The Houston Dynamo will host a special pregame ceremony on Saturday night to honor the heroes throughout the Houston community that stepped up to help others during and after Hurricane Harvey.
The club will donate $5 from every individual ticket sold this week to hurricane recovery efforts. Fanatics, the official retailer of Major League Soccer, has also committed to donate the proceeds from sales of HOUSTON STRONG t-shirts to recovery efforts as well. The shirt is available for sale online and will be available in limited quantities in the adidas Dynamo Team Store tomorrow night.
Fans are encouraged to be in their seats at BBVA Compass Stadium by at least 7:00 p.m. ahead of the 7:30 kickoff in order to take part in all of the pregame ceremonies. Gates open at 6:15 p.m. to the general public. Special elements will include:
- The Dynamo and Kroger will conduct a canned food drive on Orange Avenue outside the stadium to benefit the Houston Food Bank.
- Members of the LouisianaCajun Navy will fire El Capitán, the Texas Revolutionary War-era cannon.
- Houston Fire Department Chief Samuel Peña and Houston Police Department Chief Art Acevedo will lead the two teams out of the tunnel prior to kickoff.
- Harris County Flood Control District meteorologists Jeff Linder and Jeremy Justice will deliver the official match ball.
- Kam Franklin, the lead singer of The Suffers, will lead the crowd in singing the national anthem
- The Dynamo will play a video featuring the tribute song “Houston” by Coldplay.
- Dynamo and Colorado Rapids players will join first responders in holding a “HOUSTON STRONG” banner on the field.
- A Dynamo player will address the crowd and thank all of the heroes in our community for exemplifying what HOUSTON STRONG means.
- The Dynamo Supporters Groups will unfurl a massive “HOUSTON STRONG” TiFo above the north end of the stadium just before kickoff.
- MartĂn Robles, who spent numerous hours volunteering to help others while also dealing with the loss of his own home to the storm, will perform the ceremonial “first kick.”
- The club will distribute cards reading “My Hero Is” to fans upon entry and will encourage people to write the names of heroes in their own lives.
Additionally, every Dynamo player will be wearing a special HOUSTON STRONG armband to honor those who were impacted by Hurricane Harvey as well as the heroes throughout our community.
At halftime, additional recognitions are planned:
- Kroger will present a check for $100,000 to the Houston Food Bank.
- Fans will be asked to hold their “My Hero Is” signs aloft.
- The Dynamo will honor members of the Houston-area media who worked tirelessly to keep the community informed about the storm as it took place.
