Felt at Minute Maid
Leslie Alexander buying the Houston Dynamo would change the entire city's sportsscene
The Dynamo routinely play to sellouts a short walk from Leslie Alexander'sToyota Center home.Photo by Michelle Watson/CatchLightGroup.com
Leslie Alexander would change everything as the new Houston Dynamo owner.Photo by Gary Fountain
Word that Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander is on the brink of buying the Houston Dynamo hit Minute Maid Park before a tuxedo and evening dress crowd even found their seats for the annual Astros Wives Gala Thursday night.
What happens with the Alexander and the Dynamo has a huge impact on Houston's Major League Baseball team too. This isn't just a soccer game changer. It's a sports game changer that touches every major professional team in the city outside of the Texans.
"Getting good local ownership of the Dynamo would be great for Houston," Astros team president George Postolos told CultureMap as he walked to escort his wife to the field. "It's exciting."
"Hopefully, we'll be able to roll (the Dynamo) into the network and have all three teams on Comcast," Crane said.
Moments earlier, Astros owner Jim Crane also touched on Alexander's expected purchase of a Major League Soccer team that routinely draws sellouts of 22,000-plus just blocks from Minute Maid. Crane immediately saw the TV possibilities for the new Comcast SportsNet Houston, which is already set to air Rockets games starting this October and Astros games next season.
"Hopefully, we'll be able to roll (the Dynamo) into the network and have all three teams on Comcast," Crane said.
Crane and Alexander are both counting on the network to increase the Astros and Rockets' revenues significantly for years and years to come. While Major League Soccer does not pull big TV numbers, there is little doubt the Dynamo would bring some extra value and additional programming.
"It's going to be the premium place to go for all local sports in Houston," Postolos said of the network. "Twenty four hours a day, every day."
For Dynamo fans, Alexander's purchase would give them a local owner who has shown he is committed to spending money to put out winning teams.
Under the current ownership group of Anschutz Entertainment Group (which controls 50 percent), retired boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya (a 25-percent stake) and Mexican business tycoon Gabriel Brener (who also owns 25 percent of the team), the Dynamo do not spend major money (even by modest MLS standards) for star players. The Dynamo have won big with some of the lowest payrolls in the league.
Contrast that with Alexander who loves a spectacular splash (see Jeremy Lin).
The fact that Anschutz also owns the rival LA Galaxy and spends lavishly on that team has also created conflicts for fans and the league itself.
Alexander is on the verge of changing that equation. And in the process, the landscape of pro sports in the city.
As part of the deal, Alexander would also get the 30-year lease on the new BBVA Compass Stadium, putting him in some control over two premium downtown stadiums.
