From the weekend: Anschutz Entertainment Group has turned down Rockets owner Leslie Alexander’s offer to purchase the Houston Dynamo and the 30-year lease on BBVA Compass Stadium, effectively ending any further negotiations between the sides. “Ownership evaluated the offer,” Dynamo president Chris Canetti said. “At the end of the day, they determined that they’re not [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Dynamo’
Les Alexander on the verge of buying the Dynamo
I like the thought of this. Rockets owner Leslie Alexander is in the final stages of negotiations to purchase the Dynamo and secure the 30-year lease and development agreement on BBVA Compass Stadium, three officials with knowledge of the process said Thursday. The deal is not complete, but the sides are close, said the three [...]
Tailgating downtown
Go for it! The Dynamo have been playing at the University of Houston’s Robertson Stadium and have always allowed tailgating prior to games. However, fans won’t have the same luxury at the soccer team’s new stadium because of a city ordinance against drinking in parking lots downtown. The city ordinance prohibits an open container or [...]
BBVA Compass Stadium
Dynamo Stadium gets a new name. When the Dynamo first approached BBVA Compass before breaking ground on their new stadium, the two-time MLS Cup champions were looking for a loan to help finance the construction of the club’s venue on the East End. Now, the bank will have its name and a note on BBVA [...]
Dynamo Stadium groundbreaking today
I presume things will be sufficiently de-iced for the ceremony today at 2 PM at the stadium site in the East End. The stadium will have 22,000 seats, and the expansion capacity will be 30,000 over 340,000 square feet. Populous, which was previously called HOK Sports, also designed Minute Maid Park, Toyota Center and Reliant [...]
Council gives final approval to Dynamo Stadium deal
The last hurdle has officially been cleared. With two unanimous votes at City Council on Wednesday, the Dynamo cleared the last public hurdles they need to build their new stadium on the East End. “I think it’s a very important step in the right direction and brings us much closer to finalizing all the pieces [...]
The Dynamo Stadium rebate plan
Well, this is interesting. The city is poised to strike a 30-year deal giving back $3 million in projected sales tax to the Houston Dynamo as they prepare to construct their $60 million stadium. City officials say the tax rebate always has been a part of the deal that kept the team from leaving Houston, [...]
Dynamo Stadium groundbreaking delayed
Groundbreaking for Dynamo Stadium was originally scheduled for this Saturday the 29th, but due to a delay with City Council it has been put off till next week. Because the city council has not yet voted on the Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) that is part of the inter-local agreement between the county and city, [...]
The Sports Authority wants you to know it’s working hard for you
I feel like the Chron should send a bill for its standard advertising rates to the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority for running this op-ed by its chair, J. Kent Friedman. It’s one part victory lap for negotiating the Dynamo Stadium lease and one part “Hey! Look at all this stuff we’re doing!” rah-rah. I like [...]
Dynamo Stadium lease deal reached
We didn’t get the World Cup, but soccer fans here had something to celebrate this week. The Dynamo have agreed to pay $76 million to build a professional soccer stadium in downtown Houston and then lease it from the city and county for $65,000 a year. The board of the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority, a [...]
Dynamo Stadium on the agenda
The Sports Authority will meet this week to try to hammer out a lease agreement for the Houston Dynamo in their future stadium. The Sports Authority will meet Dec. 2, but it won’t meet again until February, which is partly why the lease topic was placed on the agenda. [Sports Authority Chair Kenny] Friedman said [...]
Dynamo “Your Name Here” Stadium
In a conversation with the Chron, Tim Leiweke, the president of Dynamo co-owner AEG, discusses the next big item on their to-do list: The naming rights is the next task at hand and it will be a hot priority, but we expect to be under construction at the end of the year. And believe it [...]
Dynamo Stadium coming along
A very brief update from the Chron: Tim Leiweke, the president of Dynamo co-owner AEG, told the Chronicle that the Dynamo’s negotiations for a new stadium are completed for the most part and that he expects to break ground at the end of the year for the East End stadium scheduled to open in June [...]
Dynamo Stadium design
Wondering what the new Dynamo Stadium will be like? The Chron has some early information. “We hope to be on site with a shovel in the ground by the end of this year,” said Dynamo general manager Oliver Luck, who took the primary role in lobbying county and city officials to help fund the $95 [...]
Don’t play ball with the state of Arizona
What Kevin Blackistone says. About 10 years ago, the NCAA made one of its most bold and upright decisions: it refused to allow any more of its postseason tournaments, like March Madness, to be held in South Carolina until the state stopped flying the banner of the long defeated racist Confederacy in the face of [...]
One last time for the Dome and the Dynamo
I suppose now that the Dynamo have finally gotten an official commitment from all relevant parties to go forward with their downtown stadium idea that it was inevitable the question of why didn’t they just use the Astrodome came up again one last time. The answers really should be obvious, but let’s go over them [...]
Once again mulling the fate of the Astrodome
Am I the only one who noticed the omission in this story about the current state of the Astrodome? Debt and interest payments will amount to more than $2.4 million this year, according to a payment schedule for the higher debt estimate. The Astrodome’s manager estimates it also will cost $2 million for insurance, maintenance, [...]
Library hours to be cut back
No surprise here. Hammered by $2.2 million in budget cuts, the Houston Public Library system this month will reduce its hours by 28 percent — closing most of its 42 branches on Saturdays — and trim expenditures for library materials. [...] Reduced hours will go into effect on April 17. Most libraries will now be [...]
Commissioners Court to vote Tuesday on Dynamo Stadium deal
One presumes that since they were the holdup on this, the fact that they’re finally bringing it to a vote means it will go through. “I expressed concern (weeks ago) when we started getting this kind of Christmas tree built with all other things added to it,” County Judge Ed Emmett said Friday. But he [...]
Council approves Dynamo Stadium deal
Two down, one to go. The Houston City Council unanimously approved an agreement this morning that is expected to pave the way for a new professional sports stadium for the Houston Dynamo and the Texas Southern University football team. Although some council members voiced concerns about the finances of the $95 million public/private project, many [...]
Dynamo Stadium deal tagged
While City Council was able to complete the Lakewood Church sale, they were not able to vote on the other major real estate deal on their agenda this week, as Council Member Jarvis Johnson put a tag on the Dynamo Stadium deal. Johnson said he delayed the vote out of concern the stadium could put [...]
Sports Authority to become Dynamo Stadium landlord
One of the items on the to-do list after the city and county struck a deal on Dynamo Stadium was for the team to negotiate a lease for the stadium. The Harris County-Houston Sports Authority was proposed as the landlord, and now they have formally agreed to take that role. The city and county asked [...]
Dynamo Stadium deal finally struck
Took ‘em long enough. The city of Houston and Harris County have struck a potential deal on a new stadium for the Houston Dynamo and Texas Southern University’s football team, agreeing to jointly pay for $20 million in infrastructure upgrades if the soccer team follows through with a commitment to foot the bill for the [...]
Here comes the Sports Authority
Ready or not, here they are to ride to the rescue. The Harris County-Houston Sports Authority agreed Monday to talk to city and county officials about its possible involvement in a soccer stadium for the Houston Dynamo. The authority will establish a task force to determine its response to an invitation from the city and [...]
Sports Authority to the rescue?
After many months in limbo, there may finally be a way forward for Dynamo Stadium, though it’s a somewhat convoluted path. The Harris County-Houston Sports Authority board is scheduled on Monday to discuss becoming the landlord for a professional soccer stadium in Houston’s East End. [...] [Harris County Commissioner El Franco] Lee repeatedly has said [...]
Bellaire officially opposes Dynamo Westpark Stadium
Bellaire City Council unanimously passed a resolution Monday night that opposes the construction of a Dynamo Stadium on Westpark. “To ignore it and not speak up for our residents would be the wrong thing to do,” said Mayor Cindy Siegel, after introducing the resolution, which stated: “Whereas, the proposed Midway stadium site is not compatible [...]
East Enders appeal to El Franco
As we know, the main holdup with the proposed East End location for Dynamo Stadium is that County Commissioner El Franco Lee, in whose precinct the stadium site mostly sits, has not indicated that he intends to put the issue on the Court’s agenda. At this week’s meeting, he heard from some constituents who want [...]
“There’s no such thing as a project like this without public money”
Dynamo President Oliver Luck throws a little cold water on the claims that a Westpark Stadium could be built exclusively with private funding. “We have not been presented a plan by the Midway Companies,” Luck said. “I can’t say whether there’s ‘no public money’ involved. “We (the Dynamo) won’t talk to the city or county [...]
Bellaire versus Westpark Stadium
Still more on the proposed Westpark location for Dynamo Stadium: The Mayor of Bellaire doesn’t like the idea. [Bellaire Mayor Cindy] Siegel has scheduled an executive session of the Bellaire City Council Monday following the 7 p.m. State of the City address and indicated she’s optimistic other councilmembers will join her in opposing the 20,000-seat [...]
More on the Dynamo’s Westpark option
Here’s an updated version of the earlier story about the Houston Dynamo and the possibility of their stadium being built on Westpark. “The deal downtown started stalling a little bit. We started wondering if that stadium could make sense at this property,” said Brad Freels, chairman and CEO of Midway. Freels envisions a 21,000-seat soccer [...]
The Dynamo contemplate their options
Is the future of Dynamo Stadium on Westpark? Could be. Dynamo President Oliver Luck is in talks with a developer about building a soccer stadium on private land about a mile south of the Galleria. The Dynamo have not abandoned plans to build on a 12 acres of city-owned land downtown, Luck said. But the [...]
Dynamo fans rally for the stadium
There was a rally by Houston Dynamo fans over the weekend in support of getting the stadium deal done. Hair Balls and the Chron’s Glenn Davis have coverage. From what I can see, it looks to me like the ralliers have the right idea. From the Chron: “This is the best stadium deal that has [...]
Post-election Dynamo Stadium update
So where do we stand with Dynamo Stadium now that the Mayoral election is over? Pretty much where we were before it, actually. Of the MLS teams pushing for a stadium, the Dynamo appear closest to the goal. Team ownership hopes to strike a deal with the city of Houston and Harris County for a [...]