As we’ve been discussing already here, Mayor White has taken public the city’s previously “private” negotations with the Houston Dynamo, complaining about attempts to “pressure” the city.
Here is the MLS Commissioner’s letter (which implies the team will move if a stadium deal is not soon reached), and here is the Chronicle‘s summary:
In response to a generic question about the state of the negotiations, White told reporters that one of the team’s owners recently showed him a letter from Major League Soccer urging a quick resolution to the negotiations. The letter, written by Commissioner Don Garber, hints at the possibility of moving the team from Houston if a stadium deal is not reached with the city.
“It is inconceivable that MLS will allow the team to continue playing as a secondary tenant in a college football facility, particularly after the league moved the team due to the challenges at San Jose State,” Garber wrote. “While another relocation would be equally traumatic, we both must consider our options to ensure that the team has a path to economic success.”
The Dynamo came to Houston in 2005 after the team was unable to reach a public-private partnership with the city of San Jose, Calif., for a new stadium.
White was blunt in his response to reporters.
“I’ve gotten a little bit of a reputation, probably deserved, that I don’t respond well to threats,” he said. “I smiled.”
Team officials later held a news conference to explain that they never intended to pressure the mayor.
But Oliver Luck, president and general manager, also reiterated the team’s contention that a significant city investment in the new stadium is necessary to make the franchise successful.
“We have made our position very clear to the mayor that we are looking for some public support for that building, and we will do the right thing, which is to continue to negotiate with the city to try to identify any potential revenue streams that may eventually bridge the gap we’re now facing,” Luck said.
Mayor White is generally the one who plays political hardball when he wants his way on some issue, and as he admits to the Chronicle, he really doesn’t respond well to threats.
Since the city is already somewhat committed to this deal, my notion is that much of this was for show. MLS was surely pressuring the city behind the scenes for everything it can possibly get in negotiations it thought were private (lesson: “private” negotiations with Mayor White stay private when that suits him), Mayor White decided to go public with the “private” MLS threats, Oliver Luck goes public to say it’s all a big misunderstanding (and privately delivers reduced team demands) — and voila, everyone’s happy and a deal (that is more costly to the city that what had been proposed previously) will be cut in a few weeks!
That’s how I see this turning out. What do you think?
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