The Houston Dynamo organization has selected Manhattan Construction Co. to build Houston’s new 22,000-seat Major League Soccer stadium. The construction cost is estimated at approximately $60 million, and groundbreaking is expected prior to January 2011. The stadium is anticipated to open for the 2012 MLS season.
“We’re very happy to have selected Manhattan Construction Co. as the builder of our stadium," Dynamo Chief Operating Officer Chris Canetti said. “Manhattan has an excellent track record, not only in our community, but also in the country, as one of the premier stadium-developing organizations. We look forward to getting the construction process started quickly so our team can begin playing in its new home by the first half of 2012.”
The new stadium will be located in downtown Houston and will include 34 luxury suites, 1,000 club seats, and a stadium club. The stadium design includes both an upper and a lower bowl with roof canopy structures on both sidelines and a stage canopy at the south end. The facility will provide an opportunity to host other events, including but not limited to international soccer matches, U.S. national team matches, the NCAA College Cup, high school soccer matches, and high school football playoff games in addition to concerts, other championship sporting events, and special events.
“As a fan-minded builder, we share the excitement of what the facility will mean to the Houston community, Major League Soccer, and the Houston Dynamo organization,” said Duane Duffy, Manhattan Construction Co. executive vice president. “This is a distinctively bold stadium design that will become an iconic Houston landmark, and we are honored to have been selected to build it.”
This will be the fourth professional team sports facility to be constructed by Manhattan in Texas. Manhattan is known for building high-profile, technically difficult mega projects like Reliant Stadium in Houston, with the first retractable roof stadium in the NFL, and the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, which is recognized as one of the world’s most important sports venues. The firm also constructed Texas Rangers Ballpark in Arlington and is currently building the University of North Texas Football Stadium in Denton.
ICON Venue Group, Inc. is serving as owner’s representative for the Houston Dynamo stadium project. The architect is Populous, and the structural engineer is Walter P Moore.
About Manhattan Construction Company
Founded in 1896,
Manhattan Construction Company is ranked as the number one sports complex
builder in Texas by McGraw-Hill’s Texas Construction Magazine. The company’s
$15+ billion project portfolio includes sports stadium, office, healthcare,
government, higher education, K-12 school, laboratory, aviation, religious,
museum, library, transportation, condominium, convention, casino,
entertainment, and hospitality facilities. Manhattan
builds projects throughout the Southwest and East regions of the United States, Mexico,
Central America and the Caribbean.
The firm’s services include Manhattan’s
trademarked Builder-Driven Pre-Construction®, construction management, general
building, and design/build. Manhattan
operates from offices in Dallas
and Houston, Texas; Tulsa
and Oklahoma City, Okla.; Washington,
D.C.; Atlanta, Georgia;
and Mexico City. For more
information, visit www.manhattanconstruction.com.
About the Houston Dynamo
The Houston
Dynamo is a Major League Soccer club that has won two MLS Cup championships in
its first four seasons and represented the United
States in four consecutive regional championships. For
more information, visit www.HoustonDynamo.com.
About ICON
Venue Group
ICON Venue Group
is the leading Owner’s Representative firm in the sports and entertainment
industry providing the full spectrum of venue development services including
project feasibility, financing, site selection and acquisition, facility
programming, design development, construction phase management, venue
commissioning, sponsorship sales and servicing, and start up operations. ICON
has worked with both public sector and private sector clients and has managed
several of the most successful arena and stadium projects in the world. ICON
Venue Group has demonstrated expertise in designing, constructing,
commissioning, and operating projects for NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and MLS
franchises totaling over $3 billion. For more information, visit www.iconvenue.com.
About Populous
Since inception
in 1983, Populous has grown into the world’s leading design firm dedicated
exclusively to creating environments that draw people and communities together
for unforgettable experiences. The firm has completed more than 1,000 projects
around the globe with construction value exceeding $20 billion. Populous has
worked with 24 Major League Baseball franchises, 30 NFL franchises, 80
professional and civic arena clients, 40 global soccer and rugby teams, 120
universities, 40 convention center clients, 29 equestrian clients and has
planned more than 30 major worldwide events. For more information, visit www.populous.com.
About
Walter P Moore
An international engineering and consulting
firm, WALTER P MOORE has been recognized throughout its long history for superb
client service, engineering excellence and innovation. For more information,
visit www.walterpmoore.com.
