It seems we sprinkle FO and TD criticism in many threads, so maybe this deserves its own, not to imply negative commentary only (let's be objective!). I'd like to kick it off with some thoughts from the teams favorite ex-employee posted on Twitter: @MLS @FourFourTwo so @ChrisCanetti where's this beautiful world class stadium you throw down your sales reps throats to sell? #organiccrowd?— Ay (@aceodonnell10) November 12, 2015
Like I said, we all worked hard those first 7 seasons to support AEG's Relocation Project by backing our players with tremendous voice and cheer and certainly backing AEG with our own pocket books. To then land the most ideal stadium location in all of MLS. Downtown and a chance to grow our EastEnd. On Texas avenue just a Biggio base hit from where our Astro's play. To then have Canetti travel over to Germany and elsewhere looking at how to design what should have been one of the best new stadia in all of World soccer...then AEG spent our club's money. $90 million. Did we get a $90 million stadium? Nordi and I looked at each other after that first few home games and it was like, man we didn't get much for our $90 million brother! Our stadium is neither a college gridiron type of feel stadium or a pro soccer type of feel stadium. It came out something stuck in neutral. Viewing decks in prime seats and a tunnel built in place which vacates other prime seats to earn money. Y'all know how I feel about not getting Oliver's promised Houston Kop so that is still on Canetti for going back on something us supporters earned. Our players even speak to the importance of the ambience from our lil' cubbie hole we are forced in so imagine if it was like ol' Rob days. A place to grow supporters and grow the sound to push Rico and the guys on. Nope. Wristbands. And a no "Bring a friend in" policy in place.
Of all the problems the past few years, the stadium isn't one of them. That ain't a legit criticism. Some ho hum dude getting on the Dynamo for not cracking an arbitrary list that changes annually. Getting on Coyle for not being prepared enough to handle the realities of MLS is a crit. His player rotation, or lack there of, is a crit.
Just for laughs I thought that I'd give everyone a sing along opportunity. This is in response to the "inherited" defense. Time for a singalong - Losing my position with apologies to REM Ooh, Life is bigger It's bigger than you And when Dom left I think I lost my identity And much to my surprise Oh no I've said too much, I screwed it up. That's me in the standings That's me in the spotlight Losing my position Trying to keep up with you And I don't know if I can do it Oh no I've said too much I haven't said enough I thought that I heard you chanting I thought that I heard you sing I think I thought I saw you try Every Da le Of every waking hour I'm Choosing my excuses Trying to keep an eye on you Like a hurt lost and blinded fool, Oh no I've said too much, I screwed it up Consider this, consider this The team of the century Consider this The team, that brought you two silver cups, failed What if all these fantasies Come flailing aground Now I've said too much I thought that I heard you chanting I thought that I heard you sing I think I thought I saw you try But that was just a dream That was just a dream That's me in the standings That's me in the spotlight Losing my position Trying to keep up with you And I don't know if I can do it Oh no I've said too much I hadn't said enough I thought that I heard you chanting I thought that I heard you sing I think I thought I saw you try But that was just a dream To Try, Cry, Why, Try That was just a dream Just a dream Just a dream, dream
agreed. that's what about a $90M stadium looks like. my favorite MLS stadium so far has been Sporting Park and that was $200M. but considering that AEG payed the bulk of the $90M that we were NOT going to get from the city or county, i don't think theres anything to complain about. now the quality of the field, that's a different story.
A man or woman can go to a good dentist, pay $500 for the work done. The same man or woman can get the exact same work done at another dentist for $250. The really cool thing about Houston is that with so many building contractors in our city, a man or woman can bid the work out to various contractors. Thus getting maximum value out of their budget. As someone that worked in commercial real estate as a younger man, I can assure you that AEG didn't get their, our club, $90 million VALUE outta the stadium the contractor AEG hired. I love our stadium. I used to go support our Houston team at Butler Stadium so I really appreciate being downtown. What I am stressing is the recent ESPN.com article on owners in MLS going long on their new stadiums and specifically how they listen to their fans to ensure a new Stadium gets all aspects spot on. AEG was promising to do just this. Then Canetti got to be the boss and it shows compared to other MLS team's with a budget that he didn't get the fans involved and certainly got some contractor to overbill.
I have the opposite reaction. When I look at how much has been spent on other stadia that are not materially better than ours (and often worse), I marvel at the fact that we managed to build a quality stadium for only $90 million.
Yeah, I think the poor airflow was a really big design flaw (which they will never admit to) and the original blinding lights clearly were a mistake but all in all I think most stadium construction complaints are on the minor side. Now concession lines and other things are still an issue but minor. But a broader point is that that stadium is no longer a draw (probably expired at the end of 2013 as a new attraction) and really it is about the field product. Of course, I'll be fired up again the next time they claim the Dynamo don't really control all dates at the stadium, separate company, blah blah blah, conflict with Astros because we needed the revenue from a rap concert, etc.
Again, stadium is great as is. It just should be a lot better had fan involvement and climate considerations been better included. Which was already discussed, thought of and made piecemeal in understanding to us that went to meetings with AEG years back. Then that concept to take what was in full effect at our old Rob and grow on that tradition, all that got tossed. In a sport that consistently gets knocked for lack of traditions in our sports culture, turning away from organically grown, fun spirited and actual revenue growing traditions is without excuse. Wristbands amigo. Wristbands.
Yeah the airflow is really bad in the stadium. I have heard how bad the lights were and never really believed it until this season when we moved to the sidelines after one of the games this year and were pretty much blinded. My tickets were open the stage deck the first season of the new stadium and then right behind the SG's the rest of them so I had no idea how bad the lights were/are. Maybe you should quit blaming the wristbands and look at the behavior. Sitting above the SG the last couple of years and being a proponent of them (hell that was a huge reason why I sit where I do) and standing and singing in my section with the hope that it would help spread, it sadly hasn't. As I said above I was over the stage the first season and then moved above the SGs in 2013 and have been there since. It's seems every game they end up fighting amongst themselves. Numerous times they have come up and invaded our section trying to fight fellow fans they felt have slighted them in some way. This past season several people decided to not renew or move after some individuals decided, on two separate occasions, to wave a flag on the concourse level almost hitting several people in the face(literally an inch or two from getting hit in the face, the end of the flag poles are at face height when you standing in the upper section) after asking the guys with the flag to not wave it there so we don't get hit. The guys with the flag were way too drunk to reason with. We asked them to move in front of the ramps so we wouldn't get hit, but they instead wanted to tell us to ******** off, in so many words. Then the rest of the group, who were clueless to what was going on, wanted to have a big fight over a flag. We didn't care about the flag waving, other than not wanting to be hit in the face. I really don't think that's too much to ask. After that, I said ******** it, I'm sitting down, for the first time in almost three years. I've stood and sang more than quite a few people I see standing below me over the last three years. Tell me, why should we continue to stand and sing, when we feel like the SGs act like we are not on the same side?
For me, it's way too late to worry about the stadium. I do like the stadium, location, and am good with the view from the seats. MLS in the summer is going to suck for half of the country due to heat, and humidity, and especially in Texas, Kansas, Florida, and the air flow will not make a big difference to a player running for 45 minutes straight. The product on the field will just not be very good in the southern cities in the summer.
On the whole heat thing, I grew up in Chicago. I've been to Solider Field in January when it was -40 with the wind chill. I've been to plenty of summertime afternoon baseball games when the heat and humidity rivaled an evening in Houston. I'm often amazed at how soft a lot of Houstonians are when it comes to weather. You either hide in your home, office or underground all day or you live with it, get out in it and live with it.
Houstonian's attitude toward the outdoors is disappointing, and the reason why the sports market is not better.
not having a large contiguous area designed for supporters was a huge error on the stadium design and that's on our management for not communicating the need for that to Populous. They killed all momentum that was built at Robertson by cramming supporters into a small, season ticket-only section. The few tickets that are set aside every game for sale direct to supporter groups doesn't solve the perception problem. It makes recruiting people extremely difficult. Sporting did it right. We made a concert venue that no one wants to play a concert at.
I'd never heard that line before, excellent one. I grew up north and experienced the cold for events (not -40 wind chill) and playing sports and some summertime events and hear things like Houston sports fans are soft, accustomed to domes, etc. There is no place except maybe New Orleans that has the type of oppressive conditions that we do on a consistent basis from May thru September, no place. A 95 degree day a few times a year at Wrigley is nothing like a soccer game in Houston. We had hot games and sweltering nights at Robertson but there was always a say 7:30-8:30 breeze and some air moving around. At BBVA we got no air moving in the lower bowl. Upstairs probably a little better but when a kid is sweating bullets just sitting there at 8:00 at night there is an issue. That's the biggest design flaw I see (and feel). The suite placement was all about dollars and I see that as a newer design in many places. The club bar sort of gutted the best viewing section for the prawn sandwich crowd.
I am not in an SG, but the momentum at the Robertson was built when we had two SG's sitting on the same side. All that momentum was lost when they split to opposite sides of the stadium. From my limited understanding that had nothing to do with the Front Office. (not to open up an old wound). My biggest stadium complaint (other than sheer stupidity of the boot room), is that we are in Houston Texas and play games in July and August. We absolutely have to have awning over 100% of the seating (or at least a lot more than they do).
I think they learned their lesson about day games the first year and not doing it after May 1 or before late September. The solution they came up with was to play fewer summer games or start them at 8:00, which pushes more into Spring and Fall where honestly I think they lose fans with other sports and activities going on (although I think league wide they show fall as strongest attendance). They designed a stadium that really fit more of a European September-May sort of season and climate than a March-October Texas schedule.
This is very evident, if you sit up high on the ends. It is a lot cooler than under the awnings in the sideline seats. Those awnings hold in the heat.
One game we just picked up and went to the top SW corner of the stadium and it was quite nice. No bad views in the stadium. Any rate, they ain't gonna redesign and change it any time soon.
Looks like we may have to pick up one of them climate control units from Qatar after the World Cup in 2022. Then we can build a roof over the entire stadium. The organization will make it happen, right?
one valid complaint is the placement of the press box. so fkn bad that i prefer to pay and sit in my season tix rather than rely on the free press pass. who puts a press box on a corner flag? and who allows it? someone who knows absolutely nothing about football. if anything, it should of gone at the very top where the tv perch and tv broadcast room is.