Mesh seats keep soccer fans cooler in Houston heat

Keeping cool in Houston, Texas, is practically a year-round endeavor, as temps can hit the 90s F even in the spring. One way the new owners of the Houston Dynamo Football Club addressed fan comfort in their stadium redo was by converting its seats from plastic chairs to mesh fabric from Serge Ferrari.

Shell Energy Stadium thus became the first Major League Soccer stadium to use mesh stadium seats. DreamSeat, the fabricator of the Ovation chairs, says that the mesh seats stay 30 degrees cooler than vinyl seating. The fabric used is Batyline Iso, which is dimensionally stable and weather-resistant and has been used in outdoor sling seating for more than 30 years, Serge Ferrari’s website says.

Challenges—besides fabricating about 22,000 seats in a short time frame—included incorporating the team’s custom colors, the bright Wildcatter Orange, Championship Silver and Space City Blue.

“Throughout the Shell Energy Stadium project, Serge Ferrari Group played a crucial role in ensuring its success,” says Chandler Suprina, president of DreamSeat. “They efficiently provided the required materials, were accommodating in providing swatches and approvals, and consistently ensured that deadlines were met. Their collaborative approach and commitment to timeliness contributed significantly to the project’s progress.”

The upper bowl design includes spelling “HOUSTON” through different-colored seats, and fans voted on the look. Among the four design choices were whether the letters spelling “HOUSTON” had a “drop shadow” behind them created by using silver seats mixed in the design and whether the remainder of the seats were mostly orange, for example, or a mix of colors. If a mix, fans could choose how the colors were distributed, such as randomly or in striped color blocks. More than 1,500 fans voted over a three-week period. With the stadium renovation, fans also gained cupholders with the new type of seats.

Project Name: The Houston Dynamo Football Club (Shell Energy Stadium)

Engineering and Fabrication: BlueCube

Installation: DreamSeat

Fabric: Batyline Iso by Serge Ferrari Group