Exactly one year after Ted Segal was introduced as the new controlling owner of the Houston Dynamo Football Club, today the Club announced plans for major upgrades to PNC Stadium, the home of the Dynamo and Houston Dash. The renovation project will begin immediately following the conclusion of the 2022 MLS and NWSL seasons and is expected to be ready in time for the 2023 season.
Headlining the project will be the installation of all-new mesh seats throughout the entire seating bowl, which will make PNC Stadium the first soccer-specific stadium in America with mesh seating throughout the building. Additionally, a portion of the east side of the stadium will be reconfigured to create a new air-conditioned, premium all-inclusive club area (the “East Club”).
“As I have said since my first day, one of our biggest priorities is to enhance the game day experience for our supporters,” Segal said. “These improvements to PNC Stadium will allow us to improve the experience for every person who walks through our gates, draw more fans to the stadium and in turn give our players a stronger home-field advantage. This project will also make our facility a more active and engaged community asset that serves as a more attractive destination for additional soccer and non-soccer events.”
The new mesh seats, produced by 4Topps and DreamSeat, are up to 30 degrees cooler than traditional stadium seats. Each of the new seats will include a cupholder and armrests, creating a significantly improved overall experience for guests at all PNC Stadium events. Seats in the new East Club will feature premium high-backed mesh seats from 4Topps.
“With an outdoor venue where we host many of our games and events during the summer months, everything we can do to give our visitors a more comfortable experience is important,” Segal said.
Seats in the new East Club, which will include the three centermost sections of the east sideline lower level and hold a capacity of 824 guests, will open into a climate-controlled club area where guests can enjoy an all-inclusive experience with premium food options and a dedicated bar serving beer, wine and cocktails along with non-alcoholic beverages.
The East Club will also feature nine loge boxes, which offer individuals and companies the opportunity to entertain guests in a semi-private space with access to all of the all-inclusive benefits of the East Club. Each loge box seats eight guests.
“Houston is a premier destination for national, regional and international events, as evidenced by our recent selection as a host market for the 2026 FIFA World Cup as well as next year’s NCAA Men’s Final Four, and the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority takes great pride in helping to bring these elite events to our region,” said Sports Authority CEO Janis Burke. “A major factor in securing those events is our world-class facilities, and the new features at PNC Stadium will make the venue an even more attractive destination for soccer, rugby, football and other events in the future.”
“One of the first things that we identified when I came on board last year was that we needed a wider variety of options for our fans to experience our stadium, particularly in a market as large as Houston,” Segal said. “The East Club effectively doubles our luxury hospitality options and adds another climate-controlled space inside the stadium for our fans who want a more premium experience.”
Seating throughout the new East Club, as well as the existing PNC Club seats on the west side of the stadium, will be AirFlow Mesh Suite Seats designed and installed by 4Topps. The remainder of the seats installed in the lower level will be AirFlow Mesh Row Seats designed by 4Topps, while the upper level of the stadium will feature the new Ovation Airo mesh seat from DreamSeats.
The project represents the second stage of improvements to the facility under Segal’s leadership and a continuation of his sustained investment in all facets of the organization, on and off the playing field.
Shortly after he assumed stewardship of the Club on June 22, 2021, plans were announced to convert the Supporters Section on the north end of the stadium into a Safe Standing area, and the south end of the stadium was reconfigured into a pair of all-inclusive premium seating areas branded as the Shell Energy Sports Deck and the Pitch Zone. All three of those spaces opened at the beginning of the 2022 Houston Dynamo FC season in February.
Segal has paired those capital investments with expansions of the backroom staffs for the Dynamo, Dash and Dynamo Academy, the addition of Houston Dynamo 2, enhancements to Houston Sports Park, and the signings of elite international stars for both the Dash and the Dynamo. The most high-profile of those signings, Mexico captain Héctor Herrera, is eligible to make his debut for the Dynamo on Saturday, July 9 at PNC Stadium against in-state rivals FC Dallas.
