Houston Stallions

[Trish_lvs_Baltimore]

[quote=""Mayne84""]I think they may be back in the Berry Center in Cypress. Seems like a bad location if it is. I was hoping they could get reliant arena. but i know thats a pretty penny too. plus arranging their schedule to fit around the events that go on in that arena is pretty difficult to do[/quote]In the location where they'll be playing, how far is it from the actual city itself?

[Caballo Diablo]

According to geobytes.com
http://www.geobytes.com/CityDistanceTool.htm?loadpage
The distance as the crow flies, not the actual road distance is 21 miles from Houston to Cypress. Not sure if that's to the city limits or downtown.

The venue is right off hwy 290 which hits the Northwest corner of loop 610 that circles Houston. It's a two and a half hour drive for me coming out of Austin.

It's the same venue the af2 Texas Copperheads played in. The Katy Copperheads of the NIFL (later became the af2 Copperheads) played in another shcool district venue on Hwy 10 in Katy, which hits loop 610 at about the same place hwy 290 does. Not much difference in travel for the houston residents, but Katy was about 30 extra minutes for me.


Berry center map;
8877 Barker-Cypress Rd, Cypress, TX 77433
http://maps.google.com/

Pictures of the venue;
http://www.berrycenter.net/newphotos3.html

[super390]

Cypress is about 20 miles from the middle of downtown, about 10 miles from the outer Beltway, about 17 miles from the inner Loop. But metro Houston extends for nearly 20 miles further to the north and west, so I think there's a lot of people living up there.

[Caballo Diablo]

Cypress and Katy aren't that far apart, Katy is on I-10 and you can take Barker-Cypress Rd. from 10 right to the Berry Center. Or if you prefer a larger road without traffic lights you can take 6.

I knew many avid fans of the NIFL Katy Copperheads that just lost interest when they became the af2 Texas Copperheads and moved from the Merrell center to the Berry center. The Katy NIFL owner and coach, Bryan Blake became the coach and minority owner of the Texas af2 team and had some similar players, yet the fan base didn't move with them.

The 50 yard sport doesn't seem to attract many fans outside a very close proximity from the venue. Sure, there are some diehards that travel a good distance but we're a very small group overall. Most ticket sales are from casual fans that typically won't venture far from their own backyard.

[Big Easy]

I was the PR guy (I covered the team, handled coaching interview requests, did a podcast for the team, game day write ups, was a liason for the radio broadcasts done by ESPN The Ticket 97.5, etc.) for the Copperheads in their last season. I spent 2 years with the organization in total. The Berry Center is a first class facility. Like some have said here, other than no one knowing we were playing there, no beer sales for the people who actually came to the games was a huge issue. The Copperheads also had a challenging lease and I don't think they benefited from any concession revenue. I'm pretty sure the topic of a special events beer license was discussed, but I don't get the feeling it was ever a realistic option...could be wrong though.

There are PLENTY of people to draw from out here. I don't remember the story exactly any more, but I believe that building was built because the school district is huge...and there wasn't a facility big enough for all of the employees to meet or gather in. Of course it gave them a great facility for school related events, basketball, football , etc. as well. In 06-07 the school district had more than 100K students enrolled. This area has boomed in growth since then.

One of the problems the Copperheads had was exposure. Sound familiar? Thats a big issue for most indoor teams in any market. No one knew they were here. No marketing, small staff, etc. You get what you pay for. It's a double edged sword. I've worked for more than one professional franchise...and they all say the same thing..."we'd be more than happy to pay if we were making money". But very few set themselves up to make money. Hopefully this new group will have reached some kind of agreement with the facility (and school district) that will help them market the events.

I would be more than happy to share my experiences, thoughts and effots if anyone involved with the team is interested. Just drop me a private message and I'll get back to you.

[storm2010]

Just had a pretty good source tell me that Houston wont be fielding a team this year, do to "economic issues" .. Scheduling nightmare! Guess it's better than folding mid season..

[BananaCat]

[quote=""storm2010""]Just had a pretty good source tell me that Houston wont be fielding a team this year, do to "economic issues" .. Scheduling nightmare! Guess it's better than folding mid season..[/quote]
If true it's not surprising. The SIFL has had trouble getting Houston off the ground each of their three years of existence.

[sportznut]

OK, Even tho i have NO Official ties to the league, that i help build. That does not stop me from keeping the record strait on the SIFL, like i have always done.


The Houston Stallions ARE playing this season. You may have a pretty good source. Sorry for the pun, BUT I went strait to the horses mouth for this.

Will there be any issues between now and kickoff? I would hope not

[Texasrangers13]

If the Stallions do play, I expect it'll be a ghost team much like the AIFA has fielded in the past with the Knights, Saints, etc.

[robster2001]

[quote=""sportznut""]The Houston Stallions ARE playing this season. You may have a pretty good source. Sorry for the pun, BUT I went strait to the horses mouth for this.

Will there be any issues between now and kickoff? I would hope not[/quote]

To echo the poster above me -- will they be playing a full home-and-away schedule, or are they going to be a road team?