The Houston Dynamo have officially entered a new era in their history. On Saturday, the team broke ground on their planned, 22,000-seat downtown stadium and set mid-2012 as the targeted opening.
Houston Dynamo Break Ground On New Stadium
“I truly believe that this will be one of the finest soccer-specific stadiums in North America,” said Chris Canetti, the Dynamo’s president of business operations. “Its location cannot be matched, and the design will provide for an authentic international soccer environment. It has been designed with the thought of our fans in mind, and there are many different elements that will offer an incredible experience for everyone.”
This comes a little more than five years after the Dynamo moved from San Jose, mainly in an attempt to find a more suitable stadium. In the meantime, they have been playing in Robertson Stadium and have shared the facility with the University of Houston football team.
Now, they are poised to become the 15th MLS team to play in a stadium that was at least built with soccer in mind. The only teams left playing in facilities not built for soccer are DC United, the New England Revolution and the San Jose Earthquakes.
“It’s one of the main reasons why we came here a little over five years ago, so we’ve all been on the outside of it waiting for it to happen,” Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear said. “It’s finally happening, so it makes the move justified. I’m very happy for the organization, for the fans, for the city, and most importantly I’m very happy for the players who sacrificed for it in the first place.”
For more photos and quotes of the Dynamo stadium groundbreaking, visit SB Nation’s Houston Dynamo blog Dynamo Theory.
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