The Houston SaberCats are an American professional rugby union team based in Houston , Texas, that competes in Major League Rugby (MLR). The team was founded in 2017. The SaberCats organization was born from one of the founding amateur rugby clubs that pooled resources to emerge professionally, and were the first in MLR membership to build a rugby-specific stadium intended for MLR competition.
17-717: Houston plays their games in SaberCats Stadium , which was opened on April 13, 2019. In February 2018, the City of Houston agreed to fund $ 3.2 million of the $ 15.25 million needed to build a permanent rugby stadium for use by the Houston SaberCats at Houston Sports Park . On July 17, the SaberCats announced that a three-year naming rights were awarded to British multinational software and technology company Aveva , and that it would be initially known as "Aveva Stadium". Following this deal,
34-534: A 5,000 person initial capacity. Leading up to the inaugural season of the team, the City of Houston agreed to partially fund a permanent stadium with a contribution of $ 3.2 million in February 2018. The ownership group expects to invest an additional $ 12.0 million of their own funds to construct the 3-field, multi-use facility. Details of the deal, outlined in Houston City Ordinance 2018–0085, also confirmed
51-446: A multi-step reverse takeover . Schneider Electric became the largest shareholder with a 60% ownership interest. On 21 September 2022, Schneider agreed to a full takeover of AVEVA by paying about £3.87 billion (US$ 4.4 billion) for the remaining equity, valuing the whole of AVEVA at around £9.48 billion (US$ 10.8 billion). The company confirmed that the final day of trading in its shares prior to completion of
68-758: Is a British multinational information technology consulting company headquartered in Cambridge , England. The company started as the Computer-Aided Design Centre (or CADCentre ) which was created in Cambridge in 1967 by the UK Ministry of Technology and Cambridge University . It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by Schneider Electric on 18 January 2023. The origins of AVEVA start in 1967 in Cambridge , England, with
85-519: Is the home of the Houston SaberCats of Major League Rugby . The groundbreaking ceremony took place on July 24, 2018. Naming rights for the stadium were initially purchased by British information technology company AVEVA , and it was opened as AVEVA Stadium on April 13, 2019. Following the 2022 season , its name officially changed to "SaberCats Stadium". It is the first stadium in the league built specifically for use by Major League Rugby, and
102-521: Is the home of the UFA team Houston Havoc , a professional Ultimate Frisbee team. SaberCats Stadium's overall facilities include a 1,200-car parking lot and two secondary fields for multipurpose use. While seating capacity exceeds 3,000, the stadium features up to 4,000 maximum capacity by utilizing standing-room-only areas. The venue is primarily the home of the Houston SaberCats professional Rugby team but can accommodate other sports and non-sports events due to
119-655: The Sugar Land Skeeters , for part of the 2019 season, and for their exhibition matches in 2017 and 2018. Also, in April 2019, while the new pitch at SaberCats Stadium healed, the team returned to Dyer Stadium to play one match against San Diego before returning to SaberCats Stadium. The Houston SaberCats squad for the 2024 Major League Rugby season is: Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality. On March 12, 2020, MLR announced
136-548: The mayor of Houston , Sylvester Turner , representing the city. Construction was still ongoing as the venue opened as "AVEVA Stadium" on April 13, 2019 with a game against the Seattle Seawolves . After its inauguration, previous games were played before the grand opening, which was postponed and took place on May 29, 2019. The Houston team played against the Glendale Raptors . Beginning in 2022, Houston Dynamo 2 ,
153-520: The construction on city-owned property in south Houston at Houston Sports Park, with the city maintaining ownership and leasing stadium grounds back to the team for a 43-year term. On July 8, the Houston SaberCats released new preliminary architectural drawings and a groundbreaking announcement for July 24, 2018 via Instagram and then via press release several days later. On July 17, the SaberCats announced naming rights were awarded to AVEVA . The groundbreaking ceremony took place on July 24, 2018, with
170-690: The establishment of the CADCentre, as it was more commonly referred to, and later formally became. It was a government-funded research institute created by the UK Ministry of Technology , with a mission to develop computer-aided design techniques and promote their take-up by British industry. Its first director was Arthur Llewelyn, who initially contracted out the recruitment and management of specialist staff to ICL . The centre carried out CAD research, and some of its early staff members, such as brothers Dick Newell and Martin Newell , went on to become well known in
187-470: The large size of the fields. The stadium's east and west side stands are grandstands with individual seats. The south side stands feature a mix of bleacher and individual seats, while the north side stands are uncovered bleacher seating. Also located on the south end of the stadium, below the video board, is a full-service bar known as the "Cat's Den" and two berms . Both the bar area and berms allow for general standing. AVEVA AVEVA Group plc
SECTION 10
#1732872386832204-582: The reserve side of MLS club Houston Dynamo, began playing home matches at the stadium. As naming rights with AVEVA ended, it became known as "SaberCats Stadium" beginning with the 2022 season. SaberCats Stadium has hosted non-MLR events. In 2022 it hosted both the Division 1-A Rugby final and the United States national rugby union team in a match against the French Barbarians . Also, beginning in 2023 it
221-629: The season would go on hiatus immediately for 30 days due to fears surrounding the 2019–2020 coronavirus pandemic . It was cancelled the following week See also: List of companies in Houston See: List of colleges and universities in Houston [REDACTED] Category [REDACTED] Texas portal SaberCats Stadium SaberCats Stadium is a rugby union stadium in Houston, Texas , United States as part of Houston Sports Park and
238-732: The second rugby-specific stadium primarily for professional competition in the United States. In March 2017, local rugby organization and predecessor to the Houston SaberCats, the Houston Strikers publicly announced their plans to build a stadium at the Houston Sports Park located roughly three miles from NRG Park and eight miles from Downtown Houston along the South Freeway. The group also released several other key details such as early renderings, an estimated cost of $ 10 million, and
255-468: The venue became known as "SaberCats Stadium". Houston Sports Park is also the permanent training ground for Major League Soccer soccer team Houston Dynamo as well as the Houston Dash women's soccer team. During the 2018 regular season, the SaberCats played their home matches at Dyer Stadium and trained at Athlete Training and Health in Houston. The team also played at Constellation Field , home of
272-594: The worldwide CAD community. Dick Newell oversaw the creation of the Plant Design Management System (PDMS) for the 3D process plant design. He later co-founded two software companies – Cambridge Interactive Systems (CIS) which was known for its Medusa 2D/3D CAD system, and Smallworld with its eponymous Smallworld GIS ( Geographical Information System ). Martin Newell later went to the University of Utah where he did pioneering 3D solid modelling work; he
289-414: Was also one of the progenitors of PostScript . CADCentre became a private company in 1983, was the subject of a management buyout in 1994 under the leadership of its first managing director, Dr. Bob Bishop, and became a publicly quoted company in 1996. It changed its name to AVEVA in 2001. On 1 March 2018, AVEVA agreed to merge with France-based Schneider Electric 's industrial software business in
#831168