Reliant Stadium
Tomorrow, Major League Soccer, the Houston Dynamo, and Lone Star Sports and Entertainment will officially announce that the 2010 MLS All-Star Game will be held at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, not Robertson Stadium.
While Reliant Stadium, which was officially opened in 2002, is a multiple-use stadium, it is primarily known as the home of National League Football League’s Houston Texans and the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. This 71,500 stadium with a retractable roof is no stranger to soccer though, having hosted CONCACAF Gold Cup Matches, friendlies between the United States and Mexico, a friendly between F.C. Barcelona and Club America and the 2008 Free Kick Masters that included several top name international footballers including Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho.
Although the MLS All-Star match has been held in other large NFL Stadiums, such as the Meadowlands in New Jersey, Reliant Stadium, which hosted Super Bowl XXXVIII on February 1, 2004, will be the first of the newest generation of NFL Stadiums to host the MLS All-Star Game.
While the stadium will be announced tomorrow, it will be some time before we learn who the MLS All-Star Team will be playing next season. Considering the venue and location of the match, the opponent will likely be a big club from Mexico, South America, or Spain.
Finally, earlier this week the Houston Dynamo announced the creation of the Charities Cup, an annual friendly match for the Dynamo designed to raise money for its charitable arm, Dynamo Charities. The inaugural Charities Cup will be held on October 11, 2009 at 6:00 pm local time when the Dynamo host Mexican side Monterrey at Robertson Stadium.
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I am hoping they are going to angle for Real Madrid or Barca for the all-star game in order to sell the stadium out. Very ambitious if this is indeed true.
I would be extremely disappointed with a team from Mexico. That’s what the Champions League is for.
agreed, a team from Mexico would make no since for a Reliant Stadium billing. Considering Dynamo themselves will get Monterrey and Pachuca in the next month alone. (neither part of the “summer of soccer”)
Please, please not a team from Mexico! That’s not anything to look forward to since we see many games between Dynamo and Mexican teams.