to avoid polluting other threads with off-field or non-soccer playing topics and discussions, we can discuss here. Given the fact that I was generally unaware of the significant turnover in the FO until last week it sounds like a lot to possibly discuss this year.
First up - Dynamo hired chef Hugo Ortega to "work with Levy to curate a collection of food and beverage destinations throughout the stadium that feature diverse local businesses. Fans will feel that passion in the form of Houston’s favorite and up-and-coming restaurants across the concourse, as well as new signature menus in club and suite areas influenced by Ortega’s own favorite flavors". Translation: we are paying him enough to tout him and imply that the concession stands will have his food when it's likely only going to be suites and clubs and the rest of you get Levy manufactured stuff. Personally, I would have gone out and hired one of the Chick-Fil-A lunch managers at the 3-lane drive-thrus to figure out how to get food out to people in under 18 minutes after paying. Concession stands have been a struggle (that's being charitable) at the stadium for years. https://www.houstondynamofc.com/new...orld-renowned-chef-hugo-ortega-to-match-day-c
I like this because it seems like we'll be getting some pretty good food that is specific to our city. I don't like this because it's going to take 45 minutes to get food and I really just want chili dogs and beer anyway.
Release: Ted Segal will be hosting a media availability session tomorrow morning at The Shell. #HoldItDown pic.twitter.com/iEqw1kKVwL— Foxtrot (@DynamicFoxtrot) February 14, 2023 They’re doing a press conference for a chef. (upon re-reading it does seem a bit more encompassing, but it’s still a funny thought)
This offseason HDFC have hired:- Chief Operating Officer- Dynamo head coach- Dynamo assistants- Dash head coach- Director of Methodology- Director of Sports Medicine- SRC FTBL- Chief of Staff- Chief Marketing Officer- Director of Identification and Recruitment— Bayou City Soccer (@BayouCitySoccer) February 14, 2023 In Houston, Luedtke will oversee media relations, creative content, advertising, retail, youth programs, community engagement, and fan development for the Dynamo, Dash, Shell Energy Stadium, and Houston Sports Park— Bayou City Soccer (@BayouCitySoccer) February 14, 2023
I do think it is more the typical pre-season media briefing and availability (Astros did something similar last week), but it reads as emphasis on the chef deal
Ted Segal says his expectations for the Dynamo are to compete for a playoff spot and ultimately for a championship. pic.twitter.com/FVttOA1ETV— Bayou City Soccer (@BayouCitySoccer) February 15, 2023 Thread of todays media availability. Not posting all the tweets because it formats weirdly but here are some highlights as applies to this thread. “Segal asked if the club is expecting a surge in attendance. Says results on the pitch and improving fan experience will help with that. Says season ticket sales have gone up.” “Segal asked about his investment in the club. Safe standing and pitch side seats, 1.5 million. New seating, 5 million. East side club, 5 million. New 26,000 square foot building, 12-15 million. HSP, 1 million.” (My opinion, would have liked some more of that going to HSP) “Says radio announcers for the Apple TV feed will be announced shortly. They will be local.” “Segal says he wants Shell Energy Stadium to be on par with stadiums like Austin and Columbus. Would love to host concerts and community events here.” “I hope my investment in this (reference to all the changes) reflects the investment of the fans to this club.” -Segal
T He’s dropped a bunch of money, you can’t deny that. He’s done it in literally every facet of the organization. I just don’t know if there’s enough here to be in a playoff spot this year, but it at least gives me hope.
i think a good takeaway here is that Brener was kind of a slumlord and had let some of house become derelict. glad money is being spent. reminder that money spent on the stadium doesnt necessarily mean less money spent on the roster, different buckets.
You can’t say he hasn’t spent money on the soccer side. I mean, a person could, but that person would have no idea what’s going on in reality. He’s at least giving effort.
Brener treated the Dynamo like a rundown Dennys in a great location - why spend money when a certain amount of folks will show up anyways
One thing that I do find interesting is I guess they did cut or at least overhaul portions of the business operation, but many of the hires on the soccer side I have to think are on some form of multi-year deal or employment agreement as they wouldn't move her just to get let go at the end of 2023 without it costing Segal some money. So I think there really is investment in the personnel and committment to give this regime some time, maybe more than we think
Still need to market the sport to new sports fans that enjoy getting out in life, the younger demographic, and hauling back in our core Dynamo fans that have been run off from the past regime of owners and FO blame the fans suits. This is the tough task that even the most ardent of marketing VPs will lose sleep over. Add to this the dad's taking kids culture so common to pro soccer's legacy over the generations globally. Our North American sports crazed culture is ripe with many wanting to grow their interests in getting behind a local soccer team but many MLS teams fail to capitalize on this. Ours has been one for years now.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MLS/commen...urce=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf Interesting Reddit thread comparing STH gifts for various teams. Not a Dynamo STH so can’t say with certainty what it will be this year, but I believe last year it was a baseball cap, pin, lanyard, team store and concession discounts and access to Orange Rewards. The last one is now MIA with a replacement not named.
thinking about all the new FO hires..... Are there any positions left to be filled? I mean, it seems like every conceivable position (and positions I would never conceive of) has been filled as well as their assistants and porters and secretaries, etc. The "all hands" meeting is gonna have to held on the field just to fit everyone in the same place! On one hand, it does seem like the prior years were being run on a shoe string budget with one person trying to do 5 jobs but on the other hand it's beginning to look like bureaucratic bloat where no decision can be made efficiently or quickly. PS I wonder if all of this new personnel will finally convince the mexican yeti to show up
I can get the concern but out of curiosity I compared to what a couple of other teams had. Not counting owners, coaches and stadium ops personnel I came up with 83 front office workers for Dynamo compared with 97 for Seattle and 78 for LAFC. I just used those teams because it seems like they would be consensus choices for “Well run MLS team”. It’s not a full picture but it shows a way we’re close to the best teams in the league.
Opening day is usually a pretty sure near-sellout for the Dynamo, but I wonder what will happen this year (and I have zero insight or inside info). Team with a subpar start, games on Apple TV, tail weekend of spring break and frankly the prices of tickets on SeatGeek are too high IMO for a broad market of fans. Whatever algorithm they use they need to tweak it a bit. That may a be a bit of hostage negotiator Widder carryover, the prices of seats offered by the team change with dynamic or variable pricing and sometimes I think they jack them just to incentivize season ticket sales (which I sort of understand but that's also why we have a half full stadium) Also, is that East Club actually going to be finished and inspected and approved to open in 13 days? The pics posted last week seem like it has a ways to go.
The Athletic had an interview with Garber recently. Touches on a few different areas but an interesting one is support for legacy teams. While not as visible as the new playoff structure, MLS also made some changes to its revenue sharing model. The commissioner said they were the first such changes in “15 to 20 years.” “We operate in a way that allows us to do research, align together about new ideas and evolve our system so that it can provide value and opportunity for everybody in the MLS ecosystem,” Garber said. “Revenue sharing is one aspect of that, in our league and every other league. As the league is continuing to evolve, we have big markets, small markets, you have teams that have big stadiums, new stadiums and you have legacy teams that might have soccer stadiums, but they’re older. And as you continue to think about what the best way is to make sure that everybody is aligned on making the right investment, on being good partners, on thinking about proper strategy in their markets, it makes sense for us to change our governance.” Those changes are part of a larger project related to governance, out of which a “club performance group” will be launched and an “MLS University” concept to help guide clubs and ensure that owners are “aligned on doing what they need to do to drive relevance and to drive our business forward, and to make the right investments so that our teams are more meaningful in their markets,” Garber said. Asked if that was specifically aimed at boosting the clubs that seem to lag behind in investment, Garber said, “It’s way easier to be new than it is to be improved. We have a lot of new teams. This is seven years in a row we’re adding new teams. So as you have legacy teams that have been around since day one, and they have success and lack of success, and stadiums that are now older and the like, we do have disparity between our best-performing clubs and those that need to get better about reimagining what business they’re in in the local market. So yes, this group will get very focused on helping those teams that are not performing at a level that we think everyone should be performing at.” https://theathletic.com/4273822/202...-garber-interview/?source=user_shared_article
New Chief Hostage Negotiator for the Dynamo: New Hire: The @HoustonDynamo continue their front office rebuild by adding ex-@Astros VP Jeff Stewart (@jeffcstewy) as Chief Revenue Officer. He replaces Dionna Widder, who parted ways w/ the club in December. It's the fourth big exec hire since owner Ted Segal took over in '21.— Alex M. Silverman🏒⚽️ (@AlexMSilverman) March 6, 2023 as an aside, pretty sure I’ve met him before, he was a corporate relationship guy with Astros
first, i want to state that even though i was at that fan mtg where some of our fellow posters walked away with a sour taste in their mouth, i didnt have any beef with widder nor walker. that being said it was apparent to all at that mtg that they were basketball people and didnt get the run of the mill football fan. i have 2 neighbors that are hardcore NBA fans and their needs as fans are completely different than my needs as a football fan. they want the light shows, stars playing and sitting courtside, and that corporate big-time feel. we told widder and walker that we just wanted a competent manager and competent footballers. widder's response was "well, Manotas is on the Colombian Natl Team radar". she told me that, mr. CONCACAF/CONMEBOL guy. to this day Manotas hasnt turned those 3 U-caps into a NT callup for a Colombian team that usually has 2-3 capable European or Liga MX players at every position.
I did have a beef, cause I really thought they wanted our input. Glad they're both gone and I'd bet their CV's include what a great impact they had on the organization. I'd be willing to bet that season tickets diminished under their watch, although they'd probably argue they increased supporters membership. I'd really be interested to see how that new supporters group fares under the new administration, as I suspect it was subsidized by the former CRO. Our problem was that we were all "soccer purists", even though they didn't realize that the term actually means people who want to see good football and winning teams. I really think they thought soccer purists were the old EPL supporters who would pee in the stands rather than miss any of the game.