College files Hofheinz motion

The University of Houston has filed a motion that challenges efforts from the family of late Harris County Judge Roy Hofheinz to prevent the university from receiving funds to renovate Hofheinz Pavilion.

In a statement, the university said the Hofheinz family has “no legal standing to oppose UH’s plans to rename the facility” as part of a scheduled $60 million renovation set to begin next spring.

The basketball arena was completed in 1969 with the help of a $1.5 million donation from Hofheinz’s charitable foundation.

“It’s unfortunate that the heirs of the Hofheinz family have filed a lawsuit which attempts to prevent the university from receiving funds to bring the basketball arena into the 21st century,” said Hunter Yurachek, UH’s vice president for intercollegiate athletics.

UH filed a petition in Harris County probate court April 13 asking to be let out of a 47-year-old agreement, which would allow the school to secure a multimillion-dollar naming-rights deal. The family’s counterclaim is the name should remain as long as the building exists.

Attorney John Raley, who is representing the Hofheinz family, said UH’s latest filing is “trying to deprive the Hofheinz family of a voice in court about UH’s efforts to erase the name of the man who helped build Hofheinz Pavilion.”

The university said it needs a naming-rights deal to pay for the renovation of Hofheinz Pavilion, which it described as “obsolete and no longer competitive” with other facilities across the nation. Last November, UH announced a $20 million lead gift, presumably in exchange for naming rights, although no official announcement has been made.

“Without that donation, the reconstruction cannot happen,” the university said in the statement.

Yurachek said UH “can unequivocally say that it is committed to honoring the Hofheinz legacy.”

“We disagree,” said Raley of the law firm Raley & Bowick

No hearing date is currently scheduled.