Dynamo Downtown Stadium Thread

http://www.offthekuff.com/mt/archives/011285.html
http://culturemap.com/newsdetail/12-22-09-annise-parker-salutes-the-citys-arts-but/

How to put this......the Informed know that the Dynamo primarily private-funded their stadium, and that the big issue in terms of public funding of playpens is actually the mismatch between the money we owe for Reliant, MM, and even the Dome still, vs. what the Sports Authority has from their taxes...words like bankruptcy have been lobbed about....But........to the average Joe when the Dynamo are asking for a stadium and Parker is grandstanding on stadium finance.......connect the dots. And I didn't feel like she cleared that rhetorical confusion up to my satisfaction. Her rhetorical stance gives continued legitimacy to counter-factual notions of the stadium as yet another bit of expansive public largesse. They hand out almost this much money some years just for work here and there on the Reliant complex.....

I think you're conflating fulfilling a commitment by her predecessor White with her actual support: "our tradition is that you don't go in and unwind a deal that the current mayor has constructed, simply because it would make it very hard to do business in the future." A deal is a deal, essentially.

I think someone from the City deserved a spot on the dais b/c they were early on board and helped make it happen. And it might be odd to have White up there rather than the officeholder. So she deserves her speech. But don't tell me I should like it. She helped hold it up, as a matter of principle, even if she also helped grease some wheels at the end.

 

Just so people don't think all I do is post positive viewpoints here, let me just say this... I still haven't figured out how to get back to 59 South from the stadium site. I use my GPS and still it seems like I wind around forever. If the only access is that little entrance ramp at the light on Hamilton, we are going to be sitting there for hours.
But that said, I am sure that they will find routes to get us out quickly with police controlling intersections and all. They will make it work.

 

My suggestions:
Go to San Jacinto, take a right and go north, follow it to 10, get on 10 East for like 15 seconds, take the 59 South exit very quickly on the right. You'll whip around between MM and the stadium site on 59.

Or drive through town to Milam/Smith and take that south to the Spur and get on 59 that way.

 

Another little thing.... among those missing from the festivities, like Oliver Luck and Pat, who we've already mentioned, where were:

Glenn Davis, who has been writing about the groundbreaking for weeks?

Eric Nordstrom (not sure I spelled his name right) who was the main guy getting all the rallies going last year?

Bandido, who is the face of the regular Dynamo supporter, and spoke at one of the rallies last winter?

Hopefully they were there and I just didn't see them. Or maybe they were busy with other obligations, but they deserved to be honored at the event as well. I think Bandida, though not her husband, is in one of the fan montages in the stadium brochure.

 

I'm disappointed that I have to explain to anyone the reason why she gets re-elected every term.

The 18th district is the Barbara Jordan/Mickey Leland seat, otherwise known as the "Houston Designated Black Congressperson" seat. The district is like 40-50% black and the Democrats discourage or threaten anyone who doesn't fit that profile from running for that seat. I don't know the last time she had a serious challenger.

Since it covers Downtown, it gives SJL the license to play the race card constantly on things. Hence the reason she shows up anywhere, anytime there is a camera.

 

I thought Glenn tweeted or blogged that he was going to be the emcee for the event, but then the High Tech Texan guy ended up on stage.

 

Sheila Jackson Lee - the ultimate troll.

 

He was going to be the MC, but couldn't get back to Houston on time.

 

Well that explains one of my three. The HiGh Tech Texan did a good job filling in. But were Eric and Bandido there?

 

Bandido is like Batman, when you need him, he is there in full costume(big sombrero, making those Top Gear guys happy), when everything is fine, he is observing everything in complete anonymity, blending in as a regular Joe.

 

I think the easiest route is to take Dowling south to Gray. Gray is the first street heading west after you go under 45. Take a right on Gray and then a left onto 59.

Dowling has very few stop lights and it moves right along in all most all traffic conditions. That's the route I use to get to 59 from here. I can be on 59 in 5 minutes. I never use Hamilton.

 

As far as direct routes go, that's about it. Setting and waiting through several light cycles.

Another option would be to cruse down Dowling to Elgin, turn right an turn south onto 527 at Bagby. Basically that would be no different than the Cleburne/Alabama to 527 route I currently use to get to 59S after games, which is surprisingly quick. I know it's a bit of a longer shot than the one Newtex recommended, but how much longer it takes compared to the Hamilton/Webster entrance will have to wait until we actually have a game to exit from though.

 

Yeah, I guess I misspoke. My route is on Hamilton for a very short bit. I guess I never paid attention to the name of that street.

 

Nested, I think that is the way I go, or something similar. It's not really bad I've just never done it in traffic. I do sometimes go thru downtown and take the spur.

I seldom get lost anywhere but downtown can really turn me around, but I usually somehow end up right.

 

Hubby and I saw the whole thing - it started with the mother's 2 kids (boy and girl) being sent by their mom to work their way to the front of the crowd to take pictures. The folks standing at the chains let them come up. The mother then worked her way up saying "my kids are up there, I have to get to my kids." Yeah, whatever.

So, she's standing there with her kids and these 2 big guys walk up next to us and one says "look there's Oscar, hurry let's get a picture." They shove me aside and almost trample the little girl to the ground in their attempt to get over the chains. The mother gets mad and starts yelling at the men, the men start lying and saying that people were pushing them from behind (total BS, didn't happen,) and that's when one of their wives (who had already crossed the chains with her kids) starts cussing and getting in the mother's face. I thought they were going to start fighting, so I told them to take it easy and one of the men told me to stay out of it. I took that as a warning, so I did. The little girl was okay, just scared.

 

Just move north where all the decent fans live.

Anyone knows if the construction project involves adding or changing the infrastructure around the stadium?, I have no problems when going to MM Park or Toyota Center, so I'm not expecting any problems going to our new home, but I'm sure someone studied the impact of the stadium on the area's traffic during game day.

 

Eric was there. Saw a big orange sombrero, but it wasn't Bandito

 

We were all pushed out by the media whores!
No seriously, not sure if they were there but I was there last weekend after starting a new job in Long Beach. The timing was bad and reschedule did not help.

 

I don't know who that is, but I started seeing that other sombrero last year. I've started calling him Fakebandito to my wife.

What happened to Bandito anyway? I took some time away from Bigsoccer and he's gone...

 

Is the orange sombrero gringo guy Eric? I'm not sure if I have ever seen Eric at a game, but I have seen the sombrero guy. Hey sits down below me in the Prawn Sandwich section. I also saw him on the field at the ASG, and I saw him at the event also.

Bandido posted here when Monterrey won the title last year, but he hasn't been seen since. I think he was at the last Dynamo game.

By the way, FC, as a Spanish teacher, I feel I should point out it's "Bandido," not "Bandito" like a lot of people say. But I just noticed I made a mistake too, my stupid iPad autocorrect changed Newtex's name to "Nested." how embarrassing.

 

Well, that's why I didn't want to get involved, I didn't know who's fault it was. I just felt bad for the little girl who should have been enjoying the day.

 

Now THAT'S embarrassing.

 

You are talking out of your ass.

Read the NBrooks post. It is dead on accurate.

 

I quoted her saying otherwise: "our tradition is that you don't go in and unwind a deal that the current mayor has constructed, simply because it would make it very hard to do business in the future." That's talking about our stadium, after she ran a campaign attacking stadium spending, when we were the only project on tap. Her stance is one of the reasons we are still hearing about it in the press and bulletin boards like it's another public white elephant, whatever she has done since.

She grandstanded at our expense, when the project's net result was still unknown, and did so by trying to conflate the big public obligations we are drowning in -- MM, Reliant, and the Dome (still) -- with the Dynamo stadium, which is a primarily private project on either a percentage or dollar basis.

It may be in the organization's interests to play pretend, but I don't have to.

 

So?

Your thicker about politics than you are about footy.

The final deal was much different than the deal Bill White proposed that Bill White never really put any effort into getting closed.

Consider the position she took on the campaign trail. You refer to in previous posts. No matter that she is the one to sit down with the county (something White never did) and hammer out a deal -- politically it was smart to just say she was executing a deal previously agreed to.