Dynamo Continue Discussions With City Over New Stadium Deal

Houston Mayor Bill White Thursday met with AEG President & CEO Tim Leiweke, whose company co-owns the MLS Dynamo, "for more than an hour ... as both sides work toward a stadium deal" for the team, according to Bernardo Fallas of the HOUSTON CHRONICLE. White said that negotiations are "in the advanced stages and agreed that points of contention have been narrowed." Fallas notes the "sticking points concern how the $110[M], 22,000-capacity facility would be financed." White warned that "those points could kill the deal." Asked what the points are, White said, "Money." Meanwhile, White and Dynamo officials Thursday unveiled plans for an 18-field, soccer-centered youth sports complex, and discussions are "under way on a deal that would make the 100-acre complex" the practice home for the Dynamo. The first phase of the complex, which is scheduled for completion by late '09, calls for "street and infrastructure improvements and construction of eight soccer fields at a cost of $10[M]" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 6/27).