The stadium is still months away from actually hosting a game, but it's already making an impact.
The Texas Bar-B-Que house saw some lean years on Houston's East End. But that is changing.
"The whole East End is moving and expanding and it's good," said Gus Gussymeonidis with the Texas Bar-B-Que House.
That moving and expanding is anchored by a new 22,000 foot soccer stadium going in right across the street.
"When the stadium opens, I think I am going to hire some more employees and it's gonna be very, very, very good to business," Gussymeonidis said.
The $95 million project sits on six blocks of land just east of Highway 59 downtown. It is on schedule to open next spring and host 50 events a year.
"We're really excited for it to open. It's gonna be great to have all of the dynamo fans down here definitely," said Anthony Wegmann, owner of Lucky's Pub.
The pub sits right between the new soccer stadium and Minute Maid Park. The expectations are high enough that Wegmann opened two other businesses in an adjacent lot.
"I think it'll be great for this side of town, all of the Dynamo fans, the pedestrian traffic, hopefully concerts, TSU games, a little bit of everything. It should be fun," he said.
"Everything is on schedule. We've had a terrific process here with the construction," said Houston Dynamo President Chris Canetti.
He says the stadium will be first class and the soccer team won't be the only one to benefit from the massive project.
"The East End is an up-and-comer here in town, and the residents and the business owners and other civic associations have been great in supporting. They see this stadium as the linchpin to growth over here. And we're gonna do as much as we can to help see it grow," Canetti said.
Add to the mix a planned light rail stop on the stadium's north side, new residential properties, new businesses -- and parking seems to be about the only negative kicked around.
But for East End stakeholders like the Texas Bar-B-Que House, the game is definitely changing for the good.
