Welcome to edition No. 25 of my blog on HoustonDynamo.com.
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So here we are. It's mid-December already. We are less than 50 days from pre-season camp, and less than 100 days from opening day. It's been a very productive few weeks with lots of positive news on the stadium, the team, and the business.
As you know, we achieved a major milestone two weeks ago as we finalized our stadium lease with the Sports Authority. This is a big hurdle as we near the finish line on the stadium deal. We still have some steps in front of us, but we are close to finalizing. There is a keen focus on the outstanding issues, and we hope to have everything done soon. Once we do, we'll break ground on construction and work toward an opening in April of 2012.
Last week, we unveiled our new adidas uniform and our new jersey sponsor, Greenstar. We are excited about our new kit and our new partner. The new uniform is inspired by our desire to have a traditional design and classic look. Finding a new jersey sponsor is a major business accomplishment, and we are looking forward to a great relationship with Greenstar, a cutting edge Houston-based company.
We are the second MLS club (Chivas USA) to name a second jersey sponsor. MLS first authorized selling jersey sponsorships in 2007. Real Salt Lake was the first to name a jersey sponsor with XANGO, and the Dynamo followed with Amigo Energy.
While we move forward with Greenstar, I'd like to thank Amigo Energy for its tremendous support over the last three and a half seasons. Amigo has been a great partner. Through their commitment, they have helped grow the sport of soccer, and we will surely look back on their involvement as being a vital part of our history.
There has been some important team news in the last few weeks. Here are some headlines:
§ We acquired FW Jason Garey from the Columbus Crew for a 4th round pick in 2015.
§ We acquired DF Jordon Graye from the Portland Timbers for a 4th round pick in 2014.
§ We re-signed MF Corey Ashe and DF Eddie Robinson.
§ We declined the contract options on several players, some of whom are currently in the MLS re-entry process.
Our current roster of signed players is as follows:
Forwards: Brian Ching, Jason Garey, Cam
Weaver
Midfielders: Sammy Appiah, Corey Ashe, Geoff Cameron, Colin Clark, Danny Cruz, Brad
Davis, Francisco Navas Cobo, Lovel Palmer
Defenders: Bobby Boswell, Mike Chabala, Jordan Graye, Andrew Hainault, Eddie
Robinson
Goalkeepers: Tyler Deric, Tally
Hall
We are excited about the three new additions to the 2011 roster - Clark, Garey, and Graye – and are working on more improvements, including discussing a contract extension with Geoff Cameron, who is set to enter the final year of his deal in 2011. I am optimistic that a few more moves could be finalized over the next few weeks. We have been very active and are closing in on some potential transactions. Stay tuned.
The next immediate step is the Stage 2 Draft of the MLS re-entry process, which takes place tomorrow. We will have the opportunity to claim the rights of a player or players from other teams.
I want to thank the fans that have taken their time to join me at our recent series of town hall meetings. I enjoy the interaction and appreciate the opportunity to share insights of our club. We will be scheduling more of these over the upcoming weeks.
I also want to thank the 500+ fans that showed up at Venue last week for the Greenstar party. It was a great event and a lot of fun.
Thanks for reading. As always, send your questions and comments to ccanetti@houstondynamo.com.
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