Several UH alums (myself included) e-mailed him asking about the relationship between UH and the Dynamo. From Dave Maggard's blog: UH & Dynamo November 15, 2006 Many have asked about plans for expansion and improvements at Robertson Stadium and whether the Dynamo will contribute to the project. Withsome frequency I have also been asked what we gained financially from the Dynamo games being here at Robertson this past year. I have had an assessment done on both Robertson and Hofheinz for possible expansion, and of course the possibility of replacing both venues from the ground up. Either option is expensive and at present we do not have a donor or donors who have committed to a new facility nor improvement and expansion. Some of our alumni have indicated they understand the Dynamo wishes to put $15-20 million in Robertson Stadium upgrades. I recently initiated a meeting with Oliver Luck of the Dynamo, and we had a very good and cordial discussion regarding possibilities for improvements on Robertson Stadium and the role the Dynamo might play in partnering with University of Houston on a sharing of costs with a long-term agreement. To date there are no commitments from the Dynamo to pay for upgrades to Robertson, nor to extend the contract. Our contractual arrangement with the Dynamo is for two more years. I expressed more than a willingness to explore all kinds of possibilities that would be BENEFICIAL TO THE DYNAMO AS WELL AS TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON. It is no secret, as it has been mentioned in the press, the ownership of the Dynamo has been trying to sell the franchise well before they arrived in Houston. Ownership is also interested in finding a municipality or county that will pay for a new stadium, or at least subsidize the project to a large extent. Our current financial arrangement with the Dynamo is as follow: We receive 20% of concessions. The Dynamo also receives 20%. We receive 50% of net parking. Dynamo receives the same. I negotiated a front-end payment of $1.7 million dollars. With those dollars we purchased a new video/scoreboard for $1.4 million. We also installed a new lighting system at Robertson for $800k. This was a total expenditure of $2.2 million dollars. We also made some improvements to all of our fields for several thousand dollars. THE ARRANGEMENT WITH DYNAMO HAS BEEN A WIN-WIN. THE UNIVERSITY AND THE DYNAMO HAVE BOTH BENEFITTED.. WE CONTINUE TO EXPLORE FUNDING METHODS FOR MAKING MPROVEMENTS AND UPGRADES TO ROBERTSON. WE ALL RECOGNIZE THE NEED AND, WE ARE MOVING IN A VERY POSITIVE DIRECTION AND YET NOT READY TO SET AN ABSOLUTE TIMELINE. ------------------------------------- My bottom line: Dynamo still need their own place in order to grow the fan base in Houston and become profitable (eventually).
Nice find. You cannot make this profitable in the MLS if you do not have your own SSS. I am sure UH sees this as a big windfall for them and they would love the Dynamo to stay but it does not work from a profitability perspective. MLS demands that all their teams have SSS. The dificulty will be finding a willing partner in building this and I think it will be unfortunate if you have to go out to Webster or Pearland to do it.
Here is my email to Maggard's second in command, Mr. Derick Mayfield. This is from April. Derrick, Thanks for taking a moment out of your busy schedule. I want to reinforce the importance of the University of Houston's commitment to breaking new ground with Major League Soccer. There is a very bright financial future for any State University that can turn a coin outside of its own Football and Basketball programs. I understand all to well the funding that must be developed just to keep many parts of the schools athletic program up and running. Normally a college or University must rely on its football and basketball revenue to support other non-revenue generating sports. I trust that you and Dave understand this all too well. The additional benefit of growing soccer is the global appeal of the sport. As Houston is on the cutting edge of a multi-cultural community, soccer is truly the one universal language that crosses all borders and cultures. Having a quality pro franchise attached at the hip with the Athletic Department is crucial in generating free advertising for any of the University's agenda, athletic or academic. Add in the fact that U of H has for many years now been a destination for International students, the home of an immigrant's icon in Hakeem Olajuwon plus the positive media exposure. Growing soccer at the University of Houston is a win-win situation all around. As President of The Houston Dynamos Supporters Club, I want to make sure you and Dave have our complete backing and support for U of H Athletics. Go Coogs! Sincerely, Sam A. Whitehill President of the Texian Army >>>>I wanted to stress the win-win situation that can and should be cultivated by Maggand and Cougar Athletics. As I have followed and supported U of H gridiron and hoops all my life and my grandfather and mom are U of H alumni I wanted to help Dave Maggard out as much as possible on all fronts where money can be generated. As Texian Army President I wanted to make sure he had our full backing and he supported our efforts to back our new Houston Dynamo.
Celt, very nice letter! I think Dave is probably trying to make himself look better on the blog than he actually is in real life. Dave has been very "hard nosed" in the negotiations and I feel he still doesn't understand soccer he just understands what kind of $$$ it brings to his program. He doesn't have a whole lot of respect for the game of soccer. In fact, I suspect he is probably a little jealous to see more fans at UH watching that "foreign game" called soccer than his "American" college football team.
Thanks truth. I also called Dave on many occasions to take him out to get some lunch. This was in Feb and March as us Texians were coming together very well. I wanted to assure him that he had our support, that us Texians would be following the Stadium rules, what is a Supporters Club from a global perspective and that, as you have noticed, if he wanted to grow in his understanding of association football than I would be more than happy to help him grow in his knowledge and perspective on what this animal of a global sport is. After all I played linebacker in H.S. and I know how to break soccer down to old gridiron men like him. I even invited him to meet with our U of H students in our Texian Army Supporters Club at our very first tailgating for the Opening Night match vs Colorado. He promptly brushed me off. Said he would rather go to the Final Four in Indianapolis instead. I was left thinking what more can I offer you Sir! Conference USA team isn't even involved, much less any Houston players. It's Opening Night at YOUR stadium. Don't you want to see even the first game?!? Jeez did he miss out on that 5-2 night!
In another link in another thread, OLuck mentions a big reason why Robertson doesn't work for Dynamo--the parking is unavailable mid-week, during school. They've missed out on making $$ with mid-week friendlies because there is no parking during the week. I had never thought of that before. Plus he says the electrical system is over 60 years old.
Thats one of the biggest problems at UH...the freakin parking. Students are always complaining about it. while they did add a parking garage, it still hasn't been enough yet to completely relieve the pressure. I think it could have been possible to do Tues/Wed night friendlies, though. Usually, after 3 or 4, this place empties in a hurry. And by 6, it's a tomb. (Finals and the begining weeks of the semester are the exception here....). That might be cutting it pretty close cause they don't want to keep everyone till 10 or 11 but....it's a thought...*shrug*
-arse...can't think out of the box and definitely not helping his cause. Maybe with a little more understanding and intelligence he could build Uof H into a national power in any sport or possibly get himself to a big time program where he can make some real dough. He should run for public office.