Houston soccer could be in for a much-needed resurgence.
News broke last week that longtime controlling owner Gabriel Brener is selling the majority stake of Houston Dynamo FC, along with its assets (the Houston Dash, youth academy and partnership agreements to operate BBVA Stadium and Houston Sports Park) to real estate investor Ted Segal.
With the expected sale of the Houston MLS and NWSL clubs, The Striker Texas looks back to recount how we got to this point.
The birth of the Houston Dynamo
Houston had been consistently considered for MLS expansion with league commissioner Don Garber cited as saying “we will have a team in Houston in due time” in November 2005. A month later, Houston was announced as the newest MLS market with the relocation of the San Jose Earthquakes.
The franchise at that time was owned by Anschutz Entertainment Group – an owner of several MLS franchises at one point or another and a key to the league’s survival. Houston inherited one of the best rosters in MLS (San Jose won the MLS Supporters Shield in 2005) then went on to win back-to-back MLS Cups in its first two seasons.
AEG was also a big key in fronting the cost of building BBVA Stadium, and with it assuring the Houston MLS club would stay in the Bayou City permanently. That is part of the legacy of AEG.
New investors enter the fold
As MLS wanted to move away from one entity owning multiple clubs, AEG was pressed to find a buyer for its Houston franchise. Enter Brener and renowned boxer Oscar De La Hoya.
Both Brener and De La Hoya each purchased a quarter of the Dynamo – acquiring 50 percent of AEG's controlling share – in February 2008.
With the entrance of Brener and De La Hoya as minority owners, AEG shifted more focus to the Galaxy – paying salaries for stars like David Beckham, Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane. Meanwhile, Houston lost the likes of Dwayne de Rosario (traded to Toronto FC), and U.S. men’s national team players Stuart Holden, Ricardo Clark and Geoff Cameron.
Seeing the team lose big names was one thing, but falling to the Galaxy on the field brought more animosity towards management for Dynamo fans.
The first instance came in 2009 when LA Galaxy hosted the Houston Dynamo in the Western Conference semifinals. Houston was dominating the encounter until it was lights out, literally, and the match was paused until the lighting in the stadium was restored, with the LA Galaxy ultimately winning the match.
Moving to the Eastern Conference brought Houston success and would give them a pathway to reach the MLS Cup final on two consecutive occasions. Both of those finals, 2011 and 2012, came against LA Galaxy at home and Houston would lose twice to their richer big brother.
AEG did contribute one big purchase for Houston, a reported $7 million transfer for Chivas Guadalajara forward Erick Torres.
The young Mexican was far from a proven superstar despite his success in MLS with Chivas USA, but it was, and remains, the biggest signing in club history in terms of a purchase.
No longer the orange-headed stepchild
The Dynamo finally became independent from AEG in December 2015. Brener brought in investors Ben Guill and Jake Silverstein into the mix to buy out the remaining 50 percent of the club, leaving AEG with only the LA Galaxy as part of their portfolio.
"I've been involved as a very proud minority owner for the last eight years and always have had a great admiration for Mr. Anschutz and the whole organization of AEG," Brener told the Houston Chronicle at the time. "But we feel the time has come for us to take the reins over here and give the team a little bit more of a family personality ownership than the corporate image that I had before. We're very excited about it and very happy to be able to now be at the helm of the team."
The move at the time was a much-welcomed change that brought optimism for fans as the club was finally on their own.
Under the control of a “less corporate” regime, the Dynamo would become more financially conservative when it came to fielding a competitive roster.
Yearly Player Salary Expenses | |||
Year | Base Salary | Total Compensation | MLS Rank |
2015 | $4,632,875.00 | $5,121,708.33 | 16th/20 |
2016 | $5,312,577.75 | $5,674,161.08 | 16th/20 |
2017 | $4,837,899.98 | $5,025,066.65 | 22nd/22 |
2018 | $5,267,338.29 | $5,673,471.63 | 23rd/23 |
2019 | $7,932,091.44 | $8,744,849.28 | 20th/24 |
2020 | $9,180,694 | $10,116,689 | 20th/26 |
2021 | $8,892,298 | $9,527,261 | 23rd/27 |
Despite Dynamo revenues increasing “significantly” after moving to BBVA Stadium in 2012 (according to then club President Chris Canetti), the club consistently listed at the bottom half of MLS salaries. They featured last among MLS teams on multiple occasions and currently rank as the fourth savviest spender.
Player salaries aren’t the only thing to have declined over the years as the average attendance of the team also dipped during Brener’s tenure as controlling owner. The opening match of the season, a traditional sellout, also saw less numbers each year.
Year | Average attendance | Home opener attendance |
2015 | 20,618 | 22,351 (Sellout) |
2016 | 19,021 | 21,594 |
2017 | 17,623 | 20,758 |
2018 | 16,906 | 20,377 |
2019 | 15,674 | 16,827 |
2020 | 5,279 (COVID-19) | 22,038 (Sellout) |
The biggest barometer of success, however, will always be the results on the field. On that front, the Dynamo are a far cry from being a consistent MLS contender missing the MLS Cup Playoffs five out of six times since 2015.
For all these factors, Brener went from savior to villain with fans hopeful that a new benefactor would appear to buy the Houston club.
What’s next?
A 2015 article by Forbes listed the Dynamo as the third-most valuable MLS franchise, at $200 million, based on financial data that factored in estimates of revenue ($26 million) and operating income ($5 million).
In 2016, Forbes Mexico published a list of the most valuable clubs of the American continents. The Houston Dynamo ranked 10th on that list with a valuation of $215 million – higher than historic Latin American clubs like Brasil’s Sao Paulo, Mexico’s Club America and Argentina’s River Plate and Boca Juniors.
Ted Segal has reportedly bought the club for around $400 million.
Houston, contrary to what the clubs may present in their stands, is a hotbed for soccer support. Attendances for club friendlies and international matches in the fourth-largest city in the United States have broken records for the sport in Houston and the state of Texas.
Yet, regardless of the insatiable appetite for the sport, the local MLS and NWSL franchises have struggled to pull big numbers for their events.
Compared to the Astros, Rockets and Texans, the Dynamo and Dash have failed to field big stars and provide the same buzz in their respective leagues.
Will new ownership mean better results for Houston Dynamo FC, its academy and the Houston Dash? The change must first get approved by the MLS board of governors, and then only time will tell.
