Houston Dynamo/Texas Southern Tigers break ground on new downtown stadium

Texas Southern University President Dr. John M. Rudley
“One of our major initiatives was to bring a state-of-the-art stadium to Texas Southern University athletics. This new stadium has helped us reach that goal. It also gives us one of the best facilities in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. It’s a huge boost to the overall athletic program.”


Videographer: Khou.com

The Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer broke ground on February 5, 2011 on their $95 million dollar, 22,000-seat soccer stadium in downtown Houston's East End. Dignitaries such as AEG President and CEO Tim Leiweke, Dynamo equity partner Oscar de la Hoya, MLS President Mark Abbott, Houston Mayor Annise Parker, and Harris County Judge Ed Emmett participated in the groundbreaking festivities, while Dynamo all-time leading scorer Brian Ching kicked a ceremonial first goal on the stadium site.

Excavation of the site and construction of the stadium is expected to begin shortly, and the Dynamo hope to play their first game in the new stadium by mid-2012. The stadium is located in downtown Houston, within walking distance of Minute Maid Park, the George R. Brown Convention Center, and the Toyota Center. In addition to soccer games, the new stadium will host Texas Southern University football, concerts, boxing matches, and more.

The stadium will be operated by the Dynamo and leased from the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority. It is located closer to downtown than any other American stadium built for soccer and will be easily accessible to fans from the entire Houston area.

AEG Facilities, the world's largest venue manager, will manage the stadium on behalf of the Dynamo. The stadium will be included in AEG Facilities' worldwide network of more than 100 elite venues across five continents.

Renowned architectural firm Populous designed the stadium, which will be constructed by Houston-based Manhattan Construction and overseen by the ICON Venue Group. Additional companies working on the site are landscape architect Clark Condon, structural engineer Walter P. Moore, and civil engineer WGA, all companies based in Houston.

RELATED LINK: DYNAMO STADIUM 2012

New Dynamo, Texas Southern Football Stadium to Open June 2012

Texas Southern University president Dr. John M. Rudley and athletic director Charles McClelland are the key drivers behind the shared new Houston Dynamo Soccer/TSU football stadium. The Tigers total lifetime investment -- $2.5 million. Sweet deal!!

HOUSTON, TX - Tim Leiweke, president and CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group, co-owners of Major League Soccer Houston Dynamo, told FOX 26 Sports Wednesday the team's new downtown soccer-specific stadium will open in June of 2012. This is the first time Dynamo ownership has been able to nail down when the stadium will officially open.

"We're going to move in by June of 2012," said Leiweke. "So the paperwork is being wrapped up. Every agreement is being signed. We're out (Wednesday night) starting to sell the naming rights. Our bids are in. Our design is done. We hired a construction team. We hired a project manager.

"This is a $110 million dollar project. We've have a cost-certainty on budget. Now we get on with the task of making sure that we protect the best interests of the Dynamo and Texas Southern University."



The project will be financed with an estimated $75 million from Dynamo ownership. The city of Houston and Harris County are providing $10 million each, that will be funded by taxes generated by the stadium complex. The city (Houston) is providing the land which cost around $15 million.

TSU athletic director Charles McClelland said the school has entered the project as a co-tenant and will make a one-time payment of $2.5 million for the full use of the new stadium.

“We’re gonna have our own locker rooms. We’re gonna share the sales for concessions, on ticket sales so it’s gonna be the home of the Texas Southern University Fighting Tigers,” said McClelland.

Other than the Labor Day Classic with SWAC champions Prairie View A&M University Panthers, TSU has been a transient program for over 30 years. The Tigers currently play their home football games at a high school stadium.

The Labor Day Classic is played at the NFL's Houston Texans Reliant Stadium which has a seating capacity of 71,500.

Upon completion of the "unnamed" Dynamo/TSU stadium, the Tigers will become the envy of the Southwestern Athletic Conference as co-tenant of this 22,000 seat state-of-art facility with luxury suites. A rail line will literally run right next to the stadium that will have fan friendly in terms of concessions and restrooms, and parking and access.

The stadium will be located deep within downtown Houston, in the East End on prime real estate as the Dynamo and the TSU Tigers continue their quest to cement their programs in the hearts of Houston sports fans.

There is certainly a brighter day ahead for TSU with Coach Johnnie Cole's timely resurrection of the Tigers football program.

TSU resides in the 10th largest television market in the U.S., and has the 8th largest population. This is a good, fertile market for high school athletes and musicians to fuel the Tigers showcase Ocean of Soul Marching Band and athletic programs. One could accurately say--the sky is the limit on how good the Tigers can become with their new digs.



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