OK, so I have to admit, when I heard the news last week that David Beckham—footballer and purely perfect human being to boot—was joining Major League Soccer to play for the LA Galaxy, one thought immediately popped into my head:
WHY DON’T WE HAVE A TEAM HERE ANYMORE?
Now, I am not saying that I didn’t sympathize with hardcore Earthquakes fans who were angry and upset that the team couldn’t work out a long-term arena deal and up and moved to Houston to become the Dynamo. (What the hell is a “Dynamo” anyway? I guess that was better than the “1836ers!”) But this was really the first time I really, really wished that there was a team in town so that I could catch a glimpse of the one, the only, David Beckham.
Soccer traditionalists, feminists and just general jerks who are mad they don’t look like Beckham will probably call me superficial and shallow for wanting to see him and his soccer legs in person. But there is also a part of me that appreciates the talent and star power he brings that will be on display each time he takes the field—talent and star power that the MLS has never had before to lure and keep the non-diehard fan like me.
Then the news of the new professional soccer/San Jose State stadium comes down and it seems like fortuitous timing. Lew Wolff, the owner of the A’s, is offering to foot the entire bill, making it risk free for taxpayers and offering our city more options: college football in a real stadium, community fields for kids, concerts and the chance to see David Beckham in person. What more could we want?
I hope the deal—which in reading about it, sounds too uncomplicated and easy to be true—goes through. It’s amazing how easy things can be when you take away major hurdles like money, taxes, and territorial rights. I just hope they raise a bronze statue to Lew Wolff outside the facility because that man is making this a no-brainer.
Here’s hoping I can see Beckham bend a shot to the goal in a nice new stadium.
Our city deserves it.
SG, best post in ages.
Single Gal: I, too, hope you can see Beckham bend a shot at the San Jose goal in a nice new stadium—a shot saved by the home team’s stellar goalkeeper.
Why don’t we currently have a team here? The loss of our team at the end of the 2005 season is a long story with lots of villains, including the Earthquakes’ owner AEG and a largely indifferent city officials. Fortunately, there’s reason for optimism that we will get our team back soon enough to see Beckham in action live in the Bay Area. And that team would retain its Earthquakes name, colors records, and trophies (like the Cleveland Browns did when they were reborn as an expansion club in 1999.)
This is tremendously important for our region in the increasingly global marketplace. You and your readers may not be big soccer fans, but it is far-and-away the world’s most popular sport. And with internet technology, soccer fans around the world know the top leagues and top clubs in all the major countries.
San Jose is well-positioned to be the flagship American franchise (akin to the Yankees or the Cowboys—only bigger worldwide). The Earthquakes brand, dating back to the NASL, is the oldest brand in major professional soccer in America. The MLS Quakes in ten years won two championships. They played a distinctive and exciting brand of soccer which won them admirers around the country and the globe. (The current U.S. national team now in training could field a squad virtually entirely of ex-Quakes.)
What’s more, the Quakes will be able to tap into and develop players in their own backyard here in the Bay Area, which is the richest youth soccer area in the country. (In the NHL, the Montreal Canadiens grew their dynasties by developing the goldmine of French Canadian players in Quebec province. The Quakes can follow a similar path.)
As soccer grows in America, and its growth has been exponential over the last 30 years, San Jose can become soccer city USA, and when you travel abroad twenty years hence you won’t need to say you’re from Silicon Valley. You can just mention the Earthquakes and you will get a knowing and impressed nod—“ah, San Jose.”
Yes, it would be nice to watch soccer and football in a new stadium but the new stadium needs to forget about building a stage in one end zone like Toyota Place has which is what the new stadium is to be modeled after. It also needs to be larger then 22,000 seats and ultimately make sense to the SJSU Spartan community. The plans stated in the Merc do not make sense for SJS and many big boosters, while intrigued by the opportunity are not behind the deal unless it is more football friendly and they are letting the University President and Athletic director know how they feel. Therefore, besides the land dealings that need to be overcome, pleasing SJS needs to happen as well. I hope it does.
There you go with that word “deserves” again. What makes anyone think this city “deserves” anything?
Santa Clara is actively pursuing the 49ers.
Fremont is getting the Oakland A’s.
And we are getting a, drum roll please, . . .new soccer stadium?
Did we come in third place on the gong show or was it wheel of misfortune?
We shouldn’t give a damn about bringing soccer team back since we lost them twice due to lack of support. Lew needs or should bring NFL or MLB here, not soccer. How about the A’s.
This was what we were trying to tell you, but few would listen. Even if it’s not your favorite sport, soccer can bring big attention to San Jose.
#6, it wasn’t lack of support, it was lack of interested ownership and lack of political leadership.
At the Chamber of Commerce breakfast event he recently attended, Wolff said that if someone found a cure for cancer, people in this state would oppose it. I’m reminded of that statement when I hear that football or soccer fans on either side of this table saying that this is a bad deal. Both teams get a reasonable sized stadium and an opportunity to grow their fan base. Last I checked, both had about the same average attendance, around 13,000 a game.
This is a good deal for both SJSU and MLS. The city is enhanced by it without spending a nickel. Like single gal said, it makes too much sense to be realized. Here’s hoping it does.
#6 obviously hasn’t been paying attention to the politics of Major League Baseball.
Once and for all (and everyone join in), the San Francisco Giants hold the territorial rights to Santa Clara County. Lew Wolff is bringing the A’s as close as legally possible to Santa Clara County by moving them to Fremont (and don’t bet against him calling the team San Jose A’s of Fremont anyway).
But, if soccer were such a good deal, why weren’t the Earthquakes able to find local investors long before they moved? Because it’s a bad deal. Period. MLS just showed their desperation by signing Becham. This is the beginning of the death throes for MLS.
Sounds like a Win-Win-Win situation to me.
San Jose State wins—getting a new stadium, City of San Jose wins—getting a stadium where a soccer team can locate and play bringing national recognition to the city (not to mention additional revenue from increased visitors)—and let’s not forget—the fans who will get to see football as well as soccer played there. The only concerns that may arise, will be in the “details” of any agreement or contracts that will be generated to consummate such a deal.
Concerned Citizen
Too good to be true? A statue of Lew Wolff? We don’t even know what land he’s seeking in return and at what price? Without knowing that, you can’t know if it’s a good deal or not. Why don’t we just wait and see with our fingers crossed?
Hey Single Gal, Great article. I too will be the first in line to buy a ticket to see the good looking and very talented Beckham play in San Jose. It is sad that we lost “our boys” to Houston but I am glad that Houston has embraced them so warmly, something San Jose and AEG failed to do. There are billboards of Chingy and DeRo all over town. They have become celebraties in Houston.
Soccer in America is the fastest growing sport and for good reason. What these players can do with a ball with any part of their body is just amazing. But don’t use your hands! Fed Up Blogger should try it. We didn’t lose the team for lack of support by the local fans or the city. We lost the team because AEG wouldn’t support this market. San Jose had the 4th best attendance record in MLS. San Jose put LA Galaxy to shame and LA is AEG’s baby.
Yeah to the south bay to now get on the map with the return of the Earthquakes and perhaps the 49’ers.
The option for a new concert venue is also exciting. Shoreline is sorely outdated and freaking cold.
Go Earthquakes LLC!
I don’t understand the thinking behind taking the time and money to build a dinky 20,000 seat stadium for soccer and SJSU. Isn’t that the size of Spartan? If you’re gonna build a stadium, build a stadium with a greater capacity than every high school football field in West Texas…and probably a lot of other areas. It doesn’t seem worth it unless there’s 40,000 seats. Then we’ll see just how many soccer fans we really have, who are willing to pay to park their butts in a stadium to watch.
What is the average size of an MLS stadium? What’s the smallest and what’s the largest?
For Colin and all those others who have doubts about SJSU, consider that they averaged nearly 19,000 per opening in 2006 (after years of moribund attendance). This is a program on the rise (in spite of what soccer fans think). To build a 22,000 seat stadium limits the growth potential of this program. Look at what’s happened at similar programs around the country. Look at Boise. Look at fresno. Look at Rutgers. There’s no reason to think that under SJSU’s current leadership that it couldn’t happen here. That is, unless they undersize a new stadium and limit their vision.
I think it’s great that someone is willing to put up that kind of money to partner with SJSU. Doing any project this size involves risk, and I’m glad for my kids sake someone local is helping to foot the bill. The other thing that goes unmentioned is the possible fields around the stadium that the kids would be able to use. The city needs these fields as the shortage is well documented.
Purpose-built MLS stadiums, which will be the homes of 7 of 13 teams this year, range between 20,000 and 27,000. MLS is in such “death throes” that it has build 5 new stadiums in the last three years, attracted new investors for more than half of its teams, and has signed new multi-year, multi-million $ deals with adidas, ESPN, and Univision.
#13: A shiny new stadium will bring out the casual fans and fill seats: witness what the SF Giants new ballpark did for a franchise that formerly regularly drew less than the Quakes or SJ State football when it was distributing croixes de Candlestick.
In answer to your questions about Major League Soccer (MLS) stadium sizes: I don’t believe there are any stadiums below 20k seats. Some teams (NE, KC, DC share NFL stadiums at 60k+—although the Redskins have decamped from RFK Stadium where DC United and the Washington Nationals still play, while both are working on building new parks of their own). The new MLS stadiums in suburban LA, Chicago and Dallas are all in the range of 20k to 27k.
It may not seem worth it to you to build a stadium below 40k, but it apparently does to Lew Wolff, who knows how to make money in sports facilities. The new thinking in stadium building is that smaller with more amenities for the fans is better—as evidenced by Stanford Stadium’s recent contraction from some 90k to less than 60k. Likewise, I believe Wolff’s Fremont facility for the A’s will hold fewer fans in much plusher digs than the Oakland Coliseum.
By why should you care, it’s Wolff’s money?
#14 (RIP Pavilion): I’m not only a Quakes fan but also a SJSU football season ticket holder. I too believe in the vision for a first-rate Division 1 football program, but I also have a grand vision for pro soccer in this town as well (see my earlier post, #2 above.)
Both are achievable visions, and the trajectory for both appears to be similar—neither vision will be achieved overnight but both are in the foreseeable future. Further, as I understand the Mercury News reports, the potential for expansion of a joint Quakes/SJSU stadium—when the time is ripe—is already built into the discussions.
So if Lew Wolff is going to pay for it, why would SJSU fans look a potential gift horse in the mouth?
People get real – do tax and land use approval giveaway numbers or are you just sports fools without a clue
Many San Jose politicians and residents are financial fools and do not understand what San Jose’s can afford with our very low tax revenues and weak job market
San Jose has for decades foolishly given away tens millions in taxes and land use approvals
We don’t have tax revenue to pay for adequate basic city and community services – public safety, streets, schools, community centers pools, city staff etc
Local sports fans fools want San Jose to pay for 49ers or ML Baseball team stadium – $500-800 million and tens of millions per year which WE DON’T HAVE to millionaire sports owners and players
Wolff’s ML Soccer $80 million private stadium deal may make sense depending on what Wolff wants in land use approvals
Sounds like a better deal than $30- 40 million Earthquakes stadium upgrade deal of 2005 with City Council $80 million tax subsidy
It is about time San Jose taxpayers and city gets tens millions we deserve from land use approvals rather than give these approvals away.
Current and former Politicians, family or friends get high paying jobs with city developers, contractors or community organizations receiving city tax subsidies for ” access ”
Political insiders / developers make tens millions on development deals while former city department heads, staffers and politicians make $100,000 to millions on lobbying success fees and our career politicians collect thousands for Council or hundreds thousands for Mayor or Assembly election campaign contributions for past or future approvals
#16 – Purpose built? Most of these stadiums have shown they’ll have a life after MLS is gone. Home Depot Center has had a million-and-one uses. Pizza Hut Park was built under the auspices of Collin County School System.
If an MLS stadium is built “in cooperation” with SJSU, SJSU had better get all the considerations because SJSU will have to live with the stadium after MLS withers and dies.
My apologies Single Gal, but I’m in total agreement with the sentiment of Fed Up blogger! I Just can’t get excited about MINOR league soccer returning to San Jose…please wake me up when we land an NBA franchise at the Tank, will ya! And it’s to bad many like RIPavilion readily accept San Francisco’s dominance over SJ. Let’s see, Fremont’s landing the A’s, Santa Clara the 49ers…San Jose the Earthquakes?!! There’s something terribly wrong with that picture! And how could anyone get excited about a “way past his prime” footballer coming to America for a paycheck?! (see Ann Killion’s Merc article 1/15) Oops, I forgot, he has “great looks” and is married to a former Spice Girl. Oh well, at least my Spartans will be getting a new home. That way, if (or when) MLS goes the way of the late-NASL, the new Spartan Stadium will still get plenty of usage…SJSU THANKS YOU MR. WOLFF!
The City, SJSU and private enterprise all teaming up to do something good for San Jose…what a concept! Let’s see what they come up with.
I’m not a big soccer fan but I’m glad to see this deal. The site seems like a good one, and the dual purpose benefit between the Earthquakes and San Jose State is a creative solution to two local problems. It also solves a third problem: the lack of soccer fields for young people.
For RIP and others worried that the stadium may be too small for SJSU: let’s hope that the stadium is built with an eye to possible future expansion.
RIP, yes they are purpose-built for MLS. Name one that would have been built without there being an MLS team to occupy it.
MLS is not withering. You’re being melodramatic and I know you know better. The only question is whether San Jose gets to be a part of it. Too bad that you have abandoned those of us who are trying to make that happen.
#23, “The only question is whether San Jose gets to be a part of it.” PART OF WHAT?!! More gimick sports folly?! Look, basketball is pretty popular throughout the world much like soccer…yet we don’t hear foreigners stating “Ah, San Jose” because of our ABA Skyrockets!! And MLS is soccers version of the ABA…THIRD TIER AT BEST!! (that’s probably giving the league a little too much credit) It’s now safe to say that Beckham is MLS’s version of the ABA’s Tim Hardaway (remember him Golden State fans?). Again Single Gal, until we hear about an NBA, MLB, or NFL franchise landing in San Jose…snooring loudly in the nations 10th largest city!
you people are funny do you really think this is going to happen? & If it does (Don) do you not think that somehow we all will pay for it someway, everybody talks a good game here but when it’s time to go to the games guess what? NOBODY GO’S!
So good luck to you all and you little pipe dream, must be a really slow day for news.
and it’s a swing and a miss!!!
To those who are sure that MLS will mirror the fate of the NASL, I would ask a simple question. Since you seem to project the image of someone who knows the facts, name something about the business models of each league that is either similar or different. There a a couple of significant differences in the way they did/do business. Before anyone decides to predict that particular future, I think it is important to have some basic understanding of how each of those leagues managed their product. Beyond that, it is probably a good idea to at least know the particulars of the various deals that have been made between MLS and TV networks. Please take the time to find out.
Major league baseball is not coming to downtown San Jose. If anyone has a workable solution to that problem, you are personally worth enough money to build your own stadium, in any configuration you wish. It is not going to happen, probably ever.
I agree with everyone who believes a SJSU stadium needs to be a little larger. If that is acheived through some kind of game day expansion, great. If construction is needed, the sooner the better. That is something that is needed for both soccer and football, IMHO. That being said, there is much that can be done for SJSU “big” games if the 49ers actually make it to Santa Clara. The football folks seem to overlook the fact that soccer people are very interested in meaningful international games, which would likely require more than 22K seats.
If the current Spartan Stadium were to be reworked to provide comfortable seats with backs, it would have a capacity of somewhere around 25K. When there are 30K people there, it is not comfortable. It is a great atmosphere, but it is that atmosphere and a couple of beers which make it tolerable.
Hopefully, if there is too much disagreement about this proposal, Lew Wolff will quickly go to the second choice on the list. The second choice may well be the county fairgrounds. For many reasons, it is not the best choice, but it does have some advantages, with more land being near the top of that list.
There are many major teams that do not play in the city associated with their franchise names. I am not sure of the exact number, but a significant number of NFL teams do not play in the city for which they are named. New York always comes to me first because they have two of them.
Get a grip folks. Someone has a check for $80 million, earmarked for a stadium. It will take some serious effort for this to fail, but my faith is unwavering regarding the local’s ability to screw this up. The city is involved, and that aspect alone is enough to insure a tough time of it.
It’s nice to see that the only people opposed to these signs of progress are:
whiny Mama’s boys (wah, wah, wah, we didn’t get that baseball team) who haven’t left house for 10 years to know Major League Soccer is M-A-J-O-R.
or
pretentious Spartan fans of a two bit college sport team nobody in the media even cares about. And that’s considering it is a mainstream American sport. But still, even around here in local media, it’s either Stanford or Cal. Who cares what SJSU fans think? Be ready to be soon overrun by SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!!!!!
I’m with you #11 We’ll see.
Though I am not a big soccer fan myself, I am all for anything that brings new business and shines a favorable light on San Jose. I hope that this deal is all that S.G. says it is. However, before we build an other statue in San Jose we need to look at our history. Wasn’t Wolff the same guy that cost the taxpayers an extra $13,000,000 by saying the Montgomery was unusable for a hotel and he needed the land for his new annex? Isn’t he also the same guy that expressed an interest in the Montgomery Hotel after it was moved and the RDA was handing out more money to run it? I sure hope Wolff is not talking about the land that the city has been buying up that includes the old Stephens Meat Co. for a “baseball park”. If so, this will be seen as an other “Grand Prix” deal. Our honest and open new mayor will need to shine some light on these dealings asap. I am hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.
#33 “2006 18,854
2005 12,506
2004 6,200
2003 15,080
2002 10,360
A 30,000-seat stadium would provide room to grow the 2006 average attendance, the highest in years, by almost 60 percent. That sounds like a good fit to me.”
And that’s all anyone with the interest of SJSU at heart is asking, 30K minimum.
Perspective also needs to be applied to the attendance graph. The 2002-03-04 seasons were under the administration of Athletic Director Chuck Bell. Bell’s purpose at SJSU was to run the football program into the ground so that the NCAA would shut it down when it enforced attendance regulations. When the NCAA announced it was revisiting those regulations and would not be enforcing them, Bell conveniently “retired” (he’s now doing his dirty work at Delaware State—some retirement). The figures for 2005-06 were under the current athletic administration who believes even greater success is possible, and is putting the work toward that end.
No one is suggesting that SJSU football attendance will jump 60% every year—at some point the growth has to peak. But if you move the team into a 22K stadium with an average attendance that may exceed that in 2 years, what are you doing to the growth potential of the program. It stifles. 30K minimum is necessary now with possibility for growth up to 40-45 if necessary for the future.
And to all those who defend MLS, I say, “yeah, right”. In 10 years it still has failed to gain a foothold in the American sports consciousness. So what do they do? They make a desperate grab for a marquee name as the league’s saviour. Pele couldn’t save the NASL, he only created a financial monster. Beckham will create the same drain on the sport’s investors. I hear one of those investors you cite (Vergara) is already fed up and wants out. When will the rest go scurrying for the exits?
Some thoughts derived from #19 and #32.
If it is so easy to target some “underdeveloped” land and squeeze capital out of it via a “greater benefit rezoning”, shouldn’t this be looked into as a means of funding other City priorities. Couldn’t this of worked for the Rep? They could of worked with a developer to get the rights to a zoning change that could have generated long-term funding – say a percentage of rent from a commercial site. Or how about the NAC’s. If each SNI area saw the financial gains of rezonings within thm reinvested back into neighborhood, wouldn’t this serve as a viable long-term funding vehicle for regeneration of these areas?
I find Lew Wolffs’ approach refreshing. I really think this is a win-win situation. I would love to see the spartans sell out 22,000 every game, making tickets hard to come by, creating demand etc. and would prefer they sell out a 25-27,000 seat stadium. Either way I think the stadium will be great for SJSU and look forward to seeing the Earthquakes back too.
#30, you’re right, #26 isn’t exactly showing a cooperative attitude. I don’t think it’s appropriate to attribute those comments to Soccer Silicon Valley, however.
I’d like to draw a distinction between SSV’s members and our board of directors. SSV does not control what people say in comments on our blog, nor do we try to muzzle the natural (if sometimes inarticulate) enthusiasm of our members.
Our board is quite aware that any stadium deal involving SJSU and Lew Wolff will have to be made to the benefit of both parties, and we recognize the value that each of them bring to the table. Sometimes fans (short for “fanatic,” I’ll add) are not always clear on that subject, and I’ve seen arrogant comments posted by both soccer fans about football and football fans about soccer, both here and in other forums.
Fortunately, these sorts of deals are usually negotiated by level-headed people who know the best interests of their organizations, in places other than public Internet message boards. Here’s hoping it works out for everyone’s benefit.
Jay Hipps
VP
SSV
I look forward to watching SJSU and the San Jose Earthquakes play football in the new stadium.
#26 – it is precisely the attitude that you have shown in your post (and which others on SSV and BigSoccer have duplicated) that sets the supporters of San Jose State University on edge.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but if Mr. Wolff wishes to place his stadium on SJSU property, then you and your buddies had better get off of calling your co-tenants “pretentious” or asking the world who cares what SJSU fans think.
Remember – any new soccer franchise in San Jose will be the FOURTH iteration of a men’s pro soccer team in San Jose (NASL, USISL, MLS, MLS), and SJSU football has kept on going through that whole time.
If anything, based on history, we Spartan fans are entirely justified in asking who cares what Earthquakes fans think. After all, y’all have now let three franchises fail. One more and you get a coupon for a complementary set of steak knives.
If soccer is so major league then why do its supporters have to huff and puff and scream to us how popular and super it is? It’s like San Jose having to advertise “we’re the 10th biggest city.” If you are really major league or world class you don’t have to keep telling people—they would already know it. Soccer isn’t and neither is San Jose. And that’s the way it is…
#37 – If you know full well (as I know you do) what SJSU requires for the continued health and well-being of its football program, why on earth does Wolff come out with a 22K stadium proposal and immediately draw the ire of the SJSU supporters he needs to win over to make the deal go? It doesn’t make sense.
RIPavilion, you’d better believe that I understand the politics of that stupid MLB people, but you know, Lew Wolf was Bud Selig frat’ buddy. He can’t influence his own buddy? If that happened to me, I would’ve end the friendship at once since he would be a traitor! A good friend will side with his buddy since it’s the friend’s dream to have baseball in downtown SJ. As for Lew, I’m shocked that he gave in to the territorial b.s. which San Jose accepted in 1992. We adopted that protection, so we can bring down here. The MBL guys use that as a tool to prevent us from having the A’s come down here. As for soccer, I used to play soccer without my hand, and I was damn good. However, we struck out 3 times due to lack of fans support and ownership interest! Forgettaboutit!
RIP, Wolff hasn’t come out with any proposal. We just have news reports informing us that negotiations are ongoing.
#38 :
So, I’ve been informed you’re interested in making a personal donation to SJSU of $120 million, so you can help them build their pie in the sky, as well as keep other “pests” like SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES away. I will be soon be faxing you the paperwork from SJSU head Kassing and you’ll need to sign on the dotted lines. Also, kindly enter the bank routing number and your account number on form entires highlighted with yellow marker.
I also trust you’ll be able to turn around the paperwork before the end of this month, so you can beat any competing interests from the likes of Lew Wolff. Looking forward to hearing back from you.
Warm regards.
#35 “And that’s all anyone with the interest of SJSU at heart is asking, 30K minimum.”
Are they asking, or are they demanding? The football program is now so powerful under Tomey that it no longer has to go begging. Excellent! Wouldn’t there now be local Spartan support to kick in and finance the cost difference between 22K seats and 30K (w/room to expand, as you suggest)?
According to some fan discussions the Spartan resurrgence is likely to bring monied alumnus and corporate interests stepping, if not spinting, forward to plunk down and be are a part of it all.
Jay Hipps obviously is correct that, thankfully, the decision makers are pretty far removed from bickering message boards and fan biases.
Final terms of a deal, if we see the details, might answer questions re relative worth of football and soccer interests. Good luck Spartans. For the future I hope to see success comparable to the Jack Elway era, which I witnessed.
Quakes’ past ownership-management makes RIPavilion’s Chuck Bell look like a hybrid Billy Beane / Steinbrenner genius. Wolf brings a high level of leadership and responsibilty as an owner. With that, and Tomey guiding Spartan football, how could either faction not look forward with high hopes?
FWIW non sporting interests in San Jose may note that ex Mayor McEnery has spoken well of Wolff, in general terms, on these pages.
By perfect human being, do you mean the aging benchwarmer with Real Madrid who has repeatedly cheated on the his wife and mother of his children? He’s just a second-rate player for a third-rate league.
WAKE UP FOLKS!!! Lew Wolff is not building this stadium out of the kindness of his heart. This is a deal that will not only inflate his ego but will undoubtedly line his pockets at the expense of San Jose residents both financially and in terms of lower quality of life in neighborhoods far removed from the stadium site.
In Fremont he is asking for the City to rezone land that is available for employment to residential/mixed use with commercial and to approve an additional 2000+ housing units along the gridlocked 880 freeway corridor. Where is his money coming from to pay for the A’s new stadium? He is asking Fremont for the rezoning to residential so he can net about $200,000 per unit from the difference between the value of the land as industrial vs. what final residential units will sell for. The additional land value created by the rezoning to residential mixed uses is what he’s using to pay for the A’s stadium. Just like a banker or stock broker stacking up the hidden fees to use our own money, the public is getting robbed in plain sight!!! Additionally, it is still unclear whether he is asking the City of Fremont to waive its affordable housing requirements for his project so he doesn’t have to provide any of the 2000+ units as City required affordable housing. In addition to his development, Fremont will have less industrial land available to attract the business that have traditionally flocked to the City.
This is the same “formula” he’s selling SJ. Make no mistakes, SJ is being asked to pony up a contribution. The question that remains is how much will this group ultimately pilfer from the public and will Mayor “No Lying, Cheating, or Stealing” live up to his PR. Our only hope for an open and fair public process for the review of this proposal is that the City staff—particularly the Planning Department continues to think long term and point out the potential trade-offs we’re being asked for: between shrinking the amount of future employment serving land the City has, introducing residential units in areas where there are no services for residences and exaccerbating already inadequate schools and parks; and the short-term benefts to SJSU and the City’s soccer boosters who will have a fitting memorial to another hopeful minor sport sports league.
Be very afraid SJ!!! Especially, if you’re in an SNI designated area or in an industrial area that the residential developers have been eyeing in recent years.
The argument that MLS is not “Major League” is the most bogus, irrelevent, uninformed and downright absurd argument.
It’s only been around 11 years. Do you think American football, baseball or basketball grew into what they are today in just 11 years? Of course not. It took 50 years.
Lew Wolff, as with all the other billionaires currently investing in MLS, know that now is the right time to hit soccer as an investor. He gets it. Lamar Hunt, basically the guy who created the NFL as we know it today, was also principally involved in launching MLS. He knows. He gets it.
And you can’t compare it to the NASL. It’s a completely different business scenario. Those of us who were actually there know that.
If you don’t like soccer and want to whine that your baseball team isn’t coming here, then I would advise you to just go away and shut up.
I agree with #37 in that #26 does not reflect the sentiments of most Quakes fans. I believe that many of us are also SJSU supporters and would like to see a continued succesful program there. I think a 27,000 or so seat stadium would be a nice compromise.
I also agree with #42 and #35 that both SJSU football and the Earthquakes had horrible management that damaged their capability to thrive and attract fans. Both will be succesful with a new stadium.
To be perfectly honest MLS is not major in the sense that MLB or the NLF is but it is not minor either. It is somewhere in between and appears to have stabilized. I think it will continue to grow.
Lets get along Spartan and Earthquakes fans.
#34:
“you people are funny do you really think this is going to happen?”
YES.
“& If it does (Don) do you not think that somehow we all will pay for it someway”
NO.
Next question?
The proposed deal as reported by the Merc and KTVU is a win for everybody involved—San Jose State, the City of San Jose, and the Earthquakes.
San Jose State gets a brand new stadium and a parking garage without spending any money at all. Since it’s unlikely that SJSU will have $80-$100M to throw into a new stadium anytime soon, this is a significant plus! Size should not be an issue since it has been reported that the new stadium would be expandable on game days to 30,000, which is almost identical to the capacity of the existing stadium.
While the football program is resurgent and attendance increased dramatically in 2006, I don’t think it’s wise to project that single year-to-year growth rate indefinitely into the future—the last time people did that, they were talking about dot com stocks in 2000, and we all know how accurate those projections turned out. Just for the record, here is the average attendance at Spartan football games for the last five years:
2006 18,854
2005 12,506
2004 6,200
2003 15,080
2002 10,360
A 30,000-seat stadium would provide room to grow the 2006 average attendance, the highest in years, by almost 60 percent. That sounds like a good fit to me.
I’ve seen some concerns that a stadium that size will pale in comparison to those of some other schools and therefore may have a negative impact on recruiting, but I’ll point out again that 30,000 is virtually the same capacity as the current stadium—and, in any case, a new stadium is going to make a much better impression on recruits than the decrepit dowager that is Spartan Stadium.
As for the City’s involvement, the shortage of athletic fields for public use has been well documented by the Merc. But let’s talk about the concerns voiced in comment number 19, that the city’s taxpayers are somehow getting swindled. Wolff is allegedly proposing a zoning change on some underutilized land so that he can develop it. Let’s say that development will be similar to his proposal for Fremont—a housing/retail village. He needs to make at least $80 million in profits off that project to pay for the new stadium. I’m not a developer so I don’t know what sort of profit margins they deal with, but let’s say 25 percent for the purpose of this discussion. If that’s the case, he’ll need to invest over $300 million in this second project. That’s going to increase the city’s tax base dramatically and if there’s a retail component, you’re looking at additional sales tax revenues as well. And #19 is telling us that he’d rather have the vacant or underutilized industrial land than a $300M project. I think most cities in the region would welcome that kind of investment.
And yes, we soccer fans get what we want, too. But RIPavilion, please don’t try to paint MLS as a dying league. We’ve been through this before: Business Week magazine reported last April that “over $1 billion has flowed into MLS in less than two years as investors sense that the league may be at a tipping point.” Some of the recent investors in MLS, besides Lew Wolff, are the following: Maple Leaf Sports in Toronto, who also own the NHL Maple Leafs and the NBA Toronto Raptors; Dave Checketts, who also owns the NHL’s St. Louis Blues and is former president of both the Utah Jazz and Madison Square Garden, the company that owns the NHL’s New York Rangers and the NBA’s New York Knicks; Dietrich Mateschitz, the Austrian billionaire behind Red Bull energy drink; Antonio Cué and Jorge Vergara, who own soccer teams in Mexico and Costa Rica; and Stan Kroenke, who also owns the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, the NHL Colorado Avalanche, and is co-owner of the NFL’s St. Louis Rams.
As for the Beckham deal, his soccer salary is less than $10 million a year—the rest of the $250M figure that’s made such a splash is from endorsement money and image rights. That’s not exactly a big salary for the team owners mentioned above, many of whom pay that much for players on their other teams. In any case, the investment in Beckham is already paying off for MLS, as teams around the league are reporting dramatic increases in season ticket sales, not to mention the immense value of the media coverage that has followed his signing.
Fortunately, it seems like most of the parties involved have figured out that the reported deal is a good one. I’m looking forward to opening day, 2009.
“If soccer is so major league then why do its supporters have to huff and puff and scream to us how popular and super it is?”
We don’t. We don’t have to.
It’s just is the way it is. We can’t help it being “popular and super”. The sport itself can’t help being that way. That’s just the way it is.
What? Do you now want us go into what the meaning of the word “is” is?
#46 you have all the answers?
Let’s not forget that you forgot to answer the big question? who is going to go?
That’s right NOBODY!
Lew Wolff rocks for himself only and for you to think that he’s doing a great service for you is stupid! but like I said this is only talk and talk is cheap!!!!
Right after SJS won the New Mexico bowl, one of the players said on TV that he didn’t think SJS had a place to display the trophy. I recently attended the Speed City exhibit at History San Jose. On display were broken trophies that were thrown in a dumpster after SJS did away with their track and boxing teams. At one time their boxing team was tops in the nation and their track team, the best in the world, they won more track and field metals in the 68 olympics than most countries. Like the track and boxing teams we had had a first rate soccer team in the Earthquakes, yet we lost them because we didn’t support them. There is no place on States campus where you can go and get any feel for the history and traditions of the oldest public college west of the Mississippi. Where can you go and get any feeling that the Earthquakes were ever here? When will we ever get it right? When will we as San Joseans ever start to exhibit some self respect? If we ever want the rest of the world to respect us, we better start showing them we respect ourselves.
Here’s an interesting thought for all the rabid soccer fans who have started posting here to try and sway the SJ Bloggosphere:
“If MLS is such a major success why can’t these fans and Soccer Silicon Valley pay for their own stadium without having to have the residents of San Jose pay for it through using City lands or rezoning properties we need to maintain our future employment base?” MLB and the SF Giants, a real league, paid for their own stadium with funds raised privately and without trying to circumvent a community’s general plan or zoning ordinances. Why can’t you soccer fanatics do that? Put your own money where your mouths are and stop trying to feed in the public trough!!! Charge yourselves extra ticket surcharges or private seat licenses and parking fees to attend your home games in order to generate enough of a future income stream to pay off private Certificates of Participation or private bonds to build your stadium.
If you want the Earthquakes and a soccer stadium so badly pay for it yourselves out of your own pockets. Don’t ask SJ residents to pay for it with public funds, with lower neighborhood quality of life, or by mortgaging the economic vitality of business community and our employment base.
Wake up SNI’s and NAC’s a real Wolff in sheep’s clothing is at the door!!!
#44, “The argument that MLS is not ‘Major League’ is the most bogus, irrelevant, uninformed and downright absurd argument”…NO IT’S NOT! It’s just the plain truth! I have co-workers who played collegiate soccer and who are rabbid World Cup fans, and you know how they described MLS to me…“Garbage” soccer!! And you wonder why America’s best footballers want to play in Europe. Look, you people are getting your SSS and Quakes back, but don’t make it into something that it isn’t. It’s not like were getting the A’s downtown or the 49ers at the Fairgrounds. And don’t expect support from those who wanted MLB/The A’s in San Jose! You people SPIT on San Jose’s baseball efforts (posts 25, 26), even championed the Giants territorial rights, just so you could push your selfish soccer agenda (even with the now-defunct Baseball San Jose supporting Soccer Silicon Valley!). Now we’re all supposed to do backflips for the return of minor league soccer?! By the way, you want to know what’s downright absurd…Don Gagliardi claiming the Earthquakes will one day be akin to the Yankees and Cowboys, “only bigger worldwide.” Enough said!
#55 – I saw no accusatory tone in the #49 post, save for the opinion (shared on here by many) that developers have a history of tending to work development deals toward their own best interests.
What I DID see, however, was a suggestion that those who wish to see MLS return to San Jose should shut their yaps and pay for it themselves.
A rather interesting approach to building a sporting venue, no?
#50 :
We don’t need your support, never asked for it. We’ll do just fine without it. Who ever said that everyone needs to be interested in anything, anyway?
Since you’re the one who’s going on with a chip on your shoulders, dividing up local sports fans into “us versus them” mentality (post #21), what you want to do is your problem. Not ours.
For the record, comment for other posters: my post #26 was meant as a reverse satire for immature posts like #21. It was meant to be a clear illustration of what it feels to be subjected to “soundbite trolling” without little facts to back things up, use inciteful speech purely for the purpose of ruffling feathers. I had no intention of badmouthing SJSU athletics and hope that fact is cleared up.
Getting back to post #50 :
Since your co-workers are such great authorities on soccer, I take it their line of work involves something to do with soccer. FIFA perhaps? I mean, they’re the undisputed judges of quality of soccer in the world. It’s only natural that they’re dealing with it daily, living, breathing it, which seems to indicate that’s their line of work.
So, then that means your line of work is also related to soccer, this sport you obviously love so much?. I mean, I’m just using a simple definition of co-worker and doing some extrapolation, an art which isn’t probably lost on you.
#41 and #47: Just keep up that positive attitude, dude. Sooner or later, everyone will flock to your banner with smack like that!
I, for one, welcome our new MLS overlords…
At this point, with the arrogance of these soccer fans on this and other forums, I don’t care if we get a new stadium or not for Spartan Football. I would think they would be seeking more compromises to placate the football people but instead they are saying this is what it is going to be and you better like it. Dude we don’t need to like it, we have a place to play and have for over 100 years. Our new administration will get it done with or without Wolff’s help. It may not be a new place and it will take longer but it will be ours not yours. Go deal with the city and find a new chunk of land. I know many boosters feel more strongly then I do and are letting Kassing and Bowen know that as well. The SJS administration walked away once and I’m sure they are prepared to walk away again.
Would I truly like to see something get done yes but it has to be right in SJSU’s eyes and at this early stage it is not.
#50 “Look, you people are getting your SSS and Quakes back, but don’t make it into something that it isn’t.”
We are not.
“It’s not like were getting the A’s downtown or the 49ers at the Fairgrounds.”
We never said that. It is like we’re getting our beloved San Jose Earthquakes back in San Jose, where they belong. Don’t put words in our mouth. We never asked for A’s in downtown San Jose or 49ers and Fairgrounds and don’t care to. This issue has nothing to do with whatever selfish agenda you might have had. Hate to tell you, but you’re compelled to comment on something if it doesn’t interest you. The world doesn’t revolve around your selfish agendas.
Here’s an interesting thought for you #49 :
Research a topic before you’re commenting on it. Particularly if your comments are of accusatory tone towards someone.
Is the proposed site for the new soccer and football field the best location for SJS, soccer team owners,downtown businesses and the city as a whole?
#56, the best approach is for the owner to pay for it, which is what Wolff says he will do.
#59 – Mr. Wolff is paying for the construction of the stadium; what he lacks is the land.
So, he needs available land, without too many strings attached or votes to pass. His best bet is SJSU’s South Campus.
So, knowing this, the majority of the soccer fans on here have expressed the feelings that SJSU should just kiss Mr. Wolff’s ring, genuflect at his very presence, and sing Hosannahs to the sky at the very prospect of the return of MLS soccer to San Jose, when instead they could show a bit of humility and grace and try to see things from SJSU’s side of the ledger.
All that we, as SJSU partisans in this, are saying is that if SJSU land is used, then SJSU gets a hand in the design and use process.
The VP of SSV stated, in post #37, that we should not mistake the ill-chosen words of some of his partisans for a prevailing attitude amongst the soccer fans on this thread.
My response to him would be that it takes just one idiot to undo the works of a hundred geniuses, and the idiots on the soccer side of this discussion are lining up by the dozens.
Their “passion” is going to end up getting this deal killed, because they are going to try to jam something down SJSU’s throat that SJSU neither wants nor needs, and I can guaran-damn-tee the soccer hooligans that they will not succeed in that effort, not at SJSU, not anymore.
SJSU does not need to sacrifice the future of its football program for the Greater Glory of a failed professional sport that has yet to get a toehold in the national imagination despite constant attempts to do so for almost 40 years.
Again: SJSU football has been here throughout, while this will be the FOURTH iteration of some men’s pro soccer team to be located in San Jose.
For SJSU now to kowtow to the demands of the hooligans in this issue would be nothing short of incompetence on the part of the university.
#60, I missed the part where something was getting pushed down someone’s throat. I thought Wolff and SJSU officials were in negotiations to work out a mutually agreeable plan. If they can’t agree, they won’t do it.
#60:
The first signs of “idiot”s in this thread are posts like #5, #6 or #21, who when they use the word “we” seem to think they’re speaking for everyone else here. Or when they use the word “we”, they seem to be imposing it on everyone else.
I don’t see any such pretense or imposition on part of posts by SSV people like Don Gagliardi, Colin or Jay. Also as #51 said in his post, who ever said “everyone needs to be interested in everything” anyway? You don’t like soccer? Fine. Nobody is shoving it down your throat. Nothing is forcing you change your way of life if some millionaire is spending his personal money on a soccer venture you don’t care about.
Could it occur to you perhaps that equally absurd posts like #26 are nothing but “shock and awe” counter-reactions to idiocies in posts referenced above, without much substance to offer?
Get a hint folks, No one cares about soccer or Pro Soccer to that fact. But you know I have an idea, maybe a soccer stadium could be built using city taxpayer money? On the downside of that no one would come to the stadium….
It is the fringe on both side who are taking an attitude about this. There are only a handful of facts to consider. Can this particular idea work for both groups would be the first. Wolff doesn’t want a public vote (and I can’t say that I blame him in San Jose), which narrows his choices in San Jose (to SJS or the fairgrounds).
It will either work out or it won’t. If a deal is made, the fanatics on both sides will not be completely satisfied. If that is the result, it is probably a decend deal.
#62 – The individual to whom you refer in #26 has also posted several other times, each time just as unpleasant and each time just as snide. Pile on the posts of yourself, especially your responses to the Asian voter (#54) and Anthony Dominguez (#53), as well as your last missive, and what are we, who (as of this time) oppose this deal, left to conclude?
Nice attempt to cover yourself in the soothing words of Don and Jay and Colin by the way, but I have read the rhetoric on SSV and BigSoccer and SpartanThunder, and by and large the discussion tone put forth by the pro-soccer faction in this issue has been, to put it charitably, less than amicable when it comes to San Jose State University.
Perhaps y’all are still pissed off that Don Kassing told AEG (and by extension MLS) to take a hike a couple of years ago after getting continually bad-mouthed by AEG in the year and a half prior to that. Perhaps you still have “splinters in your @$$” from the old wooden bench seats. Don’t know, don’t care.
But the bottom line is, and will remain, that in order to get a new stadium up and running by the 2009 season, your only path is to construct at San Jose State University; otherwise, you will require a council and then inevitable public vote before shovels turn dirt. Thus, it would behoove those who truly want some deal (any deal) to come about – and I would include yourself, “Lew Wolff Rocks” and your other denizens on the other boards – to take a moment and reconsider what you post on message boards like this.
Because you can rest assured that the content of this thread is making it over to SpartanThunder, and the understandably negative reactions of the pro-SJSU folks on ST to your collective attitude (Don and Jay and Colin notwithstanding) are making their way into the Tower via E-mail and SnailMail in advance of any deal that Mr. Wolff may put before The Brass.
Enough substance for you?
Silicon Valley Soccer (AKA you kow who)-
My profession involves development and working with land use regulations. I’ve lived in the valley many years and stand by my comments in post #49.
There are still some of us here that don’t have the 30 second attention spans and go blindly believing the carefully crafted sound bites released to the media and rabid fans.
I’ll spell it out in simple terms how I believe this deal is being shopped to the City:
1) The Wolff needs SJ to rezone industrial land to residential zoning elsewhere in the City. The Merc notes City owned property has been mentioned.
2) That means if the land is purchased at a lower price as industrial land or sold at less than fair market value instead of for the going rate of $3-4 Million per acre as residential land, The Wolff gets a defacto subsidy from the public. A lot of commentary on this site was devoted to what constituted a “Gift of Public Funds”. I’ll leave it to the ethics and sunshine boys to hash this out.
3) The developer can further enhance his return on the land in question by either selling the rezoned property to another developer with its entitlements at a premium (i.e. ‘flipping’), or he can choose to build the residential units and sell them with an additional mark up to the individual final buyers.
4) The proceeds from either resale alternative of the property with the zoning or the final units is what can be use as funding mechanism for the construction of the stadium on land that SJSU owns.
If you want evidence how this works go and reseach the Hitachi Development rezoning of the former IBM campus on Cottle Rd. Hitachi made what has been estimated to be $300M the night that the City Council rezoned 300+ acres of the site from industrial to mixed-use and allowed up to 3,000 residential units to be built on the site. Hitachi is now in the process of selling off parcels to residential developers at a premium.
All I can hope for is that those doing the talking, the ones who have something that counts (like money and land) don’t pay any attention to those who demonstrate their obvious bias…..and this is clearly a two way street boys and girls.
If a decent compromise is can’t be reached, we move on. The Spartans have basic needs that must happen. The Earthquakes have basic needs that must happen. Fortunately, sane people are doing the talking. Whatever happens, it will not be the first compromise to be negotiated, nor would it be the first time a deal couldn’t be made. Whatever the outcome, it is not the end of the world.
#69 – Robert Craft was a wonderful jazz/folk guitarist who once recorded an album I wish I could find called “Cafe Society”.
#64:
“Because you can rest assured that the content of this thread is making it over to SpartanThunder, and the understandably negative reactions of the pro-SJSU folks on ST to your collective attitude (Don and Jay and Colin notwithstanding) are making their way into the Tower via E-mail and SnailMail in advance of any deal that Mr. Wolff may put before The Brass.
Enough substance for you?”
Thanks for the laugh. That is indeed plenty of substance. We are all in fact quivering in our boots.
Here in fact is a futuristic sketch:
Wolff: Hello, Wolff speaking.
Kassing: Hey Wolff, this is your pal Kass. Listen, I’ve been given reports of these damn pesky “sucker” fan of yours who have been doing nothing but bad-mouthing SJSU. In fact, there was this one anonymous blogger posting under your name that said all vile stuff about SJSU. You know what? Keep that damn $80 million to yourself.
Wolff: Alright Kass, nice doing business with you. I’m keeping those $80 million to myself on your advice.
#63
“Get a hint folks, No one cares about soccer or Pro Soccer to that fact.”
Riiiiiiiiight. Especially nobody with money or influence.
People like Phil Anschutz, late Lamar Hunt, Stan Kroenke, Dave Checketts, Robert Craft, Lew Wolff, Dietrich Mateschitz, Antonio Cué, Jorge Vergara, none of them. They all are or have been dirt poor and nobody cares about what they think.
Oh wait, did you have Malcolm Glazer or Roman Abramovich in your mind instead?
#68:
You forgot about all these corporate insignificants:
Home Depot, Pizza Hut, Toyota, Adidas, NIKE.
Who is Robert Craft? Did you mean Robert Kraft instead?
#67 and #68 – It takes some serious irony suppression to be a Earthquakes supporter and at the same time bring Phil Anschutz into any argument supporting your views.
In any event, I can’t speak for Frank, but I think he was referring to all the people who, for some silly reason, continue to not go to MLS games. You know, the league with exactly one team (LA Galaxy) with a 20K+ average attendance. The league with a history of only four franchies (out of a league history total of 15) with median attendance over 15K. (Source – Kenn Tomasch, Kenn.com). The people that have kept MLS from being profitable for the entirety of its 11-year existence by (for some strange reason) collectively staying away from the box office. I think those were the people that he was referring to as not caring about pro soccer.
As to #67 – I think the scenario goes something more along the lines of this – Wolff and Kassing sign off on the 22K stadium size using SJSU land, and representatives of the Spartan Foundation make it clear to Mr. Kassing that they are unalterably opposed to the project without the needs of SJSU football being met. Kassing then has to balance the possible short-term gain of a stadium on university land versus the loss of support of the most vocal and supportive segment of his alumni base – those nice folks who write big checks to put names on buildings and equipment in the labs and such.
You are entitled to your scenario, as I am to mine.
I know which one’s more likely to occur, though.
At best soccer fans, MLS will one day be on par with the Arena Football League; lots of investors and TV contracts (#68), but no where near MLB, NFL, NBA (or NHL for that matter) in terms of attendance or popularity. By the way, if soccer is do damn popular and on the up-swing, why a stadium of only 22k? Home Depot in Carson is 27k; what’s the big deal about 3k extra seats? Afraid of large swaths of empty seats during soccer games, are we?
“Can’t we all just get along”? Come on people, we are getting waaaay ahead of ourselves on this. As Kassing said, we are at about step 2 of a 25 step proccess. Nothing to get worked up over, yet. This proposal has the potential to make both sides very happy.
And get real, those who are going to decide this are not going to care one iota what is being said on the internet by the over-passionate of both sides.
Let’s just sit back and see how this all unfolds.
#73, We don’t care if MLS isn’t as big as the “big 4”. Everything has its niche. The NHL or NBA are worthwhile even though they don’t draw as many people as MLB. SJSU football is worthwhile even though it’s not ever going to get the attendance or popularity of Notre Dame. There’s a market for MLS, and that’s why people like Lew Wolff want to spend $80 million on stadiums, plus whatever else he would pay to acquire the franchise. Or is he just stupid?
As a part-time soccer journalist, I can tell you this: 99.9 percent of Quakes fans just want the freakin’ team to come back. That’s it. They don’t care how it happens. Sure, there may exist a few partisan blockheads who lash out against Spartan football, but they do NOT represent the Quakes’ fan base at all. And while there may exist a few teenage morons who cause trouble at the games, no Quakes fan anywhere could possibly be considered a “hooligan” by any definition of that word. At least no more than any drunken frat boy at a SJSU football game.
I’m a soccer guy and not a college football guy, but, like any sensible person, I realize that Spartan Football was around decades before the Quakes ever were and if the stadium is on SJSU land, their needs should come first. Of course. Don Kassing is an intelligent guy. He will put the university’s needs above all else. I know he will and Lew Wolff knows he will.
What irks me, however, is all these buffoons who go out of their way to attack the effort to bring the Quakes back. None one of them even knows the actual circumstances surrounding why the team left and not one of them even knows anything about the league, its business model, who anybody is or anything. To them, just because they personally don’t get the sport means that it shouldn’t be allowed to grow in this country or exist in San Jose, California.
It’s the “If I can’t have my baseball here, then you can’t have your soccer here” syndrome. They’re making it an either/or thing, which it never was.
Look at it this way: I understand Spartan Football’s importance to many people and many things and I understand that Tomey has completely turned the thing around and it’s on the rise. I personally couldn’t care less, but do you see me going out of my way to attack it? No.
What is it with all these rabid anti-soccer people? There would pretty much be no chance for any new stadium for anyone had Wolff not stepped up and done what he’s done so far. Please, can’t we all just get along?
-gary
Right on Gary Singh – and furthermore, I think Wolfe really wants to make a deal at SJS cuz he doesn’t have to go thru eir’s or a public vote – it’s university land and as a state agency they are generally exempt from city policy. This is a biggie for a guy like Wolfe who likes to keep the red tape to a minimum.
A new stadium creates positive buzz that will benefit both tenents and all special events at the stadium.
BTW, Wolfe can build up to 30k seats and not worry about neighborhood gripes cuz all he’s doing is replacing what’s already in place.
Over & out.
OK, so can we agree that soccer is very popular among the people with whom it is popular; but that translates into relatively small numbers compared to other sports? Can we drop the vituperation?
I last went to a soccer game when the World Cup was at Stanford. But I think the idea of a stadium is fine as long as no-one picks my pocket for it. I have a few Latin American friends who play EVERY WEEKEND, but they rarely attended an MLS game.
I read the other day every major European and English team that looked at Beckham took a pass; didn’t even invite him to talk. So some U.S. media hype type takes a $10million/year contract, adds in a bunch of undisclosed incentives, and hypes him as a $50 million/year player. Big flash in the press, a lot of mileage. For two weeks. Will it translate to increased attendance at any game other than one in which he is playing? Let’s wait and see.
Soccer is the fastest growing sport in the US, someone says above. That’s easy when the baseline is low. Kids play it in school, but that has yet to translate into many quality American professional players, or big attendance numbers.
So, if Lew Wollf wants to invest $$, and The Spartans get a new stadium with AN amenity (100% increase from the current zero baseline), then what’s the harm in that?
Hi all, I have been reading this blog for a while and I also have some comments. I have supported both San Jose State and the Earthquakes for many years and also the relatively new comers the Sharks. It is fair and accurate to state that soccer i.e. the Earthquakes and their variants and soccer related events such as MLS All Star game and the Women World cup games, have been the major source of revenues for Spartan Stadium. These are facts and no one can deny them. Football has not provided nearly the crowds that soccer has. This is even more important when one considers that the soccer season and when playoffs are involved is longer then the football season by several factors. Lou Wolff and San Jose State appear to have struck a symbiotic relationship. San Jose State needs to build a new stadium but they don’t have the funds, because if they did it would have happened long time ago. Is there a reason why the sound system is so bad and it has not been replaced for over 30 years!!! How come the school has not installed a large screen or a decent scoreboard? The answer is clear…. they just don’t have the money because football does not generate any revenues. The football program needs to go to play “body bag” games to get some extra cash so that it can meet the expenses. People forget that prior to soccer the capacity of Spartan Stadium was 18K plus and the 1976 soccer season the Quakes drew 19000 plus, this is corroborated by the fact that there is an asteriks next to the attendance figure in the NASL league records. The meaning of the asterik is that the average attendance exceeded the stadium capacity. In all fairness to soccer,San Jose is always supported soccer. San Jose was the last team in NASL to fold.
On a slight different issue. People believe that sports funnel public money from other deserving programs i.e. schools, libraries, parks etc. This in not true. When the Giants did not come to San Jose, the city did not build parks and libraries and shelter for the homeless, a cry that the anti stadium people where chanting. Also if the war in Iraq was to end today(hopefully) we taxpayer do not have a billion dollar a day to lower our taxes as the Democrats want us to believe. The US government have been closing bases through out the world and we taxpayers do not benefit from these savings regardless whether it be in time of war or peace. It just does not happen. On the other hand, The San Jose Arena which was builts with taxpayer money has been a revenue maker for the city. When the hockey season was absent, San Jose received a check from the Sharks as business as usual. Also the San Jose Arena is the third most booked venue in the world!!!. The San Jose Convention Center on the other hand needs to be subsidized with taxpayer money.