KHOU-11’s Lee McGuire reports that Commissioners Court has approved an extension for developers to secure financing for the proposed Astrodome redevelopment:
The Harris County Commissioners Court approved an extension Tuesday for developers to come up with financing for a proposed $500 million renovation of the Astrodome.
Mike Surface, chair of the Harris County Sports and Convention Authority, said the entire project will be privately financed at no cost to taxpayers.
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“Well, I think anybody who looks at the dome will look at it and say, what are we going to do with it? But in this case, the Astrodome redevelopment corporation has a very definitive plan,” County Judge Ed Emmett said.
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The County Commissioners expect to have a new redevelopment plan to vote on sometime around January.
So far, developers have a bank interested in putting up the money, but they say it will take months to hammer out details on a financial agreement.
That financial agreement could prove fleeting. In the current financial environment, most institutional investors are not looking to finance shaky boondoggles.
It is interesting that our selected-not-elected County Judge is so enthusiastic about the project, but perhaps he doesn’t want to be known as the guy who presided over the destruction of the old stadium.
In a related story, KPRC-2 notes that taxpayers continue to fork over a few million dollars a year while the utopians and pols dream of rides that make people say “wow!“
Meantime, the continuing cost of operating the dome is another concern. It costs approximately $2.8 million annually.
There’s $30 million in debt still owed on the bonds.
That’s just your money, taxpayers. No worries.
