The history of professional soccer in Houston spans half a century, and includes clubs playing in numerous different leagues such as the North American Soccer League, the United Soccer League, Major League Soccer and the National Women's Soccer League.

History

Professional soccer in Houston began with the

Houston Stars The Houston Stars were an American professional soccer team based out of Houston, Texas. The Stars were a charter member of the United Soccer Association (USA) in 1967 and when the USA and rival National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) mer ...

, who played at the

Astrodome The NRG Astrodome, formerly and also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, was the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas, United States. It seated around 50,000 fans, with a record atte ...

from 1967-68 in the

United Soccer Association The United Soccer Association (USA) was a professional association football, soccer league featuring teams based in the United States and Canada. The league survived only one season before merging with the National Professional Soccer League ( ...

during their first year and the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

during their second and final season. Houston returned to the professional soccer scene with two clubs, both operating from 1978-80: the

Houston Hurricane The Houston Hurricane was a soccer team based out of Houston that played in the NASL. They played from 1978 to 1980. Their home field was the Astrodome. Their colors were orange, white and red. History The team was the last of six expansion ...

(NASL), and the

Houston Summit Houston Summit were a professional indoor soccer team that operated from 1978 to 1980. They played in the original Major Indoor Soccer League. In 1980, the franchise was moved to Baltimore to become the Baltimore Blast. Their roster mainly inclu ...

( Major Indoor Soccer League). Professional soccer returned to Houston again from 1984–91 with the Dynamos, who competed in the

United Soccer League The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W Leag ...

, the

Lone Star Soccer Alliance Lone Star Soccer Alliance was a soccer league that existed from 1987 to 1992. While most of the teams came from Texas, some also came from Oklahoma and Kansas. History First proposed by the Houston Dynamos, on April 18, 1987, the Lone Star S ...

and independently in between. The Hotshots was the last professional soccer franchise in Houston before today's Dynamo, operating from 1994–2000 in the

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice ...

and the

World Indoor Soccer League The World Indoor Soccer League (WISL) was a United States–based indoor soccer sports league, league that operated from 1998 to 2001 and consisted of nine teams. History After the demise of the Continental Indoor Soccer League, four of its te ...

. The short-lived Houston Force of the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. ...

was terminated during their first season in 1994 due to financial issues. Houston did not field a professional team from 2000 to 2005 but the city's ability to draw big crowds for friendlies placed it in the conversation to land a

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

club. Houston had become a hotspot for

Mexican First Division Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divis ...

club friendlies at

Robertson Stadium John O'Quinn Field at Corbin J. Robertson Stadium (often referred to as simply Robertson Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium in Houston, located on the campus of the University of Houston. It was the home of the Houston Cougars football and wom ...

(the future home of the Dynamo) and the opening of

Reliant Stadium NRG Stadium (previously known as Reliant Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. Construction was completed in 2002, at a cost of $352 million and has a seating capacity of 72,220. It was the first NFL facility to h ...

, thanks to the return of an

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

team to Houston in 2002, made it a hot destination to host international friendlies.

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

Chief Development Officer Steve Patterson (whose organization was looking to bring an MLS franchise to Houston) spearheaded efforts to host a U.S. vs. Mexico friendly in May 2003, a rematch of the two nations historic round of 16 encounter at the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

, as the first soccer match at Reliant Stadium. The 69,582 attendance set a new record for a soccer match in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

(surpassing the 63,500 for

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

vs.

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

at the Cotton Bowl in a

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...

quarterfinal A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

) and became the third largest crowd for a United States men's national team friendly.

Bringing an MLS club to the Bayou City

MLS Commissioner

Don Garber Donald P. Garber (born October 9, 1957) is an American sports executive who has been the commissioner of Major League Soccer (MLS) since 1999. Garber is also the CEO of Soccer United Marketing and a member of the United States Soccer Federatio ...

revealed on November 16, 2005 that the league had granted permission to

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

' owners

Anschutz Entertainment Group Anschutz Entertainment Group, Inc. (AEG), also known as AEG Worldwide, is an American global sporting and music entertainment presenter and a subsidiary of the Anschutz Corporation. It is the world's largest owner of sports teams and sports ...

to relocate the team for the 2006 season, giving the entertainment giant 30 days to make a decision. Garber was in Houston and spoke with the media before an international friendly between

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, citing Houston as a next destination for an MLS club whether the Earthquakes moved or not. On December 15, 2005, Major League Soccer announced the relocation of the San Jose franchise, along with all players and coaches under contract, to Houston. The Earthquakes name, colors and competition records were retained by the league for a possible expansion team. According to MLS, AEG had invested more than $20 million in the Earthquakes since purchasing the team in 2003 and suffered significant losses during that period because of its stadium deal. AEG had previously considered Houston as a site to relocate to and entered "positive discussions" about finding a soccer stadium in Houston. A ceremony was held outside

Houston City Hall The Houston City Hall building is the headquarters of the City of Houston's municipal government. Constructed during 1938 and 1939, the City Hall complex is located on Bagby Street on the western side of Downtown Houston. It is surrounded by t ...

on December 16, 2005 to officially announce the franchise's arrival. Mayor Bill White joined city council members, Harris County officials, local soccer organizers and fans in welcoming team coach

Dominic Kinnear Dominic Kinnear (born July 26, 1967) is an American soccer coach and former player. On January 18, 2022, he was named an assistant coach by FC Cincinnati, his first coaching role since serving as the interim head coach of the LA Galaxy. As a p ...

and players

Pat Onstad Patrick Stewart Onstad (born January 13, 1968) is a Canadian former professional soccer goalkeeper who serves as the General Manager of the Houston Dynamo. During his career, Onstad played with a variety of clubs in Canada and the United State ...

and

Wade Barrett Stuart Alexander Bennett (born 10 August 1980) is an English acting, actor and former professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name Wade Barrett as a color commentator on the ''WWE Sma ...

with cowboy boots and hats. It was disclosed that the team would train and play at the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

's Robertson Stadium on a three-year lease with the university earning a percentage of the revenues from concessions, parking and other sources. In an immediate effort to plant roots in the community, AEG president and CEO Tim Leiweke announced former

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

quarterback

Oliver Luck Oliver Francis Luck (born April 5, 1960) is an American business executive and former professional football player. He is currently the executive director of the United Athletic Conference, a new NCAA Division I FCS conference starting play in 2 ...

as the team's president and general manager. A previous

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

executive, Luck had served as the head of the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority since 2001 and was instrumental in pursuing an MLS team for the city while also overseeing the construction of

Daikin Park Daikin Park (originally Enron Field and formerly Astros Field and Minute Maid Park) is a retractable roof stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. It opened in 2000 and is the home ballpark of the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). ...

(home of the

Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

(home to the Texans) and the

Toyota Center Toyota Center is an indoor arena located in Houston, Texas, United States. It is named after the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The arena is home to the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and it was once th ...

(home to the

Rockets A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...

) during his tenure.

References

{{Soccer in the United States Soccer in Texas

Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

History

Bringing an MLS club to the Bayou City

See also

References