HOUSTON | Dynamo Stadium

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

according to HAIF, groundbreaking is Saturday between 2 and 5pm

[JoninATX]

I remember hearing there would be some delay, but glad to see this project starting soon.

[Seat24inNJ]

Very cool.. Looks like those guys could have it open in time for 2012 Season opener. Looks good.

[SouthmoreAve]

Originally Posted by Seat24inNJ

Very cool.. Looks like those guys could have it open in time for 2012 Season opener. Looks good.

Actually they're betting on playing all games away for up to the first 2 months of the season before the stadium is completed. But it all depends on efficiency, weather, and a multitude of other factors that could affect the completion date.

[SouthmoreAve]

From the Chronicle,

Driving up to the site on the East End on Saturday afternoon, Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear smiled as he surveyed the crowd of over 2,000 waiting to celebrate the groundbreaking for the team’s new stadium.

More than five years after relocating his family from San Jose, Kinnear was eager to share the franchise’s greatest off-the-field accomplishment with its loyal orange-clad fans.

"Dude, it's awesome," said defender Eddie Robinson, who joins Ching and Brad Davis as the three original Dynamo players still on the roster. "This shows the hard work Oliver Luck put in, the hard work Chris Canetti put in and the work the whole organization put in. It's a long time coming."

De la Hoya, the former Olympic gold medalist and world champion boxer, was easily the most popular non-Dynamo player in attendance. A loud roar swept through the crowd each time his name was mentioned, and the Golden Boy was mobbed for pictures whenever fans got within punching distance.

As he was leaving The Grove, most of the staff came out of the kitchen to pose for a picture. De la Hoya promises to be back often.

“This is really a dream come true,” said De la Hoya, who vows to put his orange hardhat in a trophy case along with his gold medal from 1992 and his world championship belts, as Kinnear joked during the festivities. “The Dynamo is a great team in Houston and for soccer in general. All these kids looking up to the team, to build a home for them really is something special."

The new stadium will be built soccer-specific, but the Dynamo will share it with Texas Southern’s football team. De la Hoya also promised to bring world-class boxing events to the stadium, drawing an ovation after making that announcement.

“Fortunately we were able to work out the final elements of this,” Parker said. “And now we have a great triangle of public facilities. You have Toyota Center. You have Minute Maid Park. You’ll have a new Dynamo stadium and the George R. Brown Convention Center right in the middle.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...c/7414868.html

Video: http://www.chron.com/video/?778801965001

[glowrock]

Originally Posted by Golyadkin

I love that this is going up. I can't wait to see it. But I still say it's too small. If we're building a new stadium for them to replace the 32,000 seat Robertson, why only put in 22,000 seats? Why not a 55,000 seat stadium that could serve as a venue for other events?

Because soccer will never garner 55,000 fans, at least not MLS soccer, Golyadkin. Better off with 20 to 30 thousand seat stadiums, they'll fill up, everyone's close to the action, and it makes for a very intimate viewing experience. Excellent for soccer!

Aaron (Glowrock)

[JoninATX]

I know for sure this is U/C but where are all the updates?

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

the streets they closed off have been dug up, and soon there will be a big hole in the ground...

If I remember, I'll swing by and take some pics on the way in to work tomorrow afternoon (the Hilton and that ugly-assed Embassy Suites are in the way, so I can't get pics from work)

[JoninATX]

Thanks Tumbleweed_Tx I'll be taking off work in June to go to Houston for a few days to explore around and get my ideas out there...

[Obey]

So this will be built in time for next season? And where does the Houston Dynamo shape up in attendance, if anyone knows?

[Metro Matt]

Originally Posted by Obey

So this will be built in time for next season? And where does the Houston Dynamo shape up in attendance, if anyone knows?

In the 5 years the Houston Dynamo have been a team they average an attendance of 17,223 during regular season & 27,081 in their 4 years of playoffs. They did not qualify in the 2010 season.

I did the math.

[Godwindaniel]

The new Dynamo stadium will be a state-of-the-art, open-air stadium designed to host Dynamo matches as well as additional sporting and concert events. When it opens in 2012, the 22,000-seat stadium will be the first soccer-specific stadium in Major League Soccer located in a city's downtown district.

[Seat24inNJ]

So wait is this going to be natural grass or Field Turf?? Because lines do not scrub off of natural grass very well at all. If they are going to be changing lines from college football to soccer then Field Turf is the way to go but its an awful soccer playing surface.

[Complex01]

This is going to be nice and do wanders for the area.

[photoLith]

Pictures or gtfo but seriously...

[JoninATX]

Here some construction pictures taken from mid feb. to April, 1 there is 6 in all.

http://www.houstondynamo.com/stadium...ruction-photos

[Urbannizer]

Pics - May 19th







Link

[SouthmoreAve]

thanks for the update.

[mfastx]

Wow nice pics. Very excited to see another stadium going up in Houston!

[photoLith]

Oh my god, construction started, I had no idea, I was just downtown a couple days ago, dont know how I missed this. I actually never really thought it was going to happen. Good news indeed.