Hello Dynamo Fans,
What a great time to be a soccer fan in Houston! As you can surmise there is a very positive buzz around the office after AEG agreed to sign a letter of intent with the City of Houston to develop a stadium. And it is also a great time to be a music fan with the news that AEG has also signed a letter of intent with the City of Sugar Land to develop a performing arts center/theater in Fort Bend County.
It is an interesting coincidence that this announcement came the day before Dynamo takes its first ever trip to Canada to take on Toronto FC. The newest MLS franchise has captured the imagination of the entire Toronto region like no other team. Every one of FC's games to this point has been sold out in the new stadium, BMO Field, and the atmosphere at the matches is second only to the north end zone of Robertson Stadium. I think that everyone involved with MLS is extremely impressed with the response that the community has provided to the new club. In fact, in retrospect, it may be the most hostile environment that Dynamo has played in since our CONCACAF semi-final match in Pachuca.
I am of the belief that one of the reasons that Toronto FC has received such a warm welcome from the region is the location of BMO Field. The new venue is located in downtown Toronto just across from the city's major convention facility. Air Canada, the arena in which the NBA's Raptors and the NHL's Maple Leafs play, is just around the corner. BMO Field has an edgy, urban feel to it like the great soccer stadiums in Mexico, Europe and South America. It is no secret that we believe that we can recreate this type of dynamic environment in Houston for our franchise. The location for the proposed venue is just to the east of Minute Maid Park in an area known as the "East End". The East End is one of the most historical areas of our great city and over the past few years has experienced a real rejuvenation.
The letter of intent that we now have in place with the City of Houston does not mean that "a deal is done." Actually, it is safe to say that the hard work of negotiating (within certain parameters) a term sheet and eventually a full-blown development agreement has just begun. As we know from other stadium projects, there is no guarantee that an agreement can be reached. However, we will enter the discussions with optimism and the can-do spirit that exemplifies both our franchise and the City of Houston. Just like Toronto is experiencing now, we hope that we can kick off in the future in a sold out stadium overlooking the skyline of downtown!
