Negotiations between the Houston Dynamo and the city turned ugly earlier this week when Mayor Bob White told reporters about a threatening letter sent by MLS Commissioner Don Garber urging Dynamo officials to step up efforts to secure a stadium deal with the city soon or the league could be forced to consider relocating the team again. The franchise has already been moved once, in 2005, when the former San Jose Earthquakes moved to Houston and became the Dynamo.
Chronicle writer Bernardo Fallas chides Garber for his over-hasty approach, saying the MLS Commissioner should have known that "private" letters with threatening undertones don't stay private for very long in this day and age. Fallas adds that such scare tactics are "about as low as the league can get when dealing with this team and this city."
Nevertheless, Garber's words were plain: "It is inconceivable that MLS will allow the team to continue playing as a secondary tenant in a college football facility...While another relocation would be equally traumatic, we both must consider our options to ensure that the team has a path to economic success." Meanwhile, Fallas says the revelation of the letter is "a slap in the face to the growing Dynamo fan base, which has gone out of its way to embrace the team," and would more than likely hinder, not help the negotiation process.
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