Oliver Luck says let’s get on with it now that the election is over.
“It almost has to (happen soon),” Luck said Wednesday. “If it doesn’t happen by the end of the year, it’s the old saying: A no is bad, a slow no is even worse. If there is no resolution by the end of the year, we’ll have to go to plan B, whatever that is.”
[…]
Team co-owner Anschutz Entertainment Group has pledged to carry the brunt of the financing — between $60 million and $80 million — and Texas Southern University is willing to invest in the stadium in exchange for the rights to use it for football.
But at least one commissioner believes the county has no business in the negotiations.
“It’s strictly a City of Houston deal,” [County Commissioner Sylvia] Garcia said in a pre-recorded interview aired Wednesday night on 790 AM.
Garcia, who could not be reached for further comment, suggested a referendum to let voters decide if county tax dollars should be spent on the project.
Negotiations toward a soccer stadium have been under way since before AEG relocated the Dynamo from San Jose, Calif., in late 2005.
Team ownership and the city hoped to have a resolution by summer’s end, but the economic crisis, Hurricane Ike and elections have further delayed action.
Window closing“As I said at the city today, at the mayor’s office, we have a window now up until the end of the year where we can get this thing done despite the economic challenges that exist in the marketplace,” said Luck, who called the speed of negotiations “disappointing” but expressed confidence something could be worked out now that the elections are over.
I’m not convinced that there is a Plan B for the Dynamo at this point, not in this economic climate. I could be wrong about that, but I can’t imagine there are too many cities waiting in line to lure a pro soccer team to their backyard with some kind of sweet stadium deal. Plan B may well have to be to ask the city to split the remaining difference and hope for the best.
I don’t have a quarrel with putting this up for a vote, but if it’s not the county’s business, what difference would that make? I continue to believe that a Dynamo Stadium makes sense, and the price for the county is pretty modest, but if Commissioner Garcia sees it otherwise, it ain’t gonna happen. In which case, we’ll see what Plan B actually is.
You’re right. If it’s none of the county’s business, why hold a referendum? I’ve always thought this stadium would happen, but the continued delays are starting to make me doubt that now.