Remember the millions that the mayor blackmailed from the retarded? Houston City Council voted to spend it to purchase land for a stadium to be built for a bunch of guys running around in shorts kicking a ball.
The City Council voted Wednesday to spend $15.5 million to purchase five downtown blocks being eyed for a Houston Dynamo soccer stadium. The council also approved a land swap to obtain an additional block.
As he has since the land deal first was announced, Mayor Bill White would not confirm that the six-block rectangle definitely would be used for a professional soccer stadium. If a deal with the team owners fails to materialize, the city could seek other private development for the site, White said.
Shouldn’t “private development” handle their own deals? Why in heck should a bunch of elected officials take money from poor people and give it to Oscar De La Hoya?
Anschutz Entertainment Group operates the team but shares ownership with boxing star Oscar De La Hoya and Brener International Group.
What, he didn’t make enough money from his last fight? So now the taxpayers of Houston have to subsidize him? Ridiculous.
The area has undergone some loft-style residential development. Many residents and bar owners said recently that they looked forward to more economic activity in the area.
So, get your arses out there and make it happen! But I guess that is no longer the American way, at least for the socialists on the Houston City Council. Nope, no hard work necessary. We’ll just take from the retarded and give it to the bar owners. What a system.
And remember the mayor saying that he didn’t want public funds used to build the stadium? Look again.
White has proposed that TIRZ monies could be used to secure bonds to pay off the purchase of the land. TIRZ monies also could be used to help pay for the stadium’s construction, which could run $70 million to $90 million. The administration also is considering a tax or fee on ticket or concession sales at the stadium.
Like we couldn’t see that coming.
City Controller Annise Parker has criticized the deal as “backward public policy.”
No kidding. Who would have ever thought that Annise Parker would end up being the most sane person in city government?
The downtown business district has “no other way to grow,” Lovell added. “The only way to go is east.”
Unbelievable. Have these people even heard of free enterprise and capitalism? No way to grow east unless city council takes money from people in other parts of the city? Hint - if this was economically viable, Oscar and his partners would put their money down, build a business and make a tidy profit. That’s the way our system is supposed to work.
But heck, why should I blame Oscar? The dupes at City Hall are the ones stealing from the poor in the guise of “helping” the area grow. Hey, maybe there will be a few peanut tossing jobs created! Do soccer fans eat peanuts?
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Who owns the land, these blocks the city is going to purchase? Who benefits financially from this deal, today?
Good point AW…as EF Hutton said “I made money the old fashioned way my Brother-in-law is at city hall.”
My boss and I were discussing this the other day. I mentioned that I don’t want to pay for a new soccer stadium. He said that since we are getting a $2000 drop on property taxes, we probably wouldn’t even notice the difference. Sometimes it is so hard not to say things that will get me fired.
#3 duhmoose - reminds me of a friend of mine who went in and asked his boss for a raise. His boss replied (in an Indian accent): “But Pheel (Phil), if you make more money you will only spend more money, so what is your net gain?” He quit the next day.
Maybe they can spend all that money they made off the city-wide wi-fi contract on it.
Bob Lanier and his holdings group bought/sold a lot of the land on the periphery for Enron field and I am sure similar deals are in the works for those that Know/Control and have the money! Ain’t City Government Great!
EX DVR
I have always complained about tax dollars going to help sports team owners get richer. That is why I don’t watch professional sports anymore. My biggest gripe is the owners getting the money for the naming rights for a stadium that the TAXPAYER is paying for. And how about all that holding up of the development of the Astrodome, we have McNair complaining about the competition it would create for Reliant Stadium that is used for about 8 home games a year and the Rodeo people complaining and they use that area about a month in a year—go figure, its greed, screw the TAXPAYER!! Oh, and how come there is not a citywide vote on this????
Hey! Where’s my handout?! I want to start a multi-billion dollar business too! Maybe the city can buy me some property (owned by a city council member preferably), build me a huge building (built by developer-donors of the mayor), and then let me keep all of the profit!
Brilliant!
Yeah.. I’d rather have my (tax) money taken from me by gunpoint, and build a worthless stadium which I will never use instead of say, have them fix the f’ing inner city roads, or have more cops busting illegal aliens..
AW, it is a former city councilman named Macey that currently owns the land.
You can read much more about the deal here:
http://www.bloghouston.net/forum/viewtopic.php?id=5249
and here:
http://www.bloghouston.net/forum/viewtopic.php?id=5252
The thing to think about here is this, not only is a former councilman getting a sweet over-priced deal out of this, so is AEG. the city buys the land, AEG builds the stadium and deeds it to the city. the land and the stadium are no longer on the tax rolls and the tax payer gets it in the arse twice, once to buy the land, and then again later in the lost tax revenue on the improvements.
I’m looking for my jar of this stuff. Does anyone want to go in on a case lot and half it with me?
http://www.buythecase.net/product/3190/vaseline_100_petroleum_jelly/?bcf=1
tedtam I think you may need the whole case yourself. I think we will ALL need to buying by the case.
This may not be so bad. If it is a TIRZ that will fund the stadium, that means the TIRZ will be located in the area of the new stadium. Which would mean the property taxes collected in that area would pay for the bonds for the land. So in essence, if you do not live in that area, you are not being taxed for the land or stadium.
Like BigJolly said in his article, “The area has undergone some loft-style residential development. Many residents and bar owners said recently that they looked forward to more economic activity in the area.” and bigJolly retorted “So, get your arses out there and make it happen!” That is what will happen with the TIRZ.
Now I await the cubbering…
But nothing can be worse that the 500 democrats people who came stampeding by my republican polling station for the caucus. We were trying to pack-up and get out of there. I was worried that someone would swipe the county owned cell phone!
The basketball arena was built in the middle of Crawford Street, a major artery running from Hermann Park connecting with Hardy –which runs into the toll road- allowing one to go from south of downtown to the Woodlands virtually unmolested, that is no longer possible.
What major artery are they going to block with this arena?
Are they blocking major transit streets to restructure travel patterns or is it ineptitude?
But Tektite,
This is nothing more than socialist policy. This comment over at bloghouston says it well:
http://www.bloghouston.net/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=27127#p27127
If I remember correctly, the TIRZ must have a petition support of 50.1% of the property owners in that area. So essentially, the property owners are making the investment to have the land/stadium bought so that they benefit with the increased revenues.
Isn’t that what investment is all about?
I would have no problem with a TIRZ financing it since it means the ones who want the the benefits of redevelopment would be paying for it.
No, it isn’t. It subverts the free market and raises costs for all involved. The few benefit while the many suffer.
The TIRZ appears to benefit the big (connected) developer, deny the small businessman from opportunity, and negatively alter the proximal area.
It would be interesting to hear a perspective from one affected by such real estate manipulation.
Nope. If the property owners really supported it, they would invest their own money privately — not just a portion of their taxes.
If they’re unwilling to support it on their own, they’ve no right to demand the support of their neighbors.
#17
A TIRZ benefits the whole area by promoting redevelopment and allowing for faster improvements to the infrastructure that would not have occurred with the city. The Westchase area, Sharpstown area, GulfGate, OST, Almeda, Lamar Terrace, and Memorial city area have been benefiting from the TIRZ zones.
Big developers are not the ones who run the TIRZ. It is local businessmen in the zones, large and small who administer the zone.
#18
Their taxes is their money! A TIRZ is put in place for the benefit of the community as a whole to spur redevelopment. But it is money they generate that goes into the redevelopment not their neighbors. Thus those who live in Afton Oaks would not be paying their money for what occurs in the TIRZ. As well as people who live in River Oaks would not be paying into the TIRZ. It would just be the people who are in that zone. By your logic, then if property owners need infrastructure repair for redevelopment of their area then they should pay for it instead of the city/neighbors who have neglected to provide for up keep, Right?
No, not at all. Infrastructure — roads, bridges, sewer lines and the like — are made for the direct use of everyone. They’re a public benefit, owned and accessible directly by everyone.
This soccer stadium is made for the direct use of one private entity, with the hopes that the neighborhood will benefit indirectly.
Tektite,
Look at the conclusions in this report:
http://www.econ.iastate.edu/research/webpapers/paper_4094_N0138.pdf
TIRZ’s (TIF’s) are just another socialist transfer of wealth.
Here’s another excellent link:
http://www.scsuscholars.com/2005/07/in-grip-of-idiocy.html
First of all, we the taxpayers do not have the money to subsidize any more sports teams, they have already cost us an arm and a leg.
Second,the vicious cycle of neighborhoods declining so some rich and well connected people can buy property cheap and then turn around and redevelop these areas and reap another huge profit. In the meantime other neighborhoods are going to heck.
Tektite,
I do not think you read my statement, it said:
It would be interesting to hear a perspective from one affected by such real estate manipulation.
Well, I’ve read up on Macey, who was councilman from 76-79 and is a developer. I don’t now how long he has owned these blocks. But, he was councilman a long time ago. It may be that is speculation is going to pay off really well.
Are they going to alocate a large % of the jobs ( i can’t remember # right now ) to minorities like they did @ the other stadiums ?? How did that work out ? Not ! Have they settled the court case ?
AW, correct, it was pure speculation that Houston would continue to grow:
In 1979 there were no TIRZ or TIR, there was no 59 passing the nonexistent ballpark or the nonexistent G.R. Brown Convention center or connecting to the nonexistent 288, no one wanted any of that property from Cavalcade to Pierce, one buying that property either had money to lose or was a fool.
# 28 “one buying that property either had money to lose or was a fool.”
Or more likely the usual suspects were privy to information as comes with the territory in politics, just ask Bob Lanier about a great guess on westside property and downtown properties as well!
I heard a quote in late 1996 after I said “the astros had the astrodome, we don’t need another stadium and we have not even had a chance to vote on it!”. A landowner in a very bad area of Milby and 59 said “Voting is only a formality allowed to the public by those who have the Money, Knowledge, and Power.” I now know how accurate he was! Lanier and his holdings group were buying all they could around the Union Pacific Switch!
Although I, as the resident ‘Brit’, ( not yet invited to be a staff writer) absolutely love FOOTBALL- the kind you kick-. I am absolutely against these sweetheart deals. Having said all that, I am a bit of a believer concerning the relationship of the other new stadiums and the development growing out of those Stadiums and their proximity. The interesting thing to me is the similarity of these deals and the projected deal on the TTC. Apparently the Corridor will ‘allow’ NO competition either. The other kicker for me in all of this is the payment by Houston/ Harris County of 30 million dollars to let the Astros OUT of the lease on the Dome. Why was anything paid at all? (Also, Louie Welch owned the Airport land before it was bought by the city.)
I have a condo that I can sell to the city for inflated prices. Why is it that when Government takes OUR land, the the landowner gets ‘Done’ and doesn’t even get a kiss. If, however, the land belongs to one of them, then the price is high?