Unitrade Stadium: Bad at $18M, Worse at $23M

Unitrade cost now up to 23 Million Big Ones

Back on March 15, 2010, the Laredo city seedy council went against the wishes of most Laredoans and selected the Ventura group over the Laredo Broncos for Laredo's then-future baseball park. The minutes of the meeting detail Shuster's presentation to the oft-times gullible council.

From the City of Laredo council meeting 03/15/2010 minutes

Mark Schuster from Ventura Sports Group made the following presentation:

Ventura Sports GroupStadium Costs

4,000 fixed seats/1,500 additional seating

Kids Playground area

Sports Bar & Grill

Suites/VIP Club

Team Offices

Merchandise Store

Box Office/First Aid

Concessions/Bathrooms to accommodate 10,000

Clubhouse (Professional & NCAA standards)

Ventura Cost Estimate of New Stadium $18-20 million


The vote itself revealed that even the overly-generous seedy council must have thought that $18Million was a tad too much and signalled that they expected an effort on Ventura's part to try to keep the price between 15 & 18 Million bucks, but whos' counting anymore

Again, from the City of Laredo council meeting 03/15/2010 minutes

Motion to go with the recommendation of City staff with the clause that staff should go

back and look at the pending issues that have been talked about to negotiate a contract to

bring back to Council and also with the agreement that the City does not spend more than

$15,000,000.00 to $18,000.000.00 on the complex. Motion to negotiate

Moved: Cm. Garcia

Second: Cm. Rendon

For: 4 - Cm. Garcia, Cm. Narvaez, Cm. Rendon, Cm. Belmares

Against: 3 - Cm. Valdez,  Cm. Liendo Espinoza, Cm. Landeck

Abstain: 0

As we now know, that "agreement" meant nothing: as the Laredo Morning Times reported today that the price tag will be $23 Million dollars......and rising.