Rockets Exec Senior VP John Thomas said that Harris
County-Houston Sports Authority Chair Jack Rains "has placed
football as a top priority" in Houston and told Thomas "to
consider moving the franchise to the suburbs," according to
John Williams of the HOUSTON CHRONICLE. In response, Thomas
sent Rains and other officials a letter asking for
clarifications about "certain concerns and questions" that
arose after a December 8 meeting between the two sides.
Thomas also sent the letter to other city, county and NBA
officials. In his letter, Thomas said Rains' remarks could
lead to "a situation of grave uncertainty for a franchise
that is trying to be competitive in today's world of sports
arenas." Rains said there "has been some serious
miscommunication" with the Rockets and said he does not want
the team to leave the city" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 12/16).
BALLPARK STEPS: The authority signed a final deal
yesterday with Brown & Root to build a downtown ballpark for
a "guaranteed" $229.5M. KC-based HOK will receive $18.5M
from the authority, bringing the cost of the facility to
$248M, under the targeted $250M (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 12/16).
