Misplaced Pages

Shell Energy Stadium

Aerial photograph of inside the stadium facing East Downtown
Shell Energy StadiumLocation in HoustonShow map of Houston DowntownShell Energy StadiumLocation in TexasShow map of TexasShell Energy StadiumLocation in the United StatesShow map of the United States
Former names	BBVA Compass Stadium (2012–2019) BBVA Stadium (2019–2021) PNC Stadium (2021–2022)
Address	2200 Texas Avenue
Location	Houston, Texas
Coordinates	29°45.132′N 95°21.144′W / 29.752200°N 95.352400°W / 29.752200; -95.352400
Public transit	EaDo/Stadium
Owner	Harris County–Houston Sports Authority
Operator	Houston Dynamo Football Club (HDFC)
Capacity	20,656
Field size	118 yd × 75 yd (108 m × 69 m)
Surface	Paspalum grass
Construction
Broke ground	February 5, 2011
Opened	May 12, 2012
Construction cost	$95 million ($126 million in 2023 dollars)
Architect	Populous
Project manager	Harris County – Houston Sports Authority/ICON Venue
Structural engineer	Walter P. Moore
Services engineer	M–E Engineers, Inc.
General contractor	Manhattan Construction Company
Tenants
Houston Dynamo FC (MLS) (2012–present) Texas Southern Tigers (NCAA) (2012–present) Houston Cougars (NCAA) (2013) Houston Baptist Huskies (NCAA) (2013) Houston Dash (NWSL) (2014–present)

Shell Energy Stadium is an American multi-purpose stadium located in Houston, Texas, that is home to Houston Dynamo FC, a Major League Soccer club and the Houston Dash of the National Women's Soccer League and was the first soccer specific stadium built in a major metropolitan downtown city. The stadium is the result of combined commitments of $35.5 million from the city of Houston and $60 million from the Houston Dynamo Football Club. Harris County agreed to pay for half of the land in exchange for the ability to jointly own the stadium after its completion date in May 2012. The naming rights to the stadium were formerly held by BBVA USA; the name was changed to that of PNC Financial Services due to BBVA's acquisition by PNC. The stadium's naming rights have been owned by Shell Energy since January 17, 2023.

The stadium is located on a tract of land bordered by Texas, Walker, Emancipation, and Hutchins in East Downtown and east of Interstate 69/U.S. Route 59 and Downtown Houston.

Construction history: 2009–2011

In June 2009, negotiations and financing began to fall into place with construction of the stadium originally beginning as early as Fall 2009. Banks and investors were in the books to finance the project and only minor details were being worked out. Various locations the Dynamo were interested in building a stadium since their arrival were the former Astroworld site, Pearland, Sugar Land and Northeast Houston near the Lake Houston area.

On January 26, 2010, the Houston Dynamo franchise had expressed an interest in a proposed 30-acre (120,000 m) parcel for the stadium location at South Rice Avenue and Westpark Drive—adjacent to Bellaire's city limits, and near the southwest corner of the Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 59 and the Interstate 610 interchanges. Two days later, the Mayor of Bellaire, Cindy Seigel said that she would use whatever power she could to oppose the possible new location and is in communication with the developer to dissuade him. She acknowledges that considering that the land is in Houston's city limits and only abuts her city, the odds are slim and said in an open letter to Midway:

Fans on the north and east side of Houston will have difficulty in getting to this site. Additionally, this site does not have the infrastructure in place to serve it that already exists at other athletic facilities downtown or at Reliant Park.

The highly populated and heavily Hispanic area of Gulfton is within proximity, although former Council member Pam Holm stated that ethnic considerations should not be key to choosing a stadium location: "To position this as a Hispanic sport and say the stadium has to be in proximity to Hispanic neighborhoods doesn't do it justice, the Dynamo is something that all citizens of Houston have so embraced."

On April 13, 2010, Harris County commissioners voted unanimously to begin construction of the new Dynamo stadium east of downtown, clearing the way for construction sometime in February 2011.

Oliver Luck, president and general manager of the Dynamo at the time, announced the financing, architect, and project manager for the new stadium. He announced Populous had been chosen to design and build the stadium. Populous, one of the world's leading sports architecture firms, had previously built three other major venues in the city—Minute Maid Park, NRG Stadium, and the Toyota Center, and internationally designed soccer stadia including Wembley Stadium (London), Emirates Stadium (London), Soccer City (Johannesburg), and Aviva Stadium (Dublin).

On February 5, 2011, the Houston Dynamo, led by Houston mayor Annise Parker and Harris County judge Ed Emmett, broke ground on the Houston Dynamo Stadium site. Houston Dynamo President Chris Canetti strongly expressed that the stadium will be ready by April 2012.

Renovations

2023

The stadium had several notable renovations in 2023. The stadium's 21,000+ orange plastic seats were replaced with more comfortable mesh seats that are about 30 degrees cooler than the plastic ones during very hot days. Seats in the upper deck are now black and orange, spelling out "Houston," while the lower deck features black, orange and Space City blue seats, a nod to the Dash. All LED lighting was added and an indoor club for premium seats was expanded. Shell Energy also installed special monitoring equipment to give stadium officials a live look at emissions. The goal is to cut stadium greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2026.

Milestones

1. The USWNT last played in the stadium on June 13, 2021 in a 4–0 win over Jamaica's women's national football team.
2. The USMNT last played in Houston during the Semifinals of the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup on June 22, 2011 at Reliant Stadium in a 1–0 win over Panama.

Sports

Soccer

Construction on BBVA Stadium (now Shell Energy Stadium) led to the Houston Dynamo's decision to play their first seven games of the 2012 Major League Soccer season on the road. Their first match at the stadium was played on May 12, 2012 when they defeated D.C. United 1–0. The lone goal came from Brad Davis from 35 yards out which beat D.C. goalkeeper Bill Hamid. The win happened in front of a capacity crowd of 22,039 and would mark the beginning of what would be an unbeaten year for the Dynamo at home, posting a year-end home record of 11–0–6.

After completion, Shell Energy Stadium became home to several international matches. The first was between New Zealand and El Salvador for the BBVA Compass Content Series on May 23, 2012. The match ended in a 2–2 draw. The first FIFA Qualifier match was played between Mexico and Guyana on October 12, 2012. Mexico won the match, 5–0.

The United States women's national team made its debut at the stadium with a 4–0 win over China PR on December 12, 2012. The United States men's national team played to a scoreless draw with Canada on January 29, 2013, in its BBVA debut.

The Houston Dash, who are members of the National Women's Soccer League, began play at Shell Energy Stadium on April 12, 2014, after becoming the first expansion team in league history. In 2022, Shell Energy Stadium hosted its first ever NWSL playoff match between Houston Dash and Kansas City Current.

Rugby union

BBVA Stadium (now Shell Energy Stadium) played host to the 2012 Italian Tour of the Americas which saw the USA Eagles play Italy to a 30–10 loss. The Eagles returned to BBVA Compass Stadium to play a mid-year rugby union test match against Ireland on June 8, 2013; the Eagles lost 15–12, but set a record for largest crowd for the Eagles on home soil when 20,181 fans packed the stadium.

BBVA Stadium played host to the 2012–13 IRB Women's Sevens World Series in the USA leg of the series. However, the USA leg of the World Series was moved to the Atlanta suburb of Kennesaw, Georgia for the 2013–14 series, where it has remained ever since.

College football

Shell Energy Stadium is home to Texas Southern University football. During the 2013 season, the stadium also hosted the Houston Cougars for two games while TDECU Stadium was being built. In January of 2024 Shell Energy Stadium hosted the College Football Playoff Concert Series as part of the city-wide celebration of the CFP National Championship game being held in the Space City. The NCAA Division III National Championship Game (Stagg Bowl) will be held at Shell Energy Stadium on January 5, 2025.

Gaelic football

BBVA Stadium (now Shell Energy Stadium) played host to the first ever Gaelic football game on an MLS pitch August 3, 2014, when the Houston Gaels played the first of their now-annual demonstration match (divided squad) after the Houston Dynamo-D.C. United match. The Gaels were originally scheduled to play on March 15 after the Dynamo-Montreal Impact match as part of the Saint Patrick's Day weekend festivities, but the game was postponed due to concerns about the rain-soaked pitch.

Features and design

The stadium has a capacity of 20,656 seats, including 34 private suites, 1,100 club seats, Premium Club, dedicated supporters stand, and food court. The stadium is designed to accommodate MLS and FIFA standard international soccer, football, lacrosse, rugby, and concerts.

Architecturally, the stadium features a faceted facade of expanded metal mesh with orange polycarbonate enclosed entrances and spectator facilities that reflects the industrial heritage of the East Downtown location. The stadium architect, Christopher Lee of Populous, stated, “We set out to design the perfect urban soccer stadium: tight, atmospheric, and intimate.” Lee was the designer of the famed Emirates Stadium in London, England, and his design brings European stadium traditions of intimate and atmospheric soccer specific stadia to MLS. The $95 million stadium construction cost made the BBVA Compass Stadium the most cost-effective of modern soccer-specific stadiums, with recent venues like the Red Bull Arena costing $200 million, Rio Tinto Stadium costing $110 million, and PPL Park costing $115 million.

Sponsors

On December 13, 2011, BBVA Compass, an international bank with dozens of branches in Houston, signed a 10-year, $20 million naming rights deal. The stadium was renamed to "BBVA Stadium" on June 13, 2019, as part of the company's brand changes.

During the second half of the 2021 season, BBVA Stadium was rebranded as PNC Stadium following PNC Financial Services' acquisition of BBVA USA in June 2021.

Shell Energy announced on January 17, 2023 that it acquired the stadium's naming rights, agreeing to an 8 year, $40 million deal.

Awards

On December 10, 2012, BBVA Compass Stadium (now Shell Energy Stadium) received the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The stadium received the award for its innovative construction and sustainable design. Notable achievements during the stadium's construction process included diverting 86.85% of on-site generated construction waste to landfills, reducing water use by 41% from the installation of high-energy toilets, reducing energy use by 20.41%, using 98.42% of the wood-based building materials from certified forests and providing preferred parking spaces for fuel-efficient low-emissions vehicles.

Concessions

On March 22, 2012, Houston Dynamo Football Club (HDFC) announced Levy Restaurants will be the official restaurant partner. On February 13, 2023, HDFC announced a multi-year agreement with James Beard Award-winning chef Hugo Ortega, who would collaborate with Levy, hospitality partner of the Club to elevate the food and beverage experience at Shell Energy Stadium and feature local restaurants, purveyors, and eclectic flavors from Houston’s culinary community. On March 8, 2023, HDFC announced its expanded lineup of local offerings with 10 new restaurant partners. HDFC announced the addition prestigious James Beard Award-Winning Chef Benchawan Jabthong Painter of Street to Kitchen on March 22, 2024.

• Hugo's
• Urbe
• Trill Burgers
• Taquerias Arandas
• Roostar Vietnamese Grill
• Elotes Bravos
• Vinny's Pizza
• Street to Kitchen

Stadium partners

The following are its current official stadium partners:

• Shell Energy
• MD Anderson
• Coca-Cola/Dasani
• SeatGeek
• Heriberto Ramos
• King Ranch, formerly Brookside Equipment
• Bacardi/Cazadores
• Constellation Brands/Corona Premier

Transportation and accessibility

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The stadium is adjacent to METRORail light rail at EaDo/Stadium station, served by the Green and Purple lines. Taxi, Buses, street, and garage parking nearby. The stadium is located southeast of Minute Maid Park—within the East Downtown district (which is undergoing revitalization efforts) and east of Downtown Houston.

Since 2019, Shell Energy Stadium and Houston Dynamo Football Club are proud partners of KultureCity to provide a universally accessible experience for all guests. The sensory-inclusive program is designed to provide guests with sensory needs the ability to see and experience all that a gameday has to offer. By providing staff training, sensory kits, and sensory signage, the program helps everyone feel accepted and able to enjoy the event they are attending.

Shell Energy Stadium is the very first soccer-specific stadium in the MLS to have its very own sensory room. An provides this unique opportunity for those who have any kind of sensory need at every home match. Along with the sensory room, a family room is available to accommodate any guests in need of this space.

Attendees at Shell Energy Stadium can check out sensory inclusive bags at the Guest Services office located across Section 118 on the North concourse. The bags include items such as headphones, fidget mesh, fidget ball, and a fidget tangle.

ADA accommodations

• Accessible seating throughout the stadium
• Audio Listening Devices can be checked out at the Guest Services office across from Section 118
• Braille dots on door plaques
• Closed captioning available via mobile devices www.mobilecap.net and event ID: 1573
• Complimentary wheelchair escorts at gates that will take guests to and from their seats
• Service animals are permitted – per ADA guidelines this includes dogs and miniature horses
  • No pets or other animals are permitted

International matches

BBVA Stadium (now Shell Energy Stadium) hosted its first international match on May 23, 2012, when New Zealand and El Salvador played to a 2–2 draw. The stadium hosted its first women's international match when it hosted a 4–0 win by the United States over China in December 2012.

Men's matches

Date	Winning Team	Result	Losing Team	Tournament	Spectators
May 23, 2012	El Salvador	2–2	New Zealand	Friendly	15,500
October 12, 2012	Guyana	0–5	Mexico	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification	12,115
November 14, 2012	Honduras	0–0	Peru	Friendly	9,142
January 29, 2013	United States	0–0	Canada		11,737
July 15, 2013	El Salvador	1–0	Haiti	2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup	21,783
	Honduras	0–2	Trinidad and Tobago
June 1, 2014	Israel	4–2	Honduras	Friendly	19,235
September 10, 2014	Panama	2–0	Nicaragua	2014 Copa Centroamericana	19,287
	El Salvador	2–0	Belize
	Honduras	0–2	Guatemala
July 11, 2015	Jamaica	1–0	Canada	2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup	22,017
	Costa Rica	1–1	El Salvador
September 4, 2015	Argentina	7–0	Bolivia	Friendly	22,000
October 9, 2015	El Salvador	1–3	Haiti		unknown
July 11, 2017	Costa Rica	1–1	Canada	2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup	12,019
	Honduras	3–0	French Guiana
October 8, 2017	El Salvador	1–0	Canada	Friendly	8,500
June 2, 2018	Honduras	0–1	El Salvador		17,747
March 26, 2019	United States	1–1	Chile		18,033
June 21, 2019	El Salvador	0–0	Jamaica	2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup	22,395
	Honduras	0–1	Curaçao
July 13, 2021	Qatar	3–3	Panama	2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup	10,625
	Honduras	4–0	Grenada
July 17, 2021	Grenada	0–4	Qatar		7,173
	Panama	2–3	Honduras
July 20, 2021	Suriname	2–1	Guadeloupe		12,630
	Honduras	0–2	Qatar
December 4, 2021	El Salvador	1–1	Ecuador	Friendly	10,709
September 27, 2022	Honduras	2–1	Guatemala		15,000
July 1, 2023	Guadeloupe	4–1	Cuba	2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup Group D	19,766
	Guatemala	0–0	Canada
July 4, 2023	Panama	2–2	El Salvador	2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup Group C	20,002
	Canada	4–2	Cuba	2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup Group D

Women's matches

Date	Winning Team	Result	Losing Team	Tournament	Spectators
December 12, 2012	United States	4–0	China	Friendly	15,643
February 11, 2016	Guatemala	1–2	Trinidad and Tobago	CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying	836
	Canada	5–0	Guyana
February 14, 2016	Guyana	2–1	Guatemala		1,453
	Trinidad and Tobago	0–6	Canada
February 16, 2016	Trinidad and Tobago	5–1	Guyana		859
	Canada	10–0	Guatemala
February 19, 2016	Canada	3–1	Costa Rica		5,516
	United States	5–0	Trinidad and Tobago		5,561
February 21, 2016	Canada	0–2	United States		10,119
April 9, 2017	United States	5–1	Russia	Friendly	11,347
April 8, 2018	United States	6–2	Mexico		15,349
January 28, 2020	Costa Rica	6–1	Panama	CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying	4,363
	United States	4–0	Haiti
January 31, 2020	Haiti	0–2	Costa Rica		14,121
	Panama	0–8	United States
February 16, 2020	Panama	0–6	Haiti		7,082
	United States	6–0	Costa Rica
June 10, 2021	United States	1–0	Portugal	Friendly	9,951
June 13, 2021	United States	4–0	Jamaica		8,737
February 22, 2024	Canada	6–0	El Salvador	2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup	4,421
	Paraguay	1–0	Costa Rica
February 25, 2024	Costa Rica	2–0	El Salvador		5,079
	Canada	4–0	Paraguay		3,482
February 28, 2024	Paraguay	3–2	El Salvador
	Canada	3–0	Costa Rica		2,647
February 20, 2025	Japan	–	Australia	2025 SheBelieves Cup
	United States	–	Colombia

Rugby union

Date	Home Team	Result	Away Team	Tournament	Spectators
June 23, 2012	United States	10–30	Italy	Italy tour of the Americas	17,214
June 8, 2013	United States	12–15	Ireland	Ireland tour of the Americas	20,181
June 7, 2014	United States	6–24	Scotland	Scotland tour of the Americas	20,001
February 6, 2016	United States	35–35	Argentina XV	2016 Americas Rugby Championship	10,241
June 16, 2018	United States	30–29	Scotland	Scotland tour of the Americas

See also

• List of NCAA Division I FCS football stadiums
• List of soccer stadiums in the United States
• Lists of stadiums

References

1. "Houston Dynamo widen BBVA Compass Stadium pitch as pass-and-move mindset brings "different direction"". houstondynamo.com. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
2. 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
3. ^ "Dynamo Stadium Information". Archived from the original on February 7, 2011. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
4. "Stadia Project Descriptions". M–E Engineers, Inc. Archived from the original on September 7, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
5. Barr, Greg (October 4, 2010). "Manhattan Construction to Build Dynamo Stadium". Houston Business Journal. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
6. Olson, Bradley (April 7, 2010). "Council Approves Deal for New Dynamo Stadium". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved April 7, 2010.
7. ^ Berman, Mark (January 17, 2023). "Introducing Shell Energy Stadium: Houston Dynamo, Dash home gets new name". FOX 26 Houston. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
8. Olsen, Bradley (April 7, 2010). "Council Approves Deal for New Dynamo Stadium". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved April 9, 2010.
9. "Welcome to EaDo". East Downtown Management District. Archived from the original on May 21, 2010. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
10. ^ Barr, Greg (June 19, 2009). "Dynamo Stadium Deal Gets Closer to Goal". Houston Business Journal. Retrieved January 29, 2010.
11. Shay, Miya (January 26, 2010). "Dynamo looking at stadium site near Galleria". Retrieved January 29, 2010.
12. Auilar, Charlotte (January 28, 2010). "Bellaire mayor challenges Dynamo stadium plan". Memorial Examiner. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
13. Aguilar, Charlotte (January 28, 2010). "Who knew? Dynamo private stadium deal was privileged info". West University Examiner. Retrieved January 29, 2010.
14. "County approves Dynamo stadium deal".
15. "Dynamo Choose Stadium Architect, Project Manager".
16. De Jesus Ortiz, Jose (February 5, 2011). "Dynamo Break Ground on New East End Stadium". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved February 5, 2011.
17. https://www.axios.com/local/houston/2023/02/01/dynamo-dash-shell-energy-stadium
18. ^ Simon, Jason (August 6, 2014). "Soccer, a win, and Gaelic Football…". What's the Score. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
19. "TSU-Jackson State Football Tickets Officially Sold Out". November 3, 2022.
20. "Populous selected to design Dynamo stadium". Archived from the original on November 10, 2012. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
21. Populous Designs Stadium for Houston Dynamo Archived 2014-02-01 at the Wayback Machine
22. Giase, Frank (February 26, 2007). "Red Bulls: MacDonald Strives to Fulfill a Town's Tradition". The Star-Ledger. Newark, New Jersey. Archived from the original on November 19, 2007. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
23. "Stadium Facts". Rio Tinto Stadium. Archived from the original on April 20, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
24. PPL Park
25. "BBVA Compass Stadium renamed BBVA Stadium with ceremonial logo unveiling" (Press release). BBVA. June 13, 2019. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
26. "PNC Completes Acquisition of BBVA USA". PNC Financial Services Group – MediaRoom. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
27. FC, Houston Dynamo. "Houston Dynamo Football Club adds world-renowned chef Hugo Ortega to match day culinary team | Houston Dynamo". Houston Dynamo FC. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
28. FC, Houston Dynamo. "HDFC expands local offerings at Shell Energy Stadium with 10 new restaurant partners | Houston Dynamo". Houston Dynamo FC. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
29. Stadium Partners BBVA Compass Stadium official website. Retrieved 27 July 2016
30. "Record Crowd a Good Thing". Rugbymag. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
31. "Ireland tour 2013 2013". espnscrum. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
32. "Scotland tour 2014 2014". espnscrum. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
33. "United States of America (16) 35–35 (21) Argentina (FT)". espnscrum. Retrieved April 30, 2021.

Notes

1. The stadium was formerly called BBVA Compass Stadium, BBVA Stadium, then PNC Stadium

External links

• Official website
• BBVA Stadium at StadiumDB.com

• Texas
• Soccer
• Architecture

• Houston Dynamo FC
• Major League Soccer stadiums
• Sports venues in Houston
• American football venues in Houston
• Soccer venues in Houston
• National Women's Soccer League stadiums
• Rugby union stadiums in Houston
• Houston Cougars football venues
• Houston Christian Huskies football
• Texas Southern Tigers football
• Sports venues completed in 2012
• 2012 establishments in Texas