MLS: Houston Dynamo, FC Dallas fail to capture public imagination

As Texas prepares for a new MLS team in Austin in the near future, is there something missing in FC Dallas and Houston Dynamo?

Looking at FC Dallas and Houston Dynamo fighting annually for an MLS result in the Texas Derby, the Guardian’s Tom Dart asked, why aren’t these teams more popular?

He notes that long-term poor performance isn’t a problem. Last year, FC Dallas finished fourth in the Western Conference. Houston Dynamo didn’t fare as well in MLS but won the U.S. Open Cup.

Venue also isn’t in question. FC Dallas plays in world-class Toyota Stadium, a 20,000-plus seat sports park that opened in 2005. The National Soccer Hall of Fame also moved into the location. Another 20,000-plus seat stadium serves as Houston Dynamo’s home. BBVA Compass Stadium opened in 2011.

Population to recruit for supporters isn’t a problem either. Houston ranks fourth in growth in the U.S. through 2017. The metropolitan population has stretched to 6.89 million. The Dallas metropolitan area registers high in growth also. They reached 7.4 million in 2017.

The Guardian’s popularity question comes after attendance figures from the 2018 regular season were released. In those numbers, some smaller populations packed in far more fans for their MLS teams than either of the Texas clubs.

Houston Dynamo came in 18th while FC Dallas were 20th for total fans in the stadium during the season. Houston spun the turnstiles for 287,408, averaging 16,906. Dallas seated 263,707 for an average of 15,512. For context, MLS overall averaged slightly lower in 2018 compared to 2017.

Compare that to other clubs, though, and the picture is bleak. Atlanta United FC topped the list with 901,033 seats sold. That’s an average of 53,002. The population count reaches just 463,878 in Atlanta. Portland, a population of 647,805, seated 359,448 paying customers. That was good for 10th best in MLS. Orlando City SC, who were largely atrocious last season, even came in 6th, and their permanent population, not visiting theme parks, is 280,257.

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All MLS teams do their part to grow the sport in their communities. They support efforts to build fields, buy equipment, and recruit competitors for their academies. But there is something going wrong in the state of Texas.

the Guardian’s Texas question were published even before MLS promised Austin a third franchise in the state. With the resources and people there, shouldn’t the existing teams get more paying customers?

The figures reported for 2018 show that the local population is not equal to the number of tickets sold or fans watching at home. Your team has to capture the imagination of their public. That will only be harder with another franchise competing for fans in the state.

FC Dallas is doing that through success. They’re winning more and more and keep threatening to win it all. And Houston may well get back there as well. They’re just doing it the hard way this time, building up a competitive drive starting in CONCACAF competition this year.

Once they get close to the top and stay there for consecutive years, they’ll answer the popularity question. But for now, the MLS explosion that is happening elsewhere throughout America is not taking hold in Texas. It is a problem both Dallas and Houston must solve.