HOUSTON -- Neighborhoods are sparring over plans for a new stadium for the Houston Dynamo. The issue? Where will the stadium be built?
Some people are fighting to keep it away from their homes, while others are fighting to get it built into their neighborhood.
“We want people to come back,” said east downtown business owner Khen Vu Ly.
Ly has owned the Kim Hung Market for 20 years. It’s located in the 1000 block of St. Emanuel. He has plans for a $1 million dollar remodeling project.
“Oh, I’m so happy,. Absolutely,” Ly said. “We’ve been thinking about this for about a year.”
The problem is he doesn’t think he can reach his goal unless the Dynamo players are making goals nearby.
For almost two years, Ly has counted on the stadium being built on land owned by the city. That land is located just behind the George R. Brown Convention Center on the east side of Highway 59.
Last week it was announced that a new site is on the Dynamo’s roster. It’s owned by Midway Companies and is located just west of Loop 610 on a plot of land near the Westpark Toll and South Rice Ave. near Bellaire.
“My first reaction was concern,” said the General Manager of the East Downtown Management District.
Tina Araujo refers to the east downtown area as EaDo. She says the neighborhood is going through a major revitalization period. There are new residential and entertainment projects going up throughout the neighborhood.
“It is a feature component of redevelopment,” Araujo said of the stadium.
While the stadium is the biggest draw, the biggest concern is what goes on the proposed site if the stadium doesn’t. Rumors are circulating that the site could be used for a city and county run jail inmate processing center.
“That set off alarms to the point where even some residents are disinvesting in EaDo and that is the opposite direction that we need to go in east downtown,” she said.
While many business owners and developers support the stadium moving into east downtown, there are some residents who are against the project. They do not believe that there is any evidence the stadium will increase the values of their homes. In fact, they believe it could be diminished.
A spokesperson for Houston Mayor Annise Parker said anything is possible at this point. Should the land become available, the city can repurpose or put it on the market. Nothing has been decided.
Last week, the Mayor of Bellaire came out against the new site saying it would bring too much traffic to the area.
Dynamo team president Oliver Luck said while the new plan is being considered, the team has not abandoned its east-end location. Luck plans to continue to work with both the city and county to try and get a deal in place.
