“For example, some stadiums will allow their ultra-fans to light flares and set off smoke bombs after a goal is scored. “Right now, it’s up to each individual stadium to decide some of those specific aspects,” Gonzalez says.

In the near future, the league plans to have 28 teams, with 12 cities competing for the last four spots.Īs the league grows, so does the need to standardize many aspects of stadium security and safety. Over the last decade, MLS has grown at an average pace of just about a team a year: 11 MLS expansion teams in just 10 years (2007-2017). It’s easy to forget that more than 20 years ago MLS was a new, 10-team league. “The soccer season runs from late February to mid-October, but with the other events that we host, the stadium is open and in use year round,” Gonzalez says. It also hosts Texas Southern University football games, some music concerts and some rugby games, with plans to host more.

The stadium is also home to the Houston Dash Women’s MLS team, which competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). There are six entrances for employees, VIP guests, fans and the media. There are 33 suites, three party suites, president club seating and 160 field level seats. It’s also used for shelter- in-place situations like lightning strikes or other weather emergencies. Inside the stadium is a wide concourse for fans to access a lower and an upper seating section. The stadium’s distinctive façade features Dynamo orange coloring along with a geometrically-shaped tessellated aluminum mesh that encompasses the stadium while also providing air circulation throughout the facility. Brown Convention Center and the Toyota Center (home of the Houston Rockets). It is situated on a six-block urban site near Minute Maid Park (home of the Houston Astros), the George R.

The stadium is located closer to downtown than any other American MLS stadium. The design echoes both the rich industrial heritage of the urban East Downtown site of Houston and the Dynamo’s aspirations to be an elite brand in North American soccer. The stadium was designed by Populous, the architecture firm behind new Yankee Stadium in New York.

Houston dash parking