Houston's new NFL stadium will cost $57M more than
originally budgeted, according to Eric Berger of the HOUSTON
CHRONICLE in a front-page report. The Harris County-Houston
Sports Authority agreed Wednesday to a $367M construction
budget, compared to the original projected estimate of
$310M. The budget includes $325M for building the 69,500-
seat facility, $25M for architectural fees and $17M for
furniture, fixtures and other equipment. After yesterday's
meeting, expansion team Owner Bob McNair said that he will
pay no more than the $310M "he agreed to" in '98, and
Houston Mayor Lee Brown said that the Sports Authority "may
assume the cost overruns as long as it reserves at least $80
million for a sports arena." Berger writes that the overrun
is "likely to be passed on to taxpayers" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE,
2/17). Berger adds that the Sports Authority voted to
authorize its "community relations committee to negotiate
contracts with three high-profile Houston PR firms." Berger
notes the group "already has three" PR firms under contract.
While the Sports Authority has "never bought advertising to
promote itself," it has put $400,000 for that purpose into
this year's budget. Sports Authority board members "have
conceded" that they "may well exceed the $400,000, perhaps
spending as much as $1.5 million between now and November,"
which is when the board "hopes to put a new NBA arena
referendum before voters" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 2/17).
SEARCH PROCESS BEGINS: The Sports Authority has decided
against hiring former Aeros hockey player and VP Jake
Stanfield (See THE DAILY, 2/9), and will instead "use a
search firm to find an executive director." The Rockets
were "concerned" that Stanfield's hockey background would
pose a conflict in arena talks (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 2/17).
