Best news I heard in awhile. Good for the Dynamo and TSU. Keeping fingers crossed for an MLL team now!
Why's that? They're not really spending anything else. They've already purchased the land and the stadium will be deeded to the city after the end of the lease.
The county wants to buy half of the land, which would give them half ownership of the stadium, with the Sports Authority managing the stadium. It seems like if that happens the stadium will probably get built since the ownership situation is one of the major sticking points. http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/sports/local/100225-dynamo-stadium
great. this stadium NEEDS to be downtown and i believe it's addition along with the light rail will go a long way in the revitalization of EaDo (hate that name, btw).
http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2010/03/02/west_university_examiner/news/wu_stadium_progress.txt Sweet! East Houston... centrally located... NICE! GO DYNAMO!!!
So the choice for El Franco Lee is a beautiful soccer stadium, one which would help revitalize that area even more OR a detention center. Wow. Can't imagine why he'd want the stadium...
I can't see how any East End resident would opt for a prison instead of the stadium. It's one of those "not in my neighborhood" things and El Franco Lee is stupidly playing with fire here. I know my family in that neighborhood would love a stadium over a jail.
[Chron] New Dynamo Stadium Deal Being Proposed http://blogs.chron.com/houstonpolitics/2010/03/a_deal_on_a_stadium_for_the_dy.html Didn't see this posted anywhere. If it already has been, please lock.
March 23, 2010 A deal on a stadium for the Dynamo A proposed deal on a stadium for the Houston Dynamo is being unveiled in a City Council committee this morning, our City Hall and county writers are reporting this morning. Details are sketchy, but it appears Harris County will join an East End tax increment reinvestment zone and contribute $10 million toward the stadium project, David Turkel, director of the county's Community Services Department, told reporter Chris Moran. "I think we've reached a point in discussions where there is basic agreement on the different elements," Turkel told Moran. The TIRZ, located just east of U.S. 59 downtown, would serve as the financing vehicle for the public portion of the stadium project. In addition, the county would pay an additional $7.5 million to become a joint owner of the 15-acre site, Turkel said. Any deal would have to be approved by Commissioners Court and City Council. The city and Harris County have been negotiating for 20 months on a deal that would have each put up $10 million to supplement the a $60 million pledge from the Dynamo to build a stadium just east of U.S. 59 downtown. Negotiations had been stalled for most of last year, but began to move forward shortly after Mayor Annise Parker was inaugurated. Earlier this month, the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority got involved, exploring the idea of serving a "limited administrative role" - possibly as landlord - for a stadium. We'll update as details of the deal become available. Posted by Matthew Schwartz at March 23, 2010 10:55 AM
Man, a lot of hard work and wrangling went into getting this done. The city and county and both basically paying peanuts. I was pissed at the hardball tactics being played by a couple commissioners, but I guess it worked out. Now bring on the renderings!
This would be great for the team and the city of Houston. I'm somewhat suprised that the seating capacity is only 21,000 to 22,000. From what I hear they sell out at Roberston stadium all the time.
Not really, their average is between 16K and 18K, they've had games over 30K (playoffs and Beckham games) but those aren't the norm. By building a smaller stadium they save money on costs and maintenance and create demand for tickets. And it will probably be designed to be easily expanded if they need to.
Fantastic news. It's been a long time coming, but our patience paid off. I'm glad that the Dynamo execs knew it would be impossible to be a community mainstay if the stadium were to be built in the suburbs. Examples abound in the MLS of that tactic failing (FC Dallas and Colorado come to mind). Instead, we're going to get a fantastic new facility in the East End, which will help that area much more than any detention center would have.
Yay! Good news. That's what SHE said. EDIT: Code: <XMP><?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <kml xmlns="http://www.opengis.net/kml/2.2"> <Document><name>kml-file with polygon for proposed Dynamo Stadium site</name> <description>Proposed location of Dynamo Stadium</description> <Style id="rangecolour"> <LineStyle><color>660000FF</color><width>0.5</width></LineStyle> <PolyStyle><color>660000FF</color></PolyStyle> </Style> <Style id="linecolour"> <LineStyle><color>660000FF</color><width>5</width></LineStyle> </Style> <Placemark><name>distribution</name> <description></description> <styleUrl>#linecolour</styleUrl> <LineString> <tessellate>1</tessellate><altitudeMode>clampToGround</altitudeMode> <coordinates> -95.354,29.751507,0 -95.35223,29.753771,0 -95.350556,29.752727,0 -95.352327,29.750464,0 -95.353968,29.751498,0 -95.354,29.751507,0 </coordinates> </LineString> </Placemark> </Document> </kml></XMP> KML file
HC-HSA approval is a done deal... [rquoter]Dynamo stadium project passes key vote HOUSTON (AP)—A proposal to build a stadium for the Houston Dynamo has passed a key milestone. The Harris County-Houston Sports Authority voted 10-0 on Thursday to proceed with the project. Executive director Janis Schmees says the authority would negotiate the stadium lease with the Dynamo, then will oversee construction of and manage the stadium. Still to come are a March 31 Houston City Council vote and one April 13 by Harris County commissioners. Approval is expected from all sides. The Dynamo would pay $60 million of the $80 million cost of the stadium, which would be built in a vacant lot east of downtown Houston. The city and county would pay the rest. Construction could begin Oct. 1 and the stadium could be ready for 2012.[/rquoter]
