Whitmire, who served in the Texas Legislature for 50 years before becoming mayor of Houston, is a regular at Houston sporting events. He introduced legislation to create the Houston-Harris County Sports Authority and pioneered the stadium boom that led the city and county to build Minute Maid Park, NRG Stadium, Toyota Center and Shell Energy Stadium since 2000.

Commitment to football

On Thursday, Whitmire met with Houston Dynamo owner Ted Segal to discuss ways to make soccer more accessible to Houstonians.

“I met (Thursday) with the owner of the Houston Dynamo, Mr. Segal, to ask how we can work together and work together so that every Houstonian can experience soccer,” Whitmire said.

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Club America, which has a history of signing foreign stars, has won a record 15 Liga MX titles in its 108 years. Chivas has won 12 league titles, which is the second most in Liga MX history.

Club America is based in Mexico City, the largest city in Mexico. Chivas is based in Mexico’s second largest city. Additionally, Chivas is popular throughout Mexico as the club only signed players from Mexico. This tradition has changed in recent years to include Mexican Americans, but Chivas remains the only club in Liga MX that prides itself on fielding only players of Mexican descent on its rosters.

“We have wanted to come to Houston for a long time,” said Fernando Orvañanos, CEO of PRIMETIME Sports Entertainment. “It finally worked. Obviously it’s the biggest game in Liga MX and the Mexican League. And bringing it to Houston is great. We have a large number of visitors and hope we can get them back.”

Complete Clasico de Mexico experience

Well-known Mexican tenor Javier Camerana will sing the Mexican national anthem. Houston native Jose Ignacio “Big Charro” Cortez will sing the U.S. national anthem. The halftime show will be performed by AB Quintanilla’s Kumbia Kings, the younger brother of the late Tejano music star Selena.

PRIMETIME Sports will also host a pre-game FanFest Fiesta Futbolera. Legends from both clubs will sign autographs at the Fiesta Futbolera. Once the crowd flows into the stadium, Whitmire will perform one of the final performances before kickoff.

“It really takes the game to the next level,” Orvañanos said of the mayor’s coin toss. “It really shows his appreciation for Hispanic culture, sports and Houston itself.

“Having him there is basically a recognition of these two clubs, Club America and Chivas. Having him out there will be great.”