Houston Dynamo FC

Team information

Inaugural season: 2006

Home stadium: Shell Energy Stadium

Owner: Ted Segal

Team colors: Orange and black

Overview

Houston Dynamo Football Club, commonly known as Houston Dynamo FC or simply the Houston Dynamo, is a professional soccer team in North America’s Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was founded in December 2005 after MLS’s San Jose Earthquakes left Northern California for Texas, reorganizing under the Dynamo name. MLS officially considers the resultant iteration of Houston Dynamo FC to be an expansion team, counting 2005 as its official year of establishment and 2006 as its inaugural season. Notably, Houston Dynamo FC won the MLS Cup as league champions in both of their first two years of existence. The club added a US Open Cup title to its accolades in 2018.

During its early history, Houston Dynamo FC bounced around among various stadiums, playing home games in venues including Robertson Stadium, Reliant Stadium (now NRG Stadium), Carl Lewis Track and Field Complex, and Aggie Soccer Stadium (now Ellis Field) between 2006–2011. Since the 2012 MLS season, the Dynamo have been based at Shell Energy Stadium, a 22,000-seat multipurpose facility located in downtown Houston.

In 2021, New York City-based real estate developer Ted Segal acquired ownership of Houston Dynamo FC. Segal also purchased a majority position in the Houston Dash, a sibling organization that plays in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). Multiple Dynamo investors including boxer Oscar de la Hoya and National Basketball Association (NBA) star James Harden retained their minority stakes in the club following the change in principal ownership.

History

The San Jose Earthquakes, a charter member of MLS, announced plans to relocate to Houston in December 2005. Anschutz Entertainment Group, the club’s then-owners, cited their inability to “find a solution to our facility issues in San Jose” as the catalyst for the move. The Earthquakes also struggled to find consistent fan support in Northern California despite considerable on-field success, with the team drawing an average of just over 13,000 fans per game in their final season in San Jose.

Upon receiving approval to complete the move from MLS commissioner Don Garber, the Earthquakes transferred the contracts of all players and coaches to the new Houston organization. This formally established the Houston Dynamo FC, with MLS officially considering the franchise an expansion team despite its previous history in San Jose. The league therefore counts 2005 as Houston Dynamo FC’s year of founding and 2006 as its inaugural season. A revived iteration of the Earthquakes later joined MLS, playing its first season in 2008.

Houston Dynamo FC made an immediate impact in MLS, as the club inherited a championship-caliber roster. The Earthquakes had won MLS Cup titles as league champions in 2001 and 2003, leaving a strong team in place prior to the relocation. Houston Dynamo FC won the MLS Cup in its first year of competition, defeating the New England Revolution in a penalty shootout after playing to a 1–1 tie in the championship game. The same two teams met in a rematch in the 2007 MLS Cup final, with Houston defeating New England by a 2–1 score.

In 2008, the Dynamo posted another strong season, finishing first in the league’s Western Conference before falling to the New York Red Bulls in the first round of the playoffs. After slipping to a second-place finish in the Western Conference and suffering another early playoff exit in 2009, the team regressed in 2010 to post its first losing record since moving to Texas. A resurgent Dynamo advanced to the MLS Cup final in back-to-back seasons in 2011 and 2012 but came up short against the Los Angeles Galaxy both times. In 2011, the Galaxy defeated the Dynamo 1–0 in the championship game and prevailed by a 3–1 margin the following year. On both occasions, the Galaxy were anchored by English soccer legend David Beckham, who left MLS after the 2012 season. In 2013, Houston saw their impressive 36-game home-winning streak snapped, but the team went on to mount a compelling playoff run that included a stirring comeback victory over the favored New York Red Bulls. The Dynamo lost in the semifinals of the 2013 MLS playoffs to eventual champions Sporting Kansas City. During this successful era, Houston Dynamo FC also made four appearances in the Confederation of North, Central America, and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Champions League.

Between 2014–2016, the Dynamo struggled and finished outside the MLS playoffs all three seasons. Following a series of coaching shuffles, the Dynamo found success in 2017 by finishing fourth in the Western Conference and reaching the conference finals in that year’s playoff tournament. There, they suffered back-to-back defeats at the hands of the Seattle Sounders and lost the playoff round by an aggregate score of 5–0.

In 2018, the club appeared in the US Open Cup despite posting a losing season and failing to reach the MLS playoffs. The tournament is the oldest continuous soccer competition in the United States, drawing competitors from a pool of domestic professional leagues including MLS. Houston won the 2018 U.S. Open Cup after besting MLS's Philadelphia Union by a score of 3–0 in the championship final. The victory qualified Houston Dynamo FC for the 2019 edition of the CONCACAF Champions League, where they advanced to the knockout stage before losing in the quarterfinals to Mexican club Tigres UANL.

Since 2019, the Dynamo have struggled in MLS play. After missing the playoffs in 2019, the Dynamo posted back-to-back last-place finishes in the MLS’s Western Conference in 2020–2021. In November 2021, longtime star player Boniek Garcia let his contract expire and announced that he would be leaving the team after ten seasons.

Notable players

The Dynamo roster has included many noteworthy players since 2006, with competitors like Brian Ching, Mauro Manotas, Will Bruin, Brad Davis, Ricardo Clark, Dwayne De Rosario, Stuart Holden, Ricardo Clark, Pat Onstad, and Boniek Garcia ranking among the team’s all-time greats. As of 2021, Ching is the club’s all-time scoring leader, recording 56 goals during an eight-season tenure spanning 2006–2013. Manotas, who joined the Dynamo in 2015, ranks second all-time in club history as of 2021 with 51 goals. He was on track to top Ching’s all-time franchise record before he was sold to Club Tijuana in Mexico’s Liga MX in December 2020.

Canadian-born forward Dwayne De Rosario consistently ranks as a favorite among Dynamo fans. De Rosario played three seasons with the club from 2006–2008, winning two MLS Cup titles and scoring 24 goals for the Dynamo. DeMarcus Beasley, a mainstay of the four US national teams that competed in the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) World Cup between 2002–2014, played for the Dynamo from 2014 until his 2019 retirement.

Will Bruin tallied 50 goals for the Dynamo between 2011–2016 before leaving the club to join the Seattle Sounders. He went on to win an MLS Cup title with the Sounders in 2019. Midfielder Brad Davis was a Dynamo mainstay for ten seasons between 2006–2015, starring for the club during their championship runs in 2006 and 2007 and amassing 41 goals during his tenure with the team. Ambidextrous midfielder Stuart Holden was another impact player during Houston’s 2006–2007 championship era, as was goalkeeper Pat Onstad, who returned to the club in 2021 as general manager. Ricardo Clark spent two stints with Houston Dynamo FC, with the first spanning the 2006–2009 seasons and the second running from 2012–2017. During that time, the midfielder collected two MLS Cup titles and scored 28 goals.

MLS commentators and fans widely consider Boniek Garcia to be the club’s most iconic and definitive player. The Honduras-born Garcia played ten seasons for the Dynamo, making his Houston debut in 2012 as a Designated Player. The special Designated Player status allows MLS clubs to sign up to three players whose compensation costs are exempt from the league’s salary cap. A midfielder who was effective in both offensive and defensive capacities, Garcia led the Dynamo to their 2018 US Open Cup championship. He played more than two hundred games as a member of Houston Dynamo FC and was a member of Honduras’s FIFA World Cup teams in 2010 and 2014. Garcia elected to leave the Dynamo after his contract expired at the conclusion of the 2021 MLS season.

Bibliography

“Earthquakes Moving from San Jose to Houston.” Times Herald, 30 Aug. 2018, www.timesheraldonline.com/2005/12/16/earthquakes-moving-from-san-jose-to-houston/. Accessed 21 Mar. 2024.

“Houston Dynamo FC.” Houston Dynamo Football Club, 2024, www.houstondynamofc.com. Accessed 21 Mar. 2024.

“Houston Dynamo FC.” TransferMarkt, 2024, www.transfermarkt.com/houston-dynamo-fc/startseite/verein/9168/saison‗id/2020. Accessed 21 Mar. 2024.

“Houston Dynamo FC Welcomes Real Estate Developer as New Owner.” ABC News, 9 July 2021, abc13.com/ted-segal-houston-dynamo-dash-majority-owner-of-bbva-stadium/10820376/. Accessed 21 Mar. 2024.

Sigal, Jonathan. “Houston Dynamo FC Owner Ted Segal Updates GM Search, Roster-Building Plans.” Major League Soccer, 15 Sept. 2021, www.mlssoccer.com/news/houston-dynamo-fc-owner-ted-segal-updates-gm-search-roster-building-plans. Accessed 21 Mar. 2024.

“'Very Sad:’ Boniek Garcia to Depart Houston Dynamo FC After 10 Years.” Major League Soccer, 15 Nov. 2021, www.mlssoccer.com/news/very-sad-boniek-garcia-to-depart-houston-dynamo-fc-after-10-years. Accessed 21 Mar. 2024.