Catching Up With MLS Dynamo COO Chris Canetti

Canetti (l) Handing Coach Dominic Kinnear His MLS Championship Ring

Q: Outside of winning the MLS Cup last year, what has been the highlight of your time with the Dynamo?

Canetti: We’re on the verge of possibly our third sellout in a row, third crowd of 30,000-plus.

Q: What is the effect of the ever-growing U.S. Hispanic population on MLS?

Canetti: It’s significant. There’s a huge opportunity to reach Hispanics, and we’re seeing that positive impact in Houston with our Hispanic base somewhere in the 40-50% range of total attendees. They bring an incredible passion and environment to the stadium. It’s also very valuable to sponsors.

Q: The U.S. has plenty of soccer fans, but why hasn’t it come to dominate the team sports landscape here as it has in much of the world?

Canetti: Because pro soccer has only existed here for a short period of time, 12 years. I’m going to throw out the NASL years because when they went out of business, it set things back. Kids have not had pro soccer players to look up to, and now that that exists, you can see the positive impact it’s had on the growth of the sport across the board.

Q: Where do you see MLS in ten years?

Canetti: It’s probably going to be an 18-20 team league with a national footprint, a diversified ownership group, new stadiums, great TV contracts, and teams that are highly relevant in each of their marketplaces.

Q: MLS has a national ad campaign with the slogan, “You’re a fan, you just don’t know it yet,” that focuses on drawing fans from other sports. How does it draw soccer fans who might watch other leagues or prefer int’l soccer?

Canetti: It’s beginning to happen. For the pure soccer fans, it’s about the product on the field and the environment in the stands. The better our product gets, the more the soccer aficionados will come to respect, support and consume it whether in person or on TV.

Q: The Dynamo were one of the pro teams that demonstrated support for Virginia Tech following April’s tragic events with a uniform tribute. Why do people turn to sports to aid in the healing process?

Canetti: Sports teams have a natural ability to step in and play a role in those times that other businesses can’t. Sports are built on emotion and human interest, so we have an ability in this industry to be able to act in situations like that and rally people and unify them to help. People always feel better when they can help.

Canetti Says Having Winning Team Is Most Important Factor In Houston Market

Canetti: Possibly. We’re in a situation where we like our team and we have a great chemistry, and we believe our success is a result of that. So we’re going to be very careful before we do anything to break up the chemistry that’s worked for us. While we won’t say no to it, it’s got to be something that makes incredible sense for us both on the field and off the field. Having a winning team in this market is the most important thing, and who we win with is secondary. We’re drawing 30,000 with no DAVID BECKHAM, no CUAUHTEMOC BLANCO, no new stadium, no international doubleheaders.

Q: The Dynamo get pretty good local coverage (Houston Chronicle, etc.). What advice would you give other MLS execs whose teams are hurting for attention from local media?

Canetti: We have from day one positioned this organization as being major league. We didn’t come in with a second-class citizen mentality, like we’re below the Rockets, Astros and Texans, even though those brands are much bigger and further along than we are. The media acknowledges that it can’t pass over something that’s relevant to its constituents. There’s lots of little tricks that we put into place to drive media support.

Q: What is a current sports business story you are watching?

Canetti: I’m a Yankees fan, so I’m watching the drama unfold in New York as the Yankees appear to be reinventing themselves.

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