Whatever obstacles were standing in the way of county commissioner El Franco Lee agreeing to Harris County participation in the East Downtown TIRZ — the last piece of the funding puzzle needed for the Houston Dynamo to get its new soccer stadium — appear to have fallen. A number of votes will need to take place before construction can start on the site bounded by Texas, Dowling, Hutchins, and Walker streets just east of Downtown. But media reports indicate the long-stalled project now has sufficient government support to move forward:
The city and county have asked the [Harris County-Houston Sports Authority] to take over lease negotiations with the Dynamo, oversee the construction project and act as property manager upon the stadium’s completion.
If the authority approves the request, City Council is expected to vote on the agreement March 31, followed by a Commissioner’s Court vote expected on April 13. If all is approved as planned, the two parties would turn the land over to the Dynamo for construction on Oct. 1, and the stadium is scheduled for completion April 1, 2012, just in time for the Dynamo season to begin.
- City, county strike potential Dynamo stadium deal [Houston Chronicle]
- Icken: Dynamo stadium could be ‘done deal’ by September [Houston Business Journal]
- Previously on Swamplot: Deep Inside City and County Negotiations for an East Downtown Dynamo Stadium, Boxing Out Dynamo Stadium, Dynamo Downtown Dinghy: All Aboard, Quick! and A First Glimpse of the New Dynamo Stadium
Rendering of Dynamo Stadium: Populous
This is the best thing that could have happened to a most decrepit part of Houston and ensures the last of Houston’s sniveling major sports teams will have a home. However, the major tenants of this facility will ensure the city’s elite never step foot inside. Thus, without the presence of the educated and affluent,true economic development is illusory.
Huh? I usually find Landed Gent amusing, but this time I find him obtuse. Frankly I don’t give a hoot about the gentrification possibilities of the new soccer stadium, I just want to know where I’ll be watching the Dynamo in a few years. BUILD IT ALREADY!!
Right, there are not affluent soccer fans. All the oil tycoons from Mexico and Venezuela don’t like soccer. I am sure nobody from BP (aka British Petroleum) or Statoil like soccer. I am sure all those people sitting in the $1000 seats are just poor and found the tickets on the street. The cities that invest during times like this are the ones that come out on top. You don’t really make your money when the market is up, you make it when it goes down.
Well, I’m pretty sure the BP guys and other major oil execs like soccer, just not MLS soccer.
Case in point Arena Football, XFL, World League Football, etc. There is no doubt Football is #1 for Americans, but in any competition there is only room for two competitors. In this case, that is College Football and the NFL.
I think that’s the point LG is trying to make. Reality bites.
Unless the architectural construction documents are almost finished, I don’t see how they could possibly start construction by Oct 1st.
Whatever people want to whine about, at least that land will be doing a lot more for the local community and the city as a whole as a soccer stadium than it is now; sitting there vacant and dilapidated as an eyesore
What?! No retractable roof? How do we expect to be a World Class City if the soccer stadium doesn’t have a retractable roof?
Terry,
The Dynamo play in international competitions like Champions League and Superliga. So no one one from Mexico or central America would be interested in watching the Dynamo play against the likes Chivas, Pachuca, or Saprissa? Pachuca has played the Dynamo more times in the last 3 years than any other club outside of Mexico. Plus your analog with american football is invalid, because unlike Arena or XLS, MLS is the only option to watch live.