Willow Glen Resident
News
Pro soccer stadium could be built near Mineta airport
By Stephen Baxter
San Jose Earthquakes officials are refining plans for a new, privately funded professional soccer stadium as part of a wide-ranging land deal that the city council is expected to consider in November.
The Major League Soccer team, which left San Jose for Houston in 2005, will be reborn in spring 2008 and controlled by Oakland Athletics owner and land developer Lew Wolff.
The new Earthquakes plan to play at several stadiums in Northern California, and have plans to build an 18,000-seat stadium just south of Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport by the 2010 or 2011 season.
The proposed stadium's construction will be privately funded and overseen by the Earthquakes.
Team officials said in July that the stadium would cost $80 million, but firmer estimates are up to $100 million, said David Alioto, executive vice president of Earthquakes Soccer LLC.
That price tag does not include the hotel, office and retail space to be built around it. For non-soccer events, the proposed stadium could accommodate up to 25,000 people.
"It's a good spot, it's close to the airport for fans, close to I-880 and 101. It's a piece of land that you don't have the issues of noise and lighting," Alioto said.
The Earthquakes hope to build the stadium on the old FMC Corp. site at 1125 Coleman Ave., near the corner of Aviation Avenue. The original Earthquakes, owned by Anschutz Entertainment Group, left more than two years ago in part because of dissatisfaction with Spartan Stadium at San Jose State University. That team became the Houston Dynamo, and will remain in that city.
Earthquakes officials say the new venue's construction and operation will generate at least 1,000 jobs in the city, excluding the soccer clinics and camps planned for youths.
In return for building the venue, the team is asking the city to rezone 74 acres at Edenvale Technology Park from light industrial use to residential use. The land is east of Highway 101 off Silver Creek Valley Road.
Wolff also wants to rezone three smaller chunks of land in other areas of San Jose to allow for denser development. The sale of the rezoned land would help pay for the Earthquakes stadium, team representatives said.
San Jose lawmakers are often leery of converting too much land from industrial to housing because the city has to pay more for parks and other public amenities. However, at least two city council members have offered positive feedback on the deal.
On June 5, Mayor Chuck Reed and Councilwoman Nancy Pyle signed a memo allowing city staff to explore the soccer stadium and land deal.
Pyle's staff said the councilwoman is an advocate of a new stadium, but the plan's details need to be set before a decision is made.
The city memo mentions the success of the San Jose Sharks and the hockey team's contribution to a more vibrant downtown.
"The San Jose Earthquakes during their existence here had a loyal following of supporters and generated good economic activity," the memo states. "Encouraging sports teams, events and facilities is one of the strategic initiatives that staff has been working towards."
Earthquakes officials say a new stadium is far enough from most residential areas that it would not have a big impact on traffic and parking.
"This is the largest city in the U.S. that doesn't have a modern outdoor facility," Alioto said. "You look at Northern California and there's a half million kids playing soccer. ... A sports team will increase your profile, and we're not asking anybody to build it."
