Council approves assignment of Constellation Field lease to Diamond Baseball Holdings; operations to remain unchanged

Sugar Land —2—8— The City Council voted Dec. 23 to authorize the city manager to execute documents assigning the Constellation Field lease to Diamond Baseball Holdings (DBH) after staff presented background on ownership transitions and the stadium's operations.

Jessica Hubbell, assistant director of redevelopment, summarized the lease history and recommended the assignment following DBH's recent acquisitions. Hubbell said the stadium's operations team and the Space Cowboys' AAA affiliation with the Houston Astros will continue unchanged. "According to the original lease agreement... there are financial penalties if we do not remain a AAA team through 2031," Hubbell said, and staff noted those obligations transfer to the assignee under the assignment.

Representatives from DBH and the Astros addressed council questions about facility management and non‑game events. Henry Shepherd, chief strategy officer with Diamond Baseball Holdings, and Creighton, an Astros senior vice president, said DBH plans to leverage its network of stadiums to expand non‑game events while maintaining family‑friendly game days. "Our commitment is to maintain an affordable, family friendly game day environment for patrons of Sugar Land," a DBH representative said.

Council asked who would hold financial penalties if the team lost AAA status; DBH's representative confirmed the assignee would assume the lease's obligations. The council approved the assignment by a 7‑0 vote.

Staff said the assignment is a routine contractual process for ownership transitions and recommended authorization of the city manager to sign all documents to effectuate the transfer.