I got this today from the president of our state association: ---------------------------- TSSAS is pleased to announce the following international doubleheader: November 6 7 pm L.A. Galaxy ( MLS ) vs. Santos ( Mexico) 9 pm Olimpia ( Honduras ) vs. Aguilas (El Salvador) Both games will take place at Robertson Stadium on the campus of the University of Houston. Tickets will be going on sale this week at Fiesta Supermarkets, Taqueria Arandas and the University of Houston ticket office. The pre-sale ticket prices will be $23 for general admission and $33 for reserved seats. On game day, the ticket prices will be $28 for general admission and $38 for reserved seating. ----------------------------------
Houston Robertson Stadium 33,000 all-seaters since 1941. More pic here at http://www.sfo.com/~csuppes/Soccer/misc/index.htm Seating Plan at http://www.sfo.com/~csuppes/NCAA/ConfUSA/Houston/seats.gif Houston Robertson Stadium profile at http://www.sfo.com/~csuppes/NCAA/ConfUSA/Houston/index.htm
Current pics of Robertson Stadium Here's a link to the UH athletics pages with current photos of Robertson Stadium and lots of information: http://uhcougars.fansonly.com/extras/local/facilities/robertson.html. I've been to this stadium several times for soccer and college football. It's a great facility that's been significantly upgraded recently. They've held a number of Mexican Pre-Pre's, friendlies among Mexican and Central American clubs, and the recent US Soccer Festival (U-20s). Assuming good weather, attendance should be pretty good with Ruiz to draw Guatemalans, a popular Salvadoran club, plus Santos.
This is a perfect way to showcase MLS for Houston and gain fans. It brings in 3 groups of potentially new fans with only one group rooting against the MLS team, but exposing all three to the game. The Galaxy are the perfect team for it, because Cienfuegos and Ruiz should draw heavy overlap fans from El Salvador and Guatamala. Guys like Jose Ochoa and possibly Memo Gonzalez may earn the interest of some of the Mexican fans. This is a masterfully orchestrated set of friendlies. Well done MLS! BTW, the stadium seems ideal for MLS purposes. I realize the University probably wouldn't go for it, but is there a chance of a good lease for MLS there if Houston were to receive an expansion franchise? It's a great size and seems to be in a good location, and it looks like a nice stadium. I had heard before that an U of H alumnus was the driving force behind a group trying to get an MLS expansion club a while back. -Tron
I would not count on Ruiz being there he has to go back to Guatemala and play for his Guatemalan club team as soon as the Galaxy season ends.
I think it's more likely that McNair's group would put an MLS team in Reliant, but I agree that Robertson would be an excellent venue. UH draws very poorly for football and could probably use the extra revenue so I don't imagine they'd make unreasonable lease demands. UH hosts a lot of outside events, including a fair bit of soccer. They're really into trying to raise the school's profile. But, again, if Houston gets an MLS team, it seems more likely to be through a McNair-led group and would play in Reliant. You may be thinking of John O'Quinn, as in John O'Quinn Field at Robertson Stadium (see the link that I provide above) as the UH alum talking about getting an MLS team a few years ago. O'Quinn was one of the most successful (i.e., wealthy) plaintiffs' lawyers in America. He's recently had some serious legal problems of his own and, from what I understand, has spent a considerable amount of his personal fortune on his own defense matters. I doubt he has the kind of resources that he once did. Moreover, he's a plaintiffs' lawyer, which means that he's probably not exactly Phil and Lamar's kinda guy.
BTW, the stadium seems ideal for MLS purposes. I realize the University probably wouldn't go for it, but is there a chance of a good lease for MLS there if Houston were to receive an expansion franchise? It's a great size and seems to be in a good location, and it looks like a nice stadium. I had heard before that an U of H alumnus was the driving force behind a group trying to get an MLS expansion club a while back. Posted by Tron ----------------------------------- The field, stands, and size of Robertson Stadium are ideal for MLS (acctually, the field is a little small) but that stadium is a dump. Highschool stadiums have better concessions than that place. Their ticket booths do not even accept credit cards. As for the location...U H is not located in what one would call a "good" part of town. It is somewhat centraly located, but Houston is so sprawling that it doesn't matter much. Any people planning on going to the game? I wouldn't mind watching the Galaxy play.
But do you think if you put a couple of million dollars into the stadium that it could be fixed up to be a nice stadium? The San Diego Spirit did that to improve the facilities at USD. It's hard for a school to turn down a couple million dollar improvement on their sporting facilities.
They recently spent around $15 million (don't quote me on the figures) to get the stadium to where it is now. UH would jump at the chance to allow someone to spend more money on the staduim, but I don't think its a good solution for MLS in Houston. Houston sports fans are very fickle, and are used to attending games in comfort (ie, all staduims are domes). If they want to draw marginal fans to a potential MLS team, playing in the state of the art Reliant Stadium would be much better than playing at UH. It would be another team playing in a stadium way to big for its attendence, but I think it would be more viable.
I am so fricking geeked about this. Sorry, but that is what I get living in a non- MLS town. I will be there, probably alone in my support of the Galaxy. With regards to the MLS options in Houston, we have a great market, TV ratings wise when compared to other Non-MLS cities for MLS events. That being said I have been to a two games at the UH campus. It is a good place for soccer, not great. I would say it is somewhat a cross between Lockhart and Spartan stadium. I don't think that any money is necessary to make it MLS ready. It is MLS ready. Not the best part of town, but I don't think that it should be held against a potential franchise. Large Hispanic population blah blah blah (See LA, etc.). As mentioned above the capacity is 33,000. Which is very very nice for MLS in my mind. Furthermore, it is The deal that has been referenced the most in the past is that O'Quinn (big time PI attorney) would be the owner/operator and that MLS would be in Robertson. The thought of MLS in Reliant is about as interesting as the thought of MLS in the Tampa Bay field, Invesco, or other places, where 15,000 looks like 4,000. I think it would suck. For special occassions, I think we could go to Reliant (MLS Cups or July 4th, but I am getting ahead of myself). Anyone for a bigsoccer group to go to this game?
Fish will be playing for Guatamala in their match against Jamaica. Then he'll join Municipal until the end of the current season (or half season or whatever they call the thing that ends in December) He'll then have a break before joining the G's for preseason.
Robertson is really good purely for the act of watching soccer because the seats are right there on the field, with behind-the-goal seats only a couple of yards from the back netting. And the location, as noted, is central, but not the best (but not the worst, either). But you have to compete with students for parking. The concession setup is even worse than the Cotton Bowl. As soon as an MLS team would move there you'd just have the feeling of not being in a "major league" environment. Reliant Stadium is extremely nice in almost every way--central location, allegedly good soccer field dimensions, outstanding amenities and concessions, plenty of parking. And it's even air-conditioned for those 3:00 p.m. Saturday ESPN 2 games in July! BUT, it's obviously way bigger than MLS wants. And the rent may be too expensive for anyone other than McNair. And most of you know that the Texans Senior VP of Marketing is the former GM of the Columbus Crew, Jamey Rootes. I heard rumor that there are some folks high up in Harris County power that do want a soccer-specific stadium here. If I get more concrete details, or refutation of that rumor, I'll pass it on. The Spanish-language radio ads say that Ruiz is playing, but who knows. MLSNHTOWN, you won't be alone. I'm trying to get parts of my soccer teams to go. More details later.
Yeah, John O'Quinn was the guy I had heard a while back. I also had heard rumors that his wealth had taken a hit, but that he was still actively pursuing building an investor group. As for Reliant, yeah it sounds nice, but I just don't think MLS can afford to rent an air-conditioned dome of that size. Additionally, there would never be any demand for season tickets in a stadium of that size and the crowd would always look "minor league" in a stadium of that size. It's definitely an option worth exploring, but it also seems to have a significant down side. The University of Houston stadium sounds as if it has a significant down side as well, but off the top of my head it sounds like the more logical choice. It might be affordable, it sounds great for watching soccer and for TV viewing (e.g. smaller crowd looks good on TV and fans close to the action creates a dynamite environment). If it has the concessions and parking issues, maybe MLS would be able to negotiate a more affordable lease? Maybe MLS could invest some money to revamp it as part of a sweetheart revenue sharing arrangement in a series of renewable options lease? Maybe I'm oversimplifying or underappreciating the difficulties, but it seems promising. It just sounds to me like this is a test run for a potential expansion club. Bringing LA should pack the fans in, and may attract the fans to MLS without ailienating those fans from the future home team. Exciting. -Tron
MLS market testing I don’t think you can look at this double-header as any sort of meaningful test for MLS. It’s on a weeknight and starts at 7 pm. Anyone coming from work will really need to struggle through traffic and the current road construction fiasco. I attend a lot of college sports weeknight events and it’s hellish trying to get anywhere in the central part of town for a 7 pm start time. If MLS really wanted to test the market, it would make much more sense to schedule something like a stand-alone Galaxy x Burn exhibition on a Saturday. Plus, we'd get a preview of the Houston-Dallas superclassico! Some of the stadium/investor issues discussed here have popped up over in the Stadiums and Expansion forum, but just to cover a few key points: Robertson Stadium: Parking - I really don’t understand this concern. I attend several sports events at UH every year and have never had any parking difficulties whatsoever. It’s probably easier and quicker to park at the UH sports complex than at Reliant or Compaq Center. There’s a parking lot for Robertson plus several very easily accessible UH lots on Elgin and Cullen. You can get in and out of the Elgin or Cullen lots pretty quickly from I-45, Elgin, and OST. Even on those very rare occasions when there’s a large crowd at Robertson, you can still get in and out easily. I attended the Rice-UH game pictured on the Robertson page that I link above and still had no parking problem despite the large crowd and rain. Concessions - Well, ok, fine, their concessions aren’t great, but how many people are going to make a decision about attending a soccer game based on concessions? It’s also a question of perspective - if you’re only accustomed to the concessions at Reliant, Compaq, or Minute Made, then you’ll be disappointed at Robertson. If you happen to attend a lot of college sports at Rice and/or UH, this is no big deal. Safety - This is simply not an issue. Parking at Robertson and the Elgin and Cullen lots is very safe. The neighborhood also isn’t that bad. In fact, the University Oaks and Riverside areas along the southern edges of UH are among Houston’s longest-established middle-class neighborhoods. Anyway, you’d only be parking in lots on the UH campus. No one should avoid going to Robertson because of safety or neighborhood concerns. Renovations - As pointed out above, none needed for MLS. See the link that I provide above for more detail regarding renovations. The recent O’Quinn renovations (the latest in a series) have significantly upgraded the place. I’ve attended events at the Rose Bowl, Cotton Bowl, RFK, and the old Foxboro Stadium, and the fan experience at Robertson is certainly no worse and, in some ways, actually much better. I’m not suggesting that Robertson is ideal for MLS or provides some sort of fan fantasyland. But I think it’s completely inaccurate to characterize the place as a “dump” or to think that it isn’t adequate for MLS. Robertson v. Reliant: As we’ve been discussing here and elsewhere, the most likely road for MLS in Houston runs through Reliant. McNair’s group has a stadium and the economic incentives to fill dates. See below for O'Quinn and SSS thoughts. O’Quinn as an I/O: I’ll be shocked if O’Quinn is even remotely close to a realistic option. In addition to taking a massive financial and career hit recently, O’Quinn made his (probably now former) fortune as a plaintiffs’ lawyer - i.e., he made money by suing people like Phil and Lamar. They’re just not going to let a legally problematic, politically lefty, highly controversial, flamboyant plaintiffs’ lawyer into their sandbox. Everything we know about Phil and Lamar indicates that O’Quinn is precisely the sort of guy that they want to avoid. Here’s a Houston Press piece on “The Unstoppable O'Quinn” that's a little old, but will give you an idea of what I mean: http://www.houston-press.com/issues/1998-03-05/news.html. New SSS for Houston: I’m eager to hear anything positive, but a SSS in Houston or Harris County is about as likely as O’Quinn getting elected Harris County Republican Chairman. The Harris County-Houston Sports Authority would provide the most likely leadership for such a project and run the political process. The Authority managed the construction of Reliant, Minute Made, and the to-be-named new downtown arena projects and serves as the city/county joint-entity charged with responsibility for such infrastructure projects. The favorable tax structures that financed these other projects could easily provide funds for a SSS, but any new Authority project requires voter approval. I’d be delighted to be proved wrong, but I just can’t see how voters would approve a new SSS when Reliant was designed to accommodate soccer and is already sitting there all new and shiney.
I'll agree that calling Robertson Stadium a dump may be a little harsh. The stadium itself would work very well for a MLS team. A concern I have is that Robertson is looked upon in the Houston area as a small time venue, and if a MLS team plays there, the stigma may be attached to it as well. I think Reliant (assuming McNair is part of the I/O team) is the best option (unless they want to give us a SSS). About the game itself...I'm going to try to attend. How does Santos rate in the MFL?
Re: Re: Galaxy friendly in Houston MLS fan rooting against another MLS team and to top it off for a Mexican team? What the hell?
I think you're right about how MLS would be perceived if they played at Robertson, but that's a losing battle in any event. I'm optimistic that a Houston MLS team could draw well, but probably not well enough to look like a large crowd in Reliant. Even a 20,000+ crowd gets swallowed up in Reliant. I was there earlier this month for the Rice-La Tech game that drew around 20,000 (official attendance was 20,895). All of the lower bowl was fairly well occupied, but not packed - still lots of room to spread out and strech out. The sideline seats on the second tier were about half filled, but not the end zones on that level. An MLS team would do very well to draw that sort of crowd on a regular basis, but it would still look "minor league" to most people. A crowd that fills out the lower bowl about 50% or better looks good to MLS fans, but you're not going to convince civilians that's a "major league" crowd. MLS will look minor league in anything other than a SSS - and even then it's still a matter of perspective. Bottom line is that "major/minor" league perceptions are irrelevant. I doubt that thousands of people would go to games if they thought MLS was major league, but not if they think it's minor league. You can get all manner of detailed stats, player info, results, and all sorts of good info for Santos (and other Mexican clubs) at this site. Helps if you know some basic Spanish, but you can probably figure it out. http://www.futmex.net/Includes/Primera/Santos.asp. Santos is currently 10th out of 20 in the general table and in second place in their very weak group. They've played 15 games, with 21 goals for and 23 against. Santos is typically one of the strongest teams in Mexico, but they've been having a poor (by their standards) Apertura. My take is that Santos should be a great matchup for the Galaxy. Assuming that both teams play their first-choice players (of course that isn't a given), the players to watch for Santos are Rodrigo "Pony" Ruiz, Jared Borgetti, and Joahan Rodriguez. Santos is very strong in the air and relies largely on flank play with crosses into the box. Pony Ruiz is one of the most entertaining players in any league. He looks like a midget, but is very fast and regularly creates space where there is none by beating multiple defenders on the dribble. His crosses are hard and deadly accurate - great placement from corners and FK's as well as on the runs down the flanks. He pops up on both flanks. Borgetti is the main target man and is excellent in the air. He scored that brilliant header against Italy in the WC that many people consider one of the best goals of the tourney. He currently has 12 goals in 15 Apertura games. Joahan makes great runs into the box and gets on the end of a lot of crosses. Nonetheless, the Galaxy should be fine. Borgetti dominates in the air in the Mexican league in part because he's adept at getting open for crosses. He's unquestionably very skilled - I'm not suuggesting that he wouldn't be a leading goal scorer in almost any league - but he also benefits from the nature of goalkeeping and defending in Mexico. Most Mexican GK's are notoriously weak at handling crosses and defenders usually look confused when balls are flying through the air. Man-marking in the box is also usually weak. I think that Hartman (or Reis), Lalas, Califf, and Marshall will be a very different matter for Santos' air game. The real key defensively for LA will be how effectively they can shut down Pony's crosses. If he can just keep pouring em in all game, then Borgetti will eventually get his due. Santos also happily sends large numbers forward on attack, leaving lots of space for counters. If the Galaxy sends Cobi or Ezra down the flanks on counters, they should find little resistance. Santos has a good GK, but their man-marking in front of goal can be nothing short of appalling. Ruiz, if he plays, Lalas, and even Sasha should find some joy on set pieces and at the end of crosses on counters.
Anderson that is a very good analysis of Santos and how they match up with Los Angeles. I've seen both teams play plenty of times and I agree with your analysis here. One of my best MLS memories was watching the Galaxy v Santos match in the CONCACAF Champion's Cup in 1997 (MLS' 1st year competing in that event). It was an excellent match and the Galaxy won something like 3 or 4 to 1.