A petition alleging the Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce and the resort company Las Vegas Sands are colluding in a "backroom deal" to sell the former Texas Stadium site was filed this week in Dallas County.
It was filed on behalf of Irving resident Ada Pimentel a month after the Irving City Council approved a rezoning for high-intensity mixed use development adjacent to the Texas Stadium site.
The city of Irving currently owns the land where Texas Stadium once stood and that site is part of the Planned Unit Development (PUD) 6.
The petition is not a lawsuit yet 鈥� it was filed to request pre-suit discovery that would include oral and videotaped depositions from a representative with the Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce.
The chamber represents Irving in recruiting economic development opportunities.
Pimentel's attorney Cliff Riley said the petition was filed because official documents allegedly reveal the chamber engaged an attorney to represent it and Las Vegas Sands.
"Which is very troubling because the Irving Chamber of Commerce is tasked with representing the interests of the city of Irving in negotiating economic development deals," Riley.
The documents mentioned in the petition include a letter from the chamber addressed to Attorney General Ken Paxton in response to an open records request. Irving Planning and Zoning commissioner Daniel Denny was told to submit the request when he wanted more information about the proposed destination resort on a separate tract owned by Las Vegas Sands.
"Which I thought that was actually kind of odd," Denny told 四虎影院. "I mean the whole point of having to contact the city staff, they'll either provide the information or tell you why maybe it's not available or hey ask later. It's usually a pretty open or you know, they're there to help kind of thing."
The letter is response to the request was submitted on behalf of the Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce and Village Walk RE 2 LLC, , and referenced as "collectively, the 'Chamber'".
四虎影院 also received a nearly identical letter in response to a records request.
The letter to Paxton said certain records should be protected from disclosure, citing damage to a governmental body's negotiating position for property acquisition.
"The Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce has been in discussions with [Village Walk RE 2] pursuant to a contractual agreement that contains certain confidentiality obligations and concerns VWR2鈥檚 interest in the possible acquisition of certain land and the operation of certain businesses within the City of Irving," according to the letter.
Beth Bowman, Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce President and CEO, said in a statement that the petition was "baseless and factually erroneous."
"One of the primary strategic initiatives identified in the City鈥檚 Plan is attracting a global destination to the PUD 6 area to make a major, transformational impact in terms of investment, jobs and the City鈥檚 tax base," Bowman said in her statement. "There is nothing unusual or surprising about this important priority."
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