Club América wants to relocate Earthquakes into landmark venue
A look at Houston's potential MLS team owner:
• Name: Club América.
• League: Mexican First Division.
• Parent group: Televisa.
• Base: Mexico City.
• Team history: 10-time Mexican First Division champion, with its last title coming in May.
The Astrodome might recover some of its faded glory if a Mexican club interested in bringing a professional soccer franchise to Houston has its way.
Club América, the Mexican First Division franchise that hopes to bring a Major League Soccer team to the Bayou City, has told city and county officials it would like its prospective Houston club to play at the former home of the Astros and Oilers. Officials with the Mexico City-based team, which is looking to buy MLS' San Jose Earthquakes from the Anschutz Entertainment Group and relocate it to Houston, met this week with Mayor Bill White and officials with the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority and the Harris County Sports and Convention Corp.
MLS officials have expressed a preference for soccer-specific venues, such as a $45 million, 20,000-seat stadium and sports complex proposed in conjunction with the Houston Independent School District at the site of the current district-owned Delmar Stadium. But the 40-year-old county-owned Dome seems to be feasible for Club América.
"It certainly makes sense before you invest a penny in a new stadium to look at what's already built, what's available," said Harris County-Houston Sports Authority head Oliver Luck, one of several city and county officials working to bring MLS to Houston. "I think it's a smart idea to at least look at whether the Astrodome is a good short-term venue."
Club América, which is owned by the Televisa television network, is no stranger to managing a large sports facility. It operates Mexico City's 110,000-seat Azteca Stadium, built in 1965.
Sports and Convention Corp. executive director Willie Loston confirmed that team officials Juan de Villafranca and Javier Pérez Teuffer met Tuesday with corporation officials to discuss the stadium's feasibility.
"They (Club América) have certainly continued to express interest in playing in the Astrodome if they purchase the team and move it to Houston," Loston said Wednesday."They are trying to ascertain what modifications, if any, need to be made to the Astrodome from a building-code concept."
Other proposals
Loston added the potential use of the facility depends on how other proposals fare, specifically the one by Astrodome Redevelopment Corp., which calls for a $400 million conversion of the Dome into hotel, convention center and retail real estate. The company has been given a tentative deadline of Aug. 18 by the county to finalize the proposal and give a "go or no-go" decision, Loston said.
"They (Club América) have said their intentions would be to start playing in April of '06, so that's what we're looking at." Loston said. "From our standpoint we're looking at what happens come 2006, (whether they) would be able to play here."
Club América officials met with White on Monday to discuss a potential move and its impact, city spokesman Frank Michel confirmed.
"The city is optimistic that the talks have been ongoing for some time. We have a lot of details to work out," Michel said. "The market here for sports in general but also for soccer is a potentially huge one, and I think soccer folks recognize that."
But before Club América can negotiate a stadium deal, it must have a team under ownership. Club spokesman Francisco Reyes declined comment on the situation, and calls to AEG headquarters in Los Angeles were not returned. But a person close to the situation said Club América has claimed to have a deal in principle to purchase the Earthquakes.
Bucking the trend
If América lands a team in the Astrodome, it would be a departure from the MLS trend of having teams playing in smaller venues, which has resulted in soccer-specific stadium projects in Carson, Calif. (L.A. Galaxy, CD Chivas USA), Frisco (FC Dallas), Columbus (Crew) and Bridgeview, Ill., (Chicago Fire). The team also would become the first in MLS to play indoors, and games would have to be on FieldTurf, the only synthetic surface sanctioned by soccer's governing body, FIFA.
Meanwhile, Luck views the Astrodome option as a temporary alternative, saying that "in the long term, I think the Club América folks realize that, like every other MLS franchise, they need a smaller venue."
Other potential venues in the city such as the University of Houston's Robertson Stadium also have been discussed. But, according to Luck, the Astrodome presents the most viable option because it lacks a tenant.
A look at Houston's potential MLS team owner:
• Name: Club América.
• League: Mexican First Division.
• Parent group: Televisa.
• Base: Mexico City.
• Team history: 10-time Mexican First Division champion, with its last title coming in May.
The Astrodome might recover some of its faded glory if a Mexican club interested in bringing a professional soccer franchise to Houston has its way.
Club América, the Mexican First Division franchise that hopes to bring a Major League Soccer team to the Bayou City, has told city and county officials it would like its prospective Houston club to play at the former home of the Astros and Oilers. Officials with the Mexico City-based team, which is looking to buy MLS' San Jose Earthquakes from the Anschutz Entertainment Group and relocate it to Houston, met this week with Mayor Bill White and officials with the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority and the Harris County Sports and Convention Corp.
MLS officials have expressed a preference for soccer-specific venues, such as a $45 million, 20,000-seat stadium and sports complex proposed in conjunction with the Houston Independent School District at the site of the current district-owned Delmar Stadium. But the 40-year-old county-owned Dome seems to be feasible for Club América.
"It certainly makes sense before you invest a penny in a new stadium to look at what's already built, what's available," said Harris County-Houston Sports Authority head Oliver Luck, one of several city and county officials working to bring MLS to Houston. "I think it's a smart idea to at least look at whether the Astrodome is a good short-term venue."
Club América, which is owned by the Televisa television network, is no stranger to managing a large sports facility. It operates Mexico City's 110,000-seat Azteca Stadium, built in 1965.
Sports and Convention Corp. executive director Willie Loston confirmed that team officials Juan de Villafranca and Javier Pérez Teuffer met Tuesday with corporation officials to discuss the stadium's feasibility.
"They (Club América) have certainly continued to express interest in playing in the Astrodome if they purchase the team and move it to Houston," Loston said Wednesday."They are trying to ascertain what modifications, if any, need to be made to the Astrodome from a building-code concept."
Other proposals
Loston added the potential use of the facility depends on how other proposals fare, specifically the one by Astrodome Redevelopment Corp., which calls for a $400 million conversion of the Dome into hotel, convention center and retail real estate. The company has been given a tentative deadline of Aug. 18 by the county to finalize the proposal and give a "go or no-go" decision, Loston said.
"They (Club América) have said their intentions would be to start playing in April of '06, so that's what we're looking at." Loston said. "From our standpoint we're looking at what happens come 2006, (whether they) would be able to play here."
Club América officials met with White on Monday to discuss a potential move and its impact, city spokesman Frank Michel confirmed.
"The city is optimistic that the talks have been ongoing for some time. We have a lot of details to work out," Michel said. "The market here for sports in general but also for soccer is a potentially huge one, and I think soccer folks recognize that."
But before Club América can negotiate a stadium deal, it must have a team under ownership. Club spokesman Francisco Reyes declined comment on the situation, and calls to AEG headquarters in Los Angeles were not returned. But a person close to the situation said Club América has claimed to have a deal in principle to purchase the Earthquakes.
Bucking the trend
If América lands a team in the Astrodome, it would be a departure from the MLS trend of having teams playing in smaller venues, which has resulted in soccer-specific stadium projects in Carson, Calif. (L.A. Galaxy, CD Chivas USA), Frisco (FC Dallas), Columbus (Crew) and Bridgeview, Ill., (Chicago Fire). The team also would become the first in MLS to play indoors, and games would have to be on FieldTurf, the only synthetic surface sanctioned by soccer's governing body, FIFA.
Meanwhile, Luck views the Astrodome option as a temporary alternative, saying that "in the long term, I think the Club América folks realize that, like every other MLS franchise, they need a smaller venue."
Other potential venues in the city such as the University of Houston's Robertson Stadium also have been discussed. But, according to Luck, the Astrodome presents the most viable option because it lacks a tenant.