The Houston Dynamo have new (sort of) ownership. Mexican businessman Gabriel Brener, a minority owner of the Dynamo since 2008, has pushed his chips into the middle of the table and bought the majority ownership of the Dynamo, Houston Dash and affiliates.
“I am honored to become the new managing partner of the Houston Dynamo,” said Brener in a release put out by the Dynamo. “I’d like to thank Mr. Phil Anschutz and the AEG organization for being great partners over the years. Mr. Anschutz has been critical to the development of MLS and the game in the United States, and for that I thank him.
“Most importantly, I want to recognize the Dynamo fans, sponsors, players and staff and thank them for their support and efforts," Brener said. "I want to let them know that we are committed to fielding a winning team, providing an incredible fan experience, and giving back to the community.”
Since its formation, Houston has been one of the MLS clubs most connected with Mexico. In addition to Brener's ownership, one of the Dynamo's designated players is Mexican international Erick "Cubo" Torres. Boxer Oscar de la Hoya is also part of the ownership group.
Brener said he will pay particular attention to Houston's Mexican-American population in an interview with HoustonDynamo.com:
HD: As a Mexican-American, you must take particular pride in owning the Dynamo in a city with significant ethnic diversity, including a large Mexican-American population that loves soccer?
GB: Indeed I do. I believe that it presents a great opportunity for us going forward in a way where I can identify with the different groups of minorities that we have in our city and supporting our club. We are all immigrants.
“We want to thank the Dynamo fans for their passion and tremendous support since we arrived in Houston in 2006,” said Dan Beckerman, president and CEO of AEG, the company than manages the Dash and the Dynamo, in the team's release. “Since he joined our ownership group in 2008, we could not have asked for a better partner than Gabriel Brener. He has been a driving force behind the Dynamo and his love for this city and this franchise make him the perfect leader for this team moving forward.”
Contact The18 Staff Writer Sam Klomhaus at Klomhaus@The18.com or follow him on Twitter @SamKlomhaus
