Just by process of elimination, it seems our first game will be against the Colorado Rapids. This has not been confirmed yet. This quote is from the news and analysis forum. I would assume that the game would be played in Robertson Stadium. It is only logical that MLS tries to establish a solid fan base in Houston by playing the first game there. Also, I'm guessing the game will be on Saturday. I don't remember there ever being 3 games on a Sunday. I know opening day is a tad over 100 days away, but I guess the pregame talk can start whenever.
Re: Match 1: Houston vs. Colorado I remember going to that cold and rainy Rapids v RSL pre-season game in LaPorte. There were actually some people walking around with Rapids gear.
Re: Match 1: Houston vs. Colorado Assuming the Fieldturf installation is complete as well as any other stadium modifications being made. If not, the game will be in Denver.
Re: Match 1: Houston vs. Colorado I wish I could have gone to that game - I was working out of town that day... Fieldturf installation has to be done before the first game? I only ask out of curiousity...
Re: Match 1: Houston vs. Colorado Sorry if my questions have been answered elsewhere but I haven't seen what I'm looking for. Where is the information on season tickets? MLSnet has a place to put a deposit down but I didn't see prices, packages, etc. Does anyone know if tailgating is allowed? Has an area been set up yet? Is beer sold at the stadium? Please don't let this be South Lake all over again. I've got a lot of soccer friends and think it would be a great idea to have a blow out tailgate party before the first game.
Re: Match 1: Houston vs. Colorado Well, either that or wait until next year, i.e. after completion of the last U. of H. college football home game of 2006.
Re: Match 1: Houston vs. Colorado I figured time would be a little short right now, so yes, next year. But, hey, that's cool - I'll be there for the first (of many) games!
Re: Match 1: Houston vs. Colorado Is there tailgating? Yes. Tents, covers, BBQ pits, beer, booze all acceptable. They do it for all the home football games. Beer sold in the stadium? Ys. Beer is sold in the stadium during games. Budweiser is one on the old time sponsors of international friendlies there (there's an AB Brewery in east Houston).
Re: Match 1: Houston vs. Colorado If they get the order to FieldTurf quickly, an installation by April shouldn't be much of a problem. According to this report about the FieldTurf installation at Giants Stadium, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority announced its decision to go with FieldTurf in late February. The Metros opened on April 12 and, IIRC, the new FieldTurf surface was ready. That's what they've got for now. You just make your deposits. The site says that a ticket rep will contact you later about details.
Re: Match 1: Houston vs. Colorado I am sure getting the Fieldturf materials will not be a problem. The trick, if any, will be finding and agreeing to terms with a contractor who knows how to properly install Fieldturf--the contract for which installation, I assume, will have to follow proper U. of H. procedures (board approval via executive session, etc.)
Re: Match 1: Houston vs. Colorado I'm sure we can hire some of the New Jersey...uh...err...construction industry consultants...who were able to make sure they got everything done there in a little more than a month.
Re: Match 1: Houston vs. Colorado I'm glad to see there's tailgating. Can't wait for that. How hard is it to finda good place to park around Robertson Stadium? Could we park on the University of Houston's Campus, or would that most likely be full?
Re: Match 1: Houston vs. Colorado The stadium parking is also campus parking. For Wednesday night games, I'm sure they'll rope off the lot as students leave. On weekends, the stadium lot should be pretty wide open. Here's the campus map website - http://www.uh.edu/cgi-bin/campusmap There's a map on this webpage; however, you can open either one of the "pdf" files on the website for more detail (so you can read the map key!).
Re: Match 1: Houston vs. Colorado When there's a big crowd at Robertson, the stadium lot gets full pretty fast. I'd imagine that season ticket holders would have some sort of priority on parking in that lot. Fortunately, some additional large lots are located at the corner of Cullen and Elgin, and that's where I usually park when I go to events at the UH sports complex. I've never had problems finding parking in those lots. Here's a satellite image that shows where Robertson is located on the UH campus (stadium in the lower left next to the new lot marked "1"). The thing a few hundred yards away in the upper right that looks like a freeway is I-45. The street that runs on the eastern side of Robertson is Cullen and the street that runs along the northern end of the baseball stadium (Cougar Field) is Elgin (Westheimer). You can see the lot on Cullen just across the street from Cougar Field, and another just north of it.
Re: Match 1: Houston vs. Colorado Thanks to both of y'all. Thaat's one less thing I need to figure out when headint to the games.
Re: Match 1: Houston vs. Colorado Game time set for 7:30 April 2nd. entire schedule is up as well: http://houston.mlsnet.com/MLS/schedule/season.jsp?team=hou
Re: Match 1: Houston vs. Colorado 7:30 ET on the MLS schedule. 6:30 CT on the Houston 1836 schedule. Your time may vary.
Re: Match 1: Houston vs. Colorado That's what I meant. The schedule he linked to says 6:30. I just didn't want other people to not click the link and think 7:30.
Re: Match 1: Houston vs. Colorado Chad Hedrick will apparently do the ceremonial first kick: MLSnet.com: Hedrick to kick off Dynamo season
Re: Match 1: Houston vs. Colorado And note that they have fixed the orange letters to white on their big logo. I wonder if they took those pics at their offices downtown. I seldom watch the local news, did this photo op w/Hedrick get on any local 10 pm sports segements? (Plus, I was watching my Bruins stomp U of A for the THIRD TIME this season in the Pac-10 semis!)