They’re Houston’s newest sports team.
The Dynamo announced [Thursday] the launch of the Houston Dash, a women’s professional soccer team that will enter the National Women’s Soccer League as an expansion team for the 2014 season.
Owned and operated by the Dynamo ownership group, the Dash will begin play in April 2014 with the start of the second NWSL season, a 24-game schedule that includes 12 home games at BBVA Compass Stadium.
The NWSL is supported by the Canadian Soccer Association, Federation of Mexican Football and the United States Soccer Federation and is the top-flight women’s professional soccer league in North America, featuring many of the top players from the United States, Canada and Mexico, as well as talent from around the world.
“We are thrilled to have our very own NWSL franchise here in Houston,” Dynamo president Chris Canetti said. “It is an important addition to our sports landscape and will bring added value to our community.”
The Dash join the league as its ninth club and first expansion team. The eight other clubs are the Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, FC Kansas City, Portland Thorns FC, Seattle Reign FC, Sky Blue FC, Washington Spirit and the Western New York Flash.
See here for the background. It originally looked like expansion wouldn’t happen next year, but apparently the timeline got moved up. There’s more in this story from the morning of the announcement.
The Houston women’s team will play at BBVA Compass Stadium and train at Houston Sports Park. The Dynamo front office will operate the NWSL team, but the MLS and NWSL clubs will have different coaching and training staffs.
BBVA Compass Stadium sits about 22,039 for Dynamo games, but only about a third of the stadium’s seating capacity will be in use for NWSL games.
“We’ll make it a capacity of 7,000, which would be lower bowl, suites and party deck and open up the presidents club,” Canetti said of BBVA Compass Stadium. “We’ll go on sale with season tickets immediately after the announcement to Dynamo season-ticket holders.”
[…]
The Dynamo gauged interest in the NWSL a few weeks ago by asking fans to put $25 deposits on season-ticket packages for a prospective NWSL team, and more than a 1,000 fans put deposits on season tickets.
“We got over 1,000, and I think it was a powerful statement with four days and little to no promotion other than social media,” Canetti said of the season-ticket deposits. “With no name and no players, to do that type of business in four days was very positive.”
Indeed it is. I like that I will have the option to take my girls to a women’s professional sporting event in town, which had been lost to me when the Comets folded. Even better, we ought to be able to get to these games via light rail, though maybe not in the inaugural season. I don’t know that I want to be a season ticket holder, but I’ll definitely put a Dash game or two on the calendar for next summer.
Already have my season tickets to take my girls. This is great news for womens’ sports and Houston.
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