HOFHEINZ FAMILY REACHES AGREEMENT U OF H ARENA
The family of former Houston Astros owner Roy Hofheinz and the University of Houston have settled a legal dispute over plans to remove Hofheinz's name from the school's basketball arena.
Hofheinz's family had insisted $1.5 million paid to the university in 1969 ensured retaining the name Hofheinz Pavilion.
School officials asked a Harris County probate court in April to allow the university to negotiate a naming-rights deal as part of a $60 million renovation set to begin next year.
Among the provisions in an agreement announced Tuesday, the school will ask the city to rename a street bordering the arena for Hofheinz and build a plaza for a bronze statue of the former Houston mayor and Harris County judge.
Hofheinz, the driving force behind construction of the Astrodome, died in 1982.
Sad that we don’t uphold agreements made to honor people who played a big part in our history. Renaming the Hofheinz pavilion shows disregard for our history and disrespect for those for whom the building was named. Why not retain the Hofheinz name on the pavilion and rename the street for whomever they plan to name the renovated building for? I understand a lot of money was donated for the renovation, but a lot of money was donated (relative to the time in the late 1960s) for the original building as well. How about putting a new name on the parking lot instead?
Well, at least this was done for money, not under the guise of righting some social wrong or trying to re-write history because of some group or groups’ hurt feelings.