Tonight, all Dynamo fans need to remember what the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy taught us...Don't Panic.
Yes the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Dynamo Stadium that was scheduled for Saturday has been postponed. Yes this is an unfortunate bummer but the project is safe, the stadium will be built, and the Dynamo will have a new home in 2012.
The Chronicle has the whole story behind the delay, but the long and the short of it is that the Dynamo might have jumped the gun a little bit and the Houston City Council dragged it's feet a little bit.
A part of the funding for the stadium will be generated by the creation of a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) and final approval for the TIRZ had to come via a vote by the city council and the Harris Country Commissioner's Court. The Commissioner's Court did their part today, unanimously approving the TIRZ, but the city council didn't get the vote on the agenda and it will have to wait until next week's meeting where the measure is expected to pass.
The Dynamo now have a bit of egg on their face as several dignitaries including co-owner Oscar de la Hoya and MLS Commissioner Don Garber had RSVP'd for Saturday's groundbreaking. In addition, there will be various services to be rescheduled including vendors and a cover band, but the front office deserves no criticism for this at all. Any time you have to get politics involved with anything, the path is never smooth.
Disappointing? Sure, but not the end of the world. Come next week the TIRZ will likely be approved and we'll get a new date for the stadium's groundbreaking.
Dynamo fans have waiting a long time for construction to begin on a stadium to call their own and it looks like they will have to wait just a little bit longer.