March 27, 2009

Dynamo stadium deal: Now you see it, now you don't

Houston Chronicle headline, March 24, 2009, 5:27PM:

Financing for Dynamo stadium nearly a done deal

Houston Chronicle headline, March 25, 2009, 1:16AM:

Financing for Dynamo stadium still up in air

What changed in a matter of hours? Apparently, the Chron reporters got hold of county commissioner El Franco Lee, whose precinct would house the new $80 million stadium, and who said, "There is nothing that I'm about to put on the agenda at all. There's nothing happening on that."

Under the Dynamo's proposed deal, the team would put up about $60 million towards a stadium, while the city and county would provide $20 million in tax-increment financing plus free land. The public money would repay bonds that the Dynamo have to sell first, which is where progress apparently has been made: Team president Oliver Luck said the "principal points have been agreed upon" with the BBVA/Compass bank. Even then, though, the deal still must go through the city council and county commissioner's court for approval.