Miya Shay reports that the Houston Dynamo may become the Houston Astros’ newest neighbor.
Officially, the Dynamo say they are still looking at building a new stadium either in Sugar Land or Houston. But I’ve learned there’s been a strong push by city and sports leaders in town to keep the team in Houston. And while the final decision is still weeks away, there’s been lots of scouting for a potential location.
As the Houston Dynamo players try to defend their championship, the team’s front office is trying to find the team a permanent home.
“We really want to find the site that makes the most sense for the franchise, for the sport of soccer, and what we think can give us the best opportunity to not only grow our business, but to really embrace the soccer community,” said General Manager Oliver Luck.
Luck would not go into specifics, but multiple sources say the Dynamo is seriously considering a stretch of parking lot located just east of Minute Maid Park. Owned by the Houston Sports Authority, the large surface parking lot is under a 30-year lease by the Astros. But Pam Gardner says the team’s willing to share.
“We’ve been really, really thrilled with the situation we have downtown,” she said. “We would have to look at how we might look into some shared environments. Where they might put it might affect what else they have around them. Without knowing the specifics on their plan, it’s hard to really address that.”
Your move, Sugar Land.
One advantage for the Minute Maid site: come 2010, it will be near a BRT (or maybe LRT) station, with direct service from Harrisburg and most likely the Near North Side as well.