Shell Energy Stadium

[ricco67]

Well, from what I've seen, more people hang out before a game than after it.

Talking to a couple of bartenders they tell me if the local teams win, people will stick around for additional drinks and celebrate.

When I go to an Astros game, I make an entire day out of it, starting at about noon.

[LTAWACS]

Well, from what I've seen, more people hang out before a game than after it.

Talking to a couple of bartenders they tell me if the local teams win, people will stick around for additional drinks and celebrate.

When I go to an Astros game, I make an entire day out of it, starting at about noon.

Same here. I usually have to call in on Monday AM.

[citykid09]

that would be an interesting location if that was the case. I would rather have it in the area that was discussed near downtown, but this might be a good alternative.

The city and nearby residences might have a collective fit, though.

I suggested a Dynamo stadium in the Galleria Area a while back and the folks on here basically responded with that's a stupid idea. I guess I did have a good idea.

[samagon]

Well, from what I've seen, more people hang out before a game than after it.

Talking to a couple of bartenders they tell me if the local teams win, people will stick around for additional drinks and celebrate.

When I go to an Astros game, I make an entire day out of it, starting at about noon.

I think this is something that a lot more people do than one would think.

[tigereye]

A rendering Ive never seen before....With a FULL ROOF and a Downtown view.

Someone please send this over to the folks at BIGSOCCER as Im cant seem to access the forum from my iPhone. This stadium needs to be built Downtown. Time to rally the troops once more....

[TheNiche]

I suggested a Dynamo stadium in the Galleria Area a while back and the folks on here basically responded with that's a stupid idea. I guess I did have a good idea.

FWIW, citykid, I still think it's a stupid idea.

I can't figure out where there are any synergies between it and the other planned uses that make the stadium so compelling as a component...or how it's going to get financed. This plan also doesn't play into the soccer tailgating culture that we've heard so much about.

[LTAWACS]

I suggested a Dynamo stadium in the Galleria Area a while back and the folks on here basically responded with that's a stupid idea. I guess I did have a good idea.

That's a negative ghostrider.

[SaintCyr]

Why again has Astrodome been completely over looked? I know there is most likely a different thread for what its demise will eventually be but from what I remember, we are still paying for it via taxes... Why not use it for something? Hell its already Dynamo colors and there is already a ton of parking there... Its a 20 minute ride to downtown on the rail... What am I missing?

[gmac]

I can't think of one compelling reason for building this thing downtown, an area that doesn't deserve any more investment, especially tax dollars.

Who cares about downtown? It's horrifying to think of hundreds of thousands of people still stupidly heading to a central location each day to try and do their jobs.

If private money can get this thing done in the Galleria area, HOORAY!

[RustyB]

Why again has Astrodome been completely over looked? I know there is most likely a different thread for what its demise will eventually be but from what I remember, we are still paying for it via taxes... Why not use it for something? Hell its already Dynamo colors and there is already a ton of parking there... Its a 20 minute ride to downtown on the rail... What am I missing?

That would make too much sense.

Heck, I'm not sure what's wrong with them just using an open field and everyone just bringing lawn chairs and ice chests. j/k I went to an indoor women's soccer game once several years ago where my friend was playing. I think I was the only one in the stands.

[Houston19514]

That would make too much sense.

Heck, I'm not sure what's wrong with them just using an open field and everyone just bringing lawn chairs and ice chests. j/k I went to an indoor women's soccer game once several years ago where my friend was playing. I think I was the only one in the stands.

Not sure what the sparse attendance at some random indoor women's soccer game has to do with the Dynamo or the Dynamo stadium, unless you were trying to show that indoor soccer would not be successful... The Dynamo had an average attendance of 17,000 last year.

[LTAWACS]

I can't think of one compelling reason for building this thing downtown, an area that doesn't deserve any more investment, especially tax dollars.

Who cares about downtown? It's horrifying to think of hundreds of thousands of people still stupidly heading to a central location each day to try and do their jobs.

If private money can get this thing done in the Galleria area, HOORAY!

I take it you live in Katy or such?

[AtticaFlinch]

I can't think of one compelling reason for building this thing downtown, an area that doesn't deserve any more investment, especially tax dollars.

Who cares about downtown? It's horrifying to think of hundreds of thousands of people still stupidly heading to a central location each day to try and do their jobs.

I care about Downtown. And, I can think of several compelling reasons to head to a central location for work. Primarily, though by no means exclusively, it makes relocating unnecessary if you move to another place of employment. That versatiliy, especially with today's volatile job market, makes for a more mobile and reliable workforce. Take, for instance, the subject of another recently started thread. KBR was planning on moving from downtown to the Energy Corridor, far out west, near Katy. Had they made that move, any KBR employees who lived in say Clear Lake or Humble, who until the move would have had a manageable commute, would now either need to move to get closer or quit and get another job. Neither are really viable options right now for most Americans. But, bully for you if you don't have the same problems.

That said, Downtown being a destination for employment and not much else had sucked the life out of the area. It was a ghost town after five. Remember how people used to joke about that? The surrounding neighborhoods fell into decline as well. Our city's core was a drab (and rather depressing) reminder of the cost of sprawl. The revitalization, the investment, all those tax dollars - these things are being employed to make the area our citizens work become more enjoyable for the people to live and to play too. Even if you live in Katy or some other such run-of-the-mill suburban clone, your job and your home wouldn't exist there if Houston didn't exist here. Katy would be a cow town like Brookshire if it wasn't located near Houston. You wouldn't have a soccer team to root for if it wasn't for Houston. As such, why wouldn't you want to make an investment in the city your little 'burb has a parasitic relationship with. It's time you give back to a city that's given so much to you.

[lockmat]

FWIW, citykid, I still think it's a stupid idea.

I can't figure out where there are any synergies between it and the other planned uses that make the stadium so compelling as a component...or how it's going to get financed. This plan also doesn't play into the soccer tailgating culture that we've heard so much about.

Would the downtown location accommodate tailgaiters? They'd have the Astros parking lot but I don't remember seeing any plans for new parking lots.

I guess they could parallel park their smokers

Edited January 28, 2010 by lockmat

[crunchtastic]

Would the downtown location accommodate tailgaiters? They'd have the Astros parking lot but I don't remember seeing any plans for new parking lots.

I guess they could parallel park their smokers

Is tailgating permitted by the leaugue, team, or the venue? The only tailgate I've done at MMP was for a Jimmy Buffett show, and we paid an extra couple of hundred bucks for each parking space, plus an upcharge on the event tix. (The parking lot was far better entertainment than the

actual show.) If the Dynamo stadium went in downtown and they were using MMP parking lots, would they even allow tailgating? Guess that's

written into the contracts.

[ricco67]

.... (The parking lot was far better entertainment than the

actual show.) If the Dynamo stadium went in downtown and they were using MMP parking lots, would they even allow tailgating? Guess that's

written into the contracts.

I'm impressed you even remember the show. Had more than a few friends who can't remember a thing after they walked in. Might have something to do something in the air or some such.

I prefer to do my tailgating in an air conditioned room with plenty of beer.

[TheNiche]

Would the downtown location accommodate tailgaiters? They'd have the Astros parking lot but I don't remember seeing any plans for new parking lots.

I guess they could parallel park their smokers

Sure, far better than a parking garage. And if not on the MMP lots, then there are still enough other privately-owned vacant lots that'd pick up on the action.

[lockmat]

Sure, far better than a parking garage. And if not on the MMP lots, then there are still enough other privately-owned vacant lots that'd pick up on the action.

But I wonder if the lot owners would want to give away that precious space just so people can have a good time? Guess they could always just charge extra for tailgaiting space.

[lockmat]

Is tailgating permitted by the leaugue, team, or the venue? The only tailgate I've done at MMP was for a Jimmy Buffett show, and we paid an extra couple of hundred bucks for each parking space, plus an upcharge on the event tix. (The parking lot was far better entertainment than the

actual show.) If the Dynamo stadium went in downtown and they were using MMP parking lots, would they even allow tailgating? Guess that's

written into the contracts.

Hmmm...not sure, but I thought some if not most NFL teams regulate regulate their own tailgating, which normally owns the venue too. Is that right? I guess MLS could be different anyway.

[Fringe]

Bellaire mayor will fight Dynamo stadium plan

[ricco67]

that would be an interesting location if that was the case. I would rather have it in the area that was discussed near downtown, but this might be a good alternative.

The city and nearby residences might have a collective fit, though.

Bellaire mayor will fight Dynamo stadium plan

I called it. LOL, but I figured it would be at least a week or so more before hearing from the Bellaire Mayor.

Forgot all about the concert component with the stadium, they would go nuts if they held a the Warp Tour or a truck rally of some sort.

[Fringe]

I called it. LOL, but I figured it would be at least a week or so more before hearing from the Bellaire Mayor.

Forgot all about the concert component with the stadium, they would go nuts if they held a the Warp Tour or a truck rally of some sort.

LOL. Not any different than the idiots that live next to Rice Stadium. They used to have concerts there but got to many complaints. Of course in that situation the stadium was there before most of the neighbors so they really had no right to complain. 

[porTENT]

So they're going to pay for that location when the city has already provided them land in downtown?

Logistics aside, the politics of that location are horrible. It looks like racial segregation on a city wide level. Way to turn off the non-soccer fans with naked avarice. At first I thought management were just cheap suits but this just gross media flexing. The cost of this "phony" press could have gone towards the design fee of the downtown location. If it ever gets built we'll probably get another mediocre public space of gyp-board-bonanza proportions. /Rant

[Hanuman]

A rendering Ive never seen before....With a FULL ROOF and a Downtown view.

There has never been this many soccer fans at a game except in Europe, or South America. Tax payers are going to get stuck for another," Astrodome Expansion" extortion illusion. Local Houstonians do not support soccer, or a stadium for it. I say put it to a vote, and show the fat-cat Dynamo owners that we are wary of the, " Bud Adams " syndrome in Houston. Stick with what you got, or find a city that wants this stuff. Put it to a vote...

[samagon]

There has never been this many soccer fans at a game except in Europe, or South America. Tax payers are going to get stuck for another," Astrodome Expansion" extortion illusion. Local Houstonians do not support soccer, or a stadium for it. I say put it to a vote, and show the fat-cat Dynamo owners that we are wary of the, " Bud Adams " syndrome in Houston. Stick with what you got, or find a city that wants this stuff. Put it to a vote...

http://www.fieldofsc...mo_stadium.html

Under the Dynamo's proposed deal, the team would put up about $60 million towards a stadium, while the city and county would provide $20 million in tax-increment financing plus free land. The public money would repay bonds that the Dynamo have to sell first, which is where progress apparently has been made: Team president Oliver Luck said the "principal points have been agreed upon" with the BBVA/Compass bank. Even then, though, the deal still must go through the city council and county commissioner's court for approval.

Go read through page 26 of this thread.

Edited January 29, 2010 by samagon

[newtex]

There has never been this many soccer fans at a game except in Europe, or South America.

Completely false even leaving aside that Mexico and Central America aren't in Europe or South America but draw big crowds for soccer.

As someone pointed out the Dynamo average around 17,000 per game. They have had a few games over 30,000. That's just right here in Houston. The Seattle Sounders averaged 30,000 fans last year. Toronto FC has sold out every game in their three year existence in a 20,000 seat stadium. LA and DC United have over 20,000 per game regularly.

The rendering in the post is of a 20,000-25,000 seat stadium. That many fans go to soccer games all the time in the U.S.

[Bombero451]

There has never been this many soccer fans at a game except in Europe, or South America.

It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.

- Abraham Lincoln

Thank you for your commentary.

[TheNiche]

Bellaire mayor will fight Dynamo stadium plan

Wow, I just got around to reading the Chronicle article on the same subject. And Bellaire's mayor is playing spin doctor. Almost makes me like the Westpark site.

[LTAWACS]

Wow, I just got around to reading the Chronicle article on the same subject. And Bellaire's mayor is playing spin doctor. Almost makes me like the Westpark site.

Ny thoughts exactly. When I read that my first thought was, "Just for that, we're going to build it on Rice between Bellaire and Bissonett!"

[Hanuman]

Completely false even leaving aside that Mexico and Central America aren't in Europe or South America but draw big crowds for soccer.

As someone pointed out the Dynamo average around 17,000 per game. They have had a few games over 30,000. That's just right here in Houston. The Seattle Sounders averaged 30,000 fans last year. Toronto FC has sold out every game in their three year existence in a 20,000 seat stadium. LA and DC United have over 20,000 per game regularly.

The rendering in the post is of a 20,000-25,000 seat stadium. That many fans go to soccer games all the time in the U.S.

I appreciate your post, and it caused me to reconsider, and really look at the issue. On attendance - I stand corrected, and thank you:

Attendances

• Record home attendance: 70,550 v Los Angeles Galaxy at Reliant Stadium^[3], 2006 Major League Soccer season, 9 August 2006
• Record home attendance at Robertson Stadium: 30,972 v Kansas City Wizards, 2007 MLS Cup Playoffs, 10 November 2007
• Record away attendance: 30,000 v Club de Futbol Pachuca at Estadio Hidalgo, 2007 CONCACAF Champions Cup, 5 April 2007
• Record League attendance at a neutral site: 39,859 v New England Revolution at RFK Stadium, 2007 MLS Cup, 18 November 2007

My false supposition is probably rooted in my strong dislike of the conduct at the games ( Lived in Europe ). Violence seems to be the thread that attracts. I've been in sports all of my life in several countries, and soccer I steer clear of. I know there are fans, and players who are out of control in any competitive sport, however soccer, worldwide needs some heavy policing. I will honor what the voters will. I do admit the deal they are proposing has solid business sense.

•