter. Surrounding the stadium with a greenbelt of lawns, trees, and ponds with fountains would also be a fine idea -- a stadium in a park. A couple seasons in summer heat surrounded by asphalt should get people thinking outside THAt particular box, and maybe they'll come up with something really unique in an MLS stadium. Best wishes for ALL concerned -- those who will go to the games, and those who must play in them.
Re: Fan-tastic! The fans really do work. I always try to get by the fans while I'm there. The stadium also has "cool zones" where there is a tent that blows a bunch of cold water through multiple fans (like a mist). Those are set up all over the stadium, but you would have to leave the game temporarily to visit one. I actually think being in the shade is all you really need to be cooler. It is hot in the day, but that can be overcome with a few cold drinks and a cap during the game.
I worry more about the players in the heat than the fans. They'll be the ones running around in the heat and humidity while we sit on our backsides with our huge drinks and fans.
Well there were several times (San Jose vs LA games stand out in my mind) when the ESPN2 games were on at night. I think as long as they try to do this, we'll be okay. It will be no fun times trying to play a game in 100 degree weather on field turf at 2:00 PM.
Is there any chance of getting games on Fox Soccer Channel or Fox Sports Southwest? I'd think some local stations might broadcast some games, too. Of course, I'll be spending much of the year at university in enemy territory near Dallas, so I won't get to see them anyways.
Nighttime games July through September will be no problem for the fans, although it would probably be smart if kickoff times were a little later than normal, maybe 8:00, to keep as much of the sun off the fans as possible. The nighttime heat is no problem; keeping the mosquitoes away might be, however. I play in a soccer league that runs during the summer down here, and I really think having MLS games during the afternoons in July and August would be a serious health risk for the players. It's almost guaranteed that there'll be a couple of weekends where the afternoon heat index will be in the 108-degree range (usually with a locked-in high pressure system with no wind), and soccer at the MLS level is just too much a strain on the human body under those conditions, in my uneducated opinion. The soccer would likely be crap, if nothing else. Big cooling fans seem like good idea. Misting cool stations are an OK idea, but they don't work that well in a humid place like Houston: It just gets you wet, but not necessarily much cooler because the moist spray can't evaporate.
I was worried about the mosquitos as well. They are absolutely awful after dark. Everyone in the stadium is going to smell like bug repellant.
fans and cooling off areas should help. i don't think it will be that big of a problem though, as i think most houstonians are aware of the heat and will prepare themselves before going out...
I don't recall any problems with mosquitos (good name for team by the way) at Robertson for the two night games I've gone to in the past. I think you'd really need to be near a breeding ground of shaded still water which doesn't exist at Robertson.
I'll agree. I've been to two night games at Robertson in September. I didn't notice any mosquitoes at all.
Look, everyone stop worrying about Robertson. It is what it is and it will be hot. Good idea to schedule and espn2 televised games in spring and fall (probably can't happen with football) since it will be ungodly hot in July and August. I will gladly give some sweat in exchange for watching matches at the highest professional level that the US has to offer and so will alot of other people. The only mistake Anschutz / Luck is making is converting Robertson into field turf. Very, Very , Very Bad for soccer. Stupid ball bounces leading to player miscues, injuries, less decemt tackling, and hotter than hell. Oliver Luck, please call FCD about how hot the field got at Southlake stadium with that vile fieldturf. Please, please, please do not put the fieldturf in Robertson and please do not build the SSS with the dreaded, vile field turf!
This is not a problem unique to Houston. I remembber a Metro-Miami game played on a July or August afternoon in Ft. Lauderdale that had me far more concerned for the players than about the outcome. After the match, Tony Meola said just stnding in goal was bad enough, how his mates could manage more than a walk was beyond him. It was not the time or place for a soccer game. More recently, a midweek August match at giants Stadium between Metro and KC resulted in at least one case of heat prostration among the players. For all the heat and humidity in New Jersey, the game might just as well have been in Houston or Dallas. The time of the match, and its promotion, suggested that this was a came for kids who were at camp -- the various camps getting tix for an afternoon 'outing' at the socccer game. Would it surprise anyone to know that MLS doesn't always have the players' best interest at heart? If you have shed belief in Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy, then you probably have the skinny on MLS. Nothing further need be said about that! On the matter of grass vs. any kind of plastic, do lobby long and loud in favor of grass. Make noise about it in the papers; send emails. The temptation to save ground maintainence costs will be great. A grass field would be the single, best answer to climate-related problems you will face.
Unfortunately it is a done deal...U of H demanded it as a part of the agreement for MLS to play at Robertson Stadium. Es gonna bee a hot one.
The DC-Galaxy match in LA last July or August was over 110 on the field. Kansas City, Salt Lake City, Denver, Chicago, DC, Dallas - where are you going to find a good spot for a Saturday afternoon game in the summertime in any of these places? Humidity is worse in Houston, but none of the others are good options. Saturday evenings is great, but MLS can't get an ESPN slot at that time. Maybe on the Ocho?
The heat will do two positive things for the home team and it's fans. The visiting teams from cooler climates will be bogged down in the oppresive conditions. And as for the fans, the oppresive conditions will bring out women wearing as little as possible. A clear win/win.
Damn...good thinking on point two. As a runner I'm always a little bummed when "winter" rolls around here in Houston and the layering builds up on the runners of the opposite sex. Maybe MLS Houston will have some supporters tube tops in stock at their store.