San Jose Council Approves New Land Deal For MLS Stadium

Earthquakes Owner Pledges To Build $50- 60M Soccer Stadium In Next Three Years

The San Jose City Council yesterday "unanimously agreed to cut $43[M] from a land deal in hopes of keeping alive plans" for a soccer stadium for the MLS Earthquakes, according to Denis Theriault of the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS. Earthquakes Owner Lew Wolff and his partners "will now pay $89[M] for 65 acres near the airport, pledging to build a [$50-60M] soccer stadium in the next two to three years." Without the revised agreement, the developers "warned they would walk away from the project." While it is "far less than the $132[M] deal the council initially approved in May 2008, it's more than the $81[M] the city paid for the land, plus 10 additional acres," in '05. Besides the privately funded stadium, the project also "will include some 1.5 million square feet of office, retail and hotel space." The developers have until '11 to "pay the bulk of the sale price." The deal "includes provisions to reappraise the land, possibly raising the price, if they wait longer." Meanwhile, Theriault notes the council yesterday also "unanimously approved extending the agency's tax-collection powers to the area near the Diridon rail station." The site is "targeted as a high-density entertainment district that would include several high-profile projects, including an A's ballpark and high-speed rail and BART hubs" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 5/6).