ARE THE TEXAS TEAMS AS POPULAR AS THEY SHOULD?

The state of Texas anticipates anew MLS team in Austin in the near future, but the question is if somethingis missing in FC Dallas and Houston Dynamo.  Looking at both teams battle it out annually for an MLS result in the Texas Derby, but they aren’t just popular as they should be.

Long term performance hasn’t been a problem. Last campaign, FC Dallas finished fourth in the Western Conference, and Houston Dynamo didn’t fare as well in MLS but won the U.S. Open Cup. Infrastructure also isn’t the problem, FC Dallas plays in world-class Toyota Stadium, a 20,000-plus seat sports park that was opened in the year 2005. Another 20,000-plus seat stadium serves as Houston Dynamo’s home, which is the BBVA Compass Stadium opened in 2011.

What might have posed as a problem is the populated to be used as supporters for the team, but the both don’t have this problem. Houston ranks fourth in terms of population growth in the united states through 2017. The population has stretched to 6.89 million. Also the Dallas metropolitan area registers high in growth as hey reached 7.4 million in 2017.

According to the attendance figures released for the 2018 regular season, some smaller populated cities raked in more fans for their MLS teams than either of the Texas clubs. Houston Dynamo came in 18th while FC.

Dallas were ranked 20th in terms of total fans in the stadium during the season. Houston had a return of 287,408, with an average of 16,906, while Dallas welcomed 263,707 with an average of 15,512.

Atlanta United ranked 1st with 901,033 seats sold, averaging 53,002 per match. With a population countof just463,878.The figures reported for 2018 depicts that population size is not in proportion with the number of tickets sold, or fans watching at home.

To be popular your team has to capture the imagination of their public. That will only be harder when you have rivals in the same state. This is the case of Huston Dynamo and FC Dallas