 |
| Earthquakes Heading To Houston |
MLS announced Thursday that AEG is relocating the Earthquakes from San Jose to Houston, less than four months before the start of the ’06 season. In Houston, Bernardo Fallas writes a contest will be held to rename the club, as MLS “has retained the Earthquakes name, colors and logo for use by an expansion team in the Bay Area.” MLS officials did not say where the team will play next season, but “all signs point to” the Univ. of Houston’s Robertson Stadium. MLS Commissioner Don Garber said that he “would seek a public-private partnership” in building a soccer-specific stadium for the team. Garber said AEG is the sole owner of the franchise and that “no local investors are involved” (
HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 12/16). A source said that AEG “is no closer to selling the team in Houston than it was in San Jose.” The source: “They don’t have anybody to buy the team” (
S.F. CHRONICLE, 12/16).
BACK TO THE BAY? In San Jose, Barry Witt reports the city of San Jose is offering “as much as $80[M] in taxpayer money” for an expansion MLS team. The plan, which requires voter approval, would give $36M toward constructing a 22,000-seat stadium, land worth $30M and up to $14M “in operating subsidies for an expansion team while it plays at Spartan Stadium.” Garber signed a “term sheet” with San Jose City Manager Del Borgsdorf, and he said that he “would help look for an investor willing to run” the team as soon as ‘07 (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 12/16). Garber added returning to the Bay Area “will be a major priority of mine and the rest of the league office over the next year” (L.A. TIMES, 12/16).
 |
Wolff Showing Interest In
New MLS Team In San Jose |
WOLFF CREEK: Garber said A’s Owner Lewis Wolff has “expressed interest in investing in MLS in the Bay Area.” Wolff said that owning both the A’s and the Earthquakes “had business benefits, but would say nothing about the notion that having a soccer team in San Jose could be tied to the relocation of the A’s.” Wolff, referring to the MLB Giants’ claim that San Jose is part of their market, said, “I’m going to comply with [MLB] rules.” Meanwhile, Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment President Greg Jamison said that while the company “passed on the same proposal now open to expansion owners, he’s open to restarting the conversation.” Jamison: “The team that AEG owns is no longer on the table.” He added that there was “simply not enough time to resolve many issues” regarding the sale of the existing franchise (
SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 12/16).
REAX FROM SAN JOSE: In San Jose, Mark Purdy writes AEG’s “evacuation plan for San Jose was set in motion a year ago, when the organization wanted to either sell the team or leave the Bay Area because it was losing millions.” Local boosters persuaded AEG not to relocate the team until after the ’05 season, but they “produced an alleged new investor with money that turned out to be entirely fictional.” The situation in Houston “is not demonstrably superior to the situation here.” Purdy adds, “The only way voters in San Jose will pass a ballot measure for a stadium ... is if the city provides the land, with the franchise paying for the rest” (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 12/16). A SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS editorial states the move “is a betrayal of fan loyalty and a black mark on [MLS] and on San Jose.” But AEG is “not fully to blame. The Quakes had rabid fans -– but not enough of them” (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 12/16).
