BBVA Compass Stadium

BBVA Compass Stadium
"The Oven"

View from inside the stadium with the Downtown Houston skyline in the background
Location 2200 Texas Avenue
Houston, TX 77003
(USA)
Coordinates 29°45.132′N 95°21.144′W / 29.752200°N 95.352400°W / 29.752200; -95.352400Coordinates: 29°45.132′N 95°21.144′W / 29.752200°N 95.352400°W / 29.752200; -95.352400
Owner Harris County–Houston Sports Authority
Operator Anschutz Entertainment Group
Capacity 22,039
Field size

2012-2014: 115 yd × 70 yd (105 m × 64 m)[1]

2015-Present: 115 yd × 73 yd (105 m × 67 m)[2]
Surface Tifway 419 Bermuda Grass[3]
Construction
Broke ground February 5, 2011
Opened May 12, 2012
Construction cost $95 million
($97.9 million in 2016 dollars[4])
Architect Populous
Project manager Harris County - Houston Sports Authority/ICON Venue
Structural engineer Walter P. Moore[3]
Services engineer M–E Engineers, Inc.[5]
General contractor Manhattan Construction Company[6]
Tenants
Houston Dynamo (MLS) (2012–present)
Texas Southern Tigers (NCAA) (2012–present)
Houston Dash (NWSL) (2014–present)

BBVA Compass Stadium is an American soccer-specific stadium located in Houston, Texas that is home to the Houston Dynamo, a Major League Soccer club, the Houston Dash of the National Women's Soccer League, and to Texas Southern Tigers football. The stadium is the result of combined commitments of $35.5 million from the city of Houston and $60 million from the Houston Dynamo. Harris County agreed to pay for half of the land in exchange for the ability to jointly own the stadium after its completion date in May 2012.[7] BBVA Compass, a subsidiary of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, is the stadium's sponsor company.

The stadium is located on a tract of land bordered by Texas, Walker, Dowling and Hutchins in East Downtown and east of Interstate 69/U.S. Route 59 and Downtown Houston.[8][9]

Construction history: 2009–2011

Construction site for the stadium

In June 2009, negotiations and financing began to fall into place with construction of the stadium originally beginning as early as Fall 2009. Banks and investors were in the books to finance the project and only minor details were being worked out.[10] Various locations the Dynamo were interested in building a stadium since their arrival were the former Astroworld site, Pearland, Sugar Land, and Northeast Houston near the Lake Houston area.[10]

On January 26, 2010, the Houston Dynamo franchise had expressed an interest in a proposed 30-acre (120,000 m2) parcel for the stadium location at South Rice Avenue and Westpark Drive—adjacent to Bellaire's city limits, and near the southwest corner of the Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 59 and the Interstate 610 interchange.[11] Two days later, the Mayor of Bellaire, Cindy Seigel said that she would use whatever power she could to oppose the possible new location and is in communication with the developer to dissuade him. She acknowledges that considering that the land is in Houston's city limits and only abuts her city, the odds are slim and said in an open letter to Midway:

Fans on the north and east side of Houston will have difficulty in getting to this site. Additionally, this site does not have the infrastructure in place to serve it that already exists at other athletic facilities downtown or at Reliant Park.[12]

The highly populated and heavily Hispanic area of Gulfton is within proximity, although former Council member Pam Holm stated that ethnic considerations should not be key to choosing a stadium location: "To position this as a Hispanic sport and say the stadium has to be in proximity to Hispanic neighborhoods doesn’t do it justice, the Dynamo is something that all citizens of Houston have so embraced."[13]

On April 7, 2010, The Houston City Council unanimously approved an agreement Wednesday that is expected to pave the way for a new stadium for the Houston Dynamo and the Texas Southern University football team, which is expected to be on a tract of land bordered by Texas, Walker, Dowling and Hutchins in East Downtown and east of Interstate 69/U.S. Route 59 and Downtown Houston.[8][9] On April 13, 2010, Harris County commissioners voted unanimously to begin construction of the new Dynamo stadium east of downtown,[14] clearing the way for construction sometime in February 2011.

Oliver Luck, at the time President and General Manager of the Dynamo, announced the financing, architect, and project manager for the new stadium. He announced Populous had been chosen to design and build the stadium. Populous, one of the world's leading sports architecture firms, had previously built three other major venues in the city—Minute Maid Park, Reliant Stadium, and the Toyota Center,[15] and internationally designed soccer stadia including Wembley Stadium (London), Emirates Stadium (London), Soccer City (Johannesburg), and Aviva Stadium (Dublin).

On February 5, 2011, the Houston Dynamo, led by Houston mayor Annise Parker and Harris County Judge Ed Emmitt, broke ground on the Houston Dynamo Stadium site. Houston Dynamo President Chris Canetti strongly expressed that the stadium will be ready by April 2012.[16]

Milestones

Sports

Soccer

Houston Dynamo fans at the BBVA Compass Stadium in 2015

Construction on BBVA Compass Stadium led to the Houston Dynamo's decision to play their first 7 games of the 2012 Major League Soccer season on the road. Their first match at the stadium was played on May 12, 2012 when they defeated D.C. United by a score of 1-0. The lone goal came from Brad Davis from 35 yards out which beat D.C. goalkeeper Bill Hamid. The win happened in front of a capacity crowd of 22,039 and would mark the beginning of what would be an unbeaten year for the Dynamo at home, posting a year-end home record of 11-0-6.

BBVA Compass Stadium became home to several international. The first was between New Zealand and El Salvador for the BBVA Compass Content Series on May 23, 2012. The match ended in a 2-2 draw. The first FIFA Qualifier match was played between Mexico and Guyana on October 12, 2012. Mexico won the match, 5-0.

The United States women's national team made its debut at the stadium with a 4-0 win over China PR on December 12, 2012. The United States men's national team played to a scoreless draw with Canada on January 29, 2013, in its BBVA debut.

The Dynamo broke the Major League Soccer record for longest unbeaten run at home on April 14, 2013, after defeating the Chicago Fire to extend the record to 35 games.

Rugby

BBVA Compass Stadium played host to the 2012 Italian Tour of the Americas which saw the USA Eagles play Italy to a 30-10 loss. The Eagles returned to BBVA Compass Stadium to play a mid-year rugby test match against Ireland on June 8, 2013; the Eagles lost 15-12, but set a record for largest crowd for the Eagles on home soil when 20,181 fans packed the stadium.

BBVA Compass Stadium played host to the 2012–13 IRB Women's Sevens World Series in the USA leg of the series. However, the USA leg of the World Series was moved to the Atlanta suburb of Kennesaw, Georgia for the 2013–14 series, where it has remained ever since.

American football

BBVA Compass Stadium is home to Texas Southern University Football. During the 2013 season, the stadium also hosted the Houston Cougars for two games while TDECU Stadium was being built.

Gaelic Football

BBVA Compass Stadium played host to the first ever Gaelic Football game on an MLS pitch August 3, 2014 when the Houston Gaels played the first (of their now annual) demonstration match (divided squad) after the Houston Dynamo-D.C. United match. The Gaels were originally scheduled to play on March 15 after the Dynamo-Montreal Impact match as part of the Saint Patrick's Day weekend festivities, but was postponed due to concerns about the pitch due to rain. [17]

Features & design

The Stadium has a capacity of 22,039 seats, including 34 private suites, 1,100 club seats, Premium Club, dedicated supporters stand, and food court.[3] The stadium is designed to accommodate MLS and FIFA standard international soccer, football, lacrosse, rugby, and concerts.

Architecturally, the stadium features a faceted facade of expanded metal mesh with orange polycarbonate enclosed entrances and spectator facilities that reflects the industrial heritage of the East Downtown location. The stadium architect, Christopher Lee of Populous, stated that, “We set out to design the perfect urban soccer stadium: tight, atmospheric, and intimate.”[18] Christopher Lee was the designer of the famed Emirates Stadium in London, England, and his design brings European stadium traditions of intimate and atmospheric soccer specific stadia to MLS.[19] The $95 million stadium construction cost makes the BBVA Compass Stadium the most cost-effective of modern soccer-specific stadiums, with recent venues like the Red Bull Arena costing $200 million,[20] Rio Tinto Stadium costing $110 million,[21] and PPL Park costing $115 million.[22]

East Facade along Dowling Street
North Facade along Texas Avenue
Stadium Geometric Entrance
Stadium Illuminated at Night

Sponsors

On December 13, 2011, BBVA Compass, an international bank with dozens of branches in Houston, signed a 10-year, $20 million naming rights deal. BBVA is also a title sponsor of Spain's First Division soccer league La Liga, and also México Primera División (Mexico First Division) in Liga MX

Awards

On December 10, 2012, BBVA Compass Stadium received the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The stadium received the award for its innovative construction and sustainable design. Notable achievements during the stadium's construction process included diverting 86.85% of on-site generated construction waste to landfills, reducing water use by 41% from the installation of high-energy toilets, reducing energy use by 20.41%, using 98.42% of the wood-based building materials from certified forests and providing preferred parking spaces for fuel-efficient low-emissions vehicles.

Concessions

On March 22, 2012, AEG Facilities-managed BBVA Compass and the Houston Dynamo announced that Levy Restaurants will be the official restaurant partner.

Accessibility and transportation

Via the METRORail Green line fans are able to access the stadium from the Bastrop Station, Taxi, Buses, street, and garage parking nearby. The stadium is located southeast of Minute Maid Park—within the East Downtown district (which is undergoing revitalization efforts) and east of Downtown Houston.

International matches

BBVA Compass Stadium hosted its first international match on May 23, 2012, when New Zealand and El Salvador played to a 2–2 draw. The stadium hosted its first women's international match when it hosted a 4–0 win by the United States over China in December 2012.

Men's matches

Date Team #1 Result Team #2 Competition Attendance
May 23, 2012  New Zealand 1–1  El Salvador friendly 15,500
October 12, 2012  Guyana 0–5  Mexico 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification 12,115
January 13, 2013  United States 0–0  Canada friendly 11,737
July 15, 2013  El Salvador 1–0  Haiti 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup 21,783
 Honduras 0–2  Trinidad and Tobago
June 1, 2014  Israel 4–2  Honduras friendly 19,235
July 11, 2015  Jamaica 1–0  Canada 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup 22,017
 Costa Rica 1–1  El Salvador
September 4, 2015  Argentina 7–0  Bolivia friendly 22,000

Women's matches

Date Team #1 Result Team #2 Competition Attendance
December 12, 2012  United States 4–0  China PR friendly 15,643

Rugby union

Date Team #1 Result Team #2 Competition Attendance
June 23, 2012  United States 10–30  Italy Italy tour of the Americas 17,214
June 8, 2013  United States 12–15  Ireland Ireland tour of the Americas 20,181
June 7, 2014  United States 6–24  Scotland Scotland tour of the Americas 20,001
February 6, 2016  United States 35–35 Argentina XV 2016 Americas Rugby Championship 10,241

References

  1. ↑ Ortiz, Jose de Jesus (May 18, 2012). "BBVA Compass Stadium's Pitch Size Draws Ire". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Houston Dynamo widen BBVA Compass Stadium pitch as pass-and-move mindset brings "different direction"". houstondynamo.com. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Dynamo Stadium Information
  4. ↑ Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Stadia Project Descriptions". M–E Engineers, Inc. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  6. ↑ Barr, Greg (October 4, 2010). "Manhattan Construction to Build Dynamo Stadium". Houston Business Journal. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  7. ↑ Olson, Bradley (April 7, 2010). "Council Approves Deal for New Dynamo Stadium". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved April 7, 2010.
  8. 1 2 Olsen, Bradley (April 7, 2010). "Council Approves Deal for New Dynamo Stadium". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved April 9, 2010.
  9. 1 2 "Welcome to EaDo". East Downtown Management District. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
  10. 1 2 Barr, Greg (June 19, 2009). "Dynamo Stadium Deal Gets Closer to Goal". Houston Business Journal. Retrieved January 29, 2010.
  11. ↑ Shay, Miya (January 26, 2010). "Dynamo looking at stadium site near Galleria". Retrieved January 29, 2010.
  12. ↑ Auilar, Charlotte (January 28, 2010). "Bellaire mayor challenges Dynamo stadium plan". Memorial Examiner. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
  13. ↑ Aguilar, Charlotte (January 28, 2010). "Who knew? Dynamo private stadium deal was privileged info". West University Examiner. Retrieved January 29, 2010.
  14. ↑ "County approves Dynamo stadium deal".
  15. ↑ "Dynamo Choose Stadium Architect, Project Manager".
  16. ↑ De Jesus Ortiz, Jose (February 5, 2011). "Dynamo Break Ground on New East End Stadium". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved February 5, 2011.
  17. ↑ Simon, Jason (August 6, 2014). "Soccer, a win, and Gaelic Football…". What's the Score. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
  18. ↑ Populous selected to design Dynamo stadium
  19. ↑ Populous Designs Stadium for Houston Dynamo
  20. ↑ Giase, Frank (February 26, 2007). "Red Bulls: MacDonald Strives to Fulfill a Town's Tradition". The Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey). Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  21. ↑ "Stadium Facts". Rio Tinto Stadium. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  22. ↑ PPL Park

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to BBVA Compass Stadium.
Preceded by
Sporting Park		 Host of the College Cup
2016 		Succeeded by
PPL Park
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