Hmm... not so sure Wolff has much to do with that property anymore. Costco is going to put a store there, and a high-tech company is going to build as well. It does mention that there are existing entitlements for 700 residential units. perhaps Wolff declined to exercise an option on the property? Or only has control over a smaller portion of it. https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose...x-acquires-san-jose-land-for-data-center.html
If I lived in San Jose, I'd want to know how the city spent $3M to $4M of bond funds to plan soccer fields without actually building them and now doesn't have enough money to complete the fields at the (now likely unavailable) Airport West site. Looks like this plan is back to the drawing board with a thinner wallet.
I live in San Jose, and I have followed the bond measure from inception. The issue goes back more than decade before the Quakes or the Airport West site even came into the picture. Very few people in San Jose "want to know" what's up, least of all the local media. Indeed, without exaggeration, I suspect of those outside city hall I've probably followed the soccer fields issue more closely over its entire 18 year odyssey than anyone of the million other residents. The trouble, generally, with bond measures in San Jose is that the city uses the funds to backfill its general fund to pay salaries of city hall bureaucrats. Hence, your plausible allusion to millions spent "to plan soccer fields." The branch library bond measure suffered a similar fate, albeit it was implemented in a more orderly way than the parks measure. The Quakes are committed to having an academy complex, and as I understand it the Airport West developer is on the hook for cost overruns. My informed speculation is that other potential site(s) are on the drawing board but the bureaucrats do not want to publicly disclose where they are looking at the moment.
Costco has already put a store there, it opened last August. Equinix has also constructed a data center on the site, which opened last year as well. Another potential site nearby was purchased by Equinix last year for around $40 million, it is 34 acres on Santa Teresa Blvd. but has been subdivided (El Camino Hospital is planning to put a facility there). Running out of spots in San Jose...
It’s National Signing Day at Avaya Stadium! Quakes Academy players will be signing their National Letters of Intent in the Media Room where the head coach gives his press conferences! 😎😎 | @VHPhealth pic.twitter.com/RG3IohE3zg— Quakes Academy (@QuakesAcademy) February 8, 2018
Found this video of SJ U-14 v. Colorado U-14 from November, 2017: https://mycujoo.tv/us-soccer-federation?id=10700
75' - A special moment for our affiliation. 💙@QuakesAcademy player JJ Foe Nuphaus enters the match as a sub for @Reno1868FC. Ivan Valencia also started the second half for Reno. #ForwardAsOne pic.twitter.com/r95PLBYYLG— San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes) February 10, 2018 Indeed. Nuphaus, especially, looks destined to go to college before turning pro. Ian Russell mentioned that it was nice to have him play, but JJ would likely be at Cal in the fall.— Robert Jonas (@robertjonas) February 11, 2018
I just discovered that FC Barcelona has an academy in Austin and that apparently any team can arrange to get training at FCB’s facility with UEFA Pro licensed coaches. Maybe the Quakes academy should go there?! https://clinics.fcbarcelona.us/fcb-clinic/ OTOH, the Austin academy is interested in hiring anyone with a USSF E license...
I know I know. I was just shocked as to why Barca would allow what I assume is a franchise in Austin.
"ACADEMY UPDATE: February 19, 2018" (SJEarthquakes.com - Monday, 2/19/18) GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
The huge swings in the score lines of academy games continue to demonstrate that the system is nowhere near ready to provide the type of competition required to drive players to improve along international level trajectories.
Not trying to jump on you, but there are a lot of things that underly the score. You'd have to assume that each game is the same players with the same instructions and the end goal to "win at any cost" to draw such a drastic conclusion.
https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2018/02/23/stejskal-new-depth-and-focus-youth-san-jose-feel-good-2018 This winter’s Homegrown signings, 20-year-old goalkeeper J.T. Marcinkowski and 16-year-olds Gilbert Fuentes and Jacob Akanyirige, won’t make nearly as much of an impact in 2018. Fuentes and Akanyirige likely won’t clock a single first-team minute this year, while Marcinkowski is battling with Matt Bersano to begin the season as the No. 2 ‘keeper behind starter Andrew Tarbell. To Fioranelli, that doesn’t lessen the importance of bringing them on board, particularly when it comes to Fuentes and Akanyirige, the second and third youngest players in MLS. Fioranelli thinks the two teens are talented and said they’ve surprised with how well they’ve integrated during first-team training this preseason, but he acknowledged that their skill isn’t the only reason they were signed. Their additions were part of a strategic push by San Jose to truly challenge their top academy players. They don’t want them dominating the youth ranks; they want their best prospects on the first-team, fighting with seasoned pros in training and occasionally getting run in USL and with San Jose’s U-18s. “What purpose does it have if a 15-year-old is not challenged, that is gifted, that is already in the youth national team, that you know might find it easier to express himself in the 17s but might be able to benefit much more from the individual development within the first-team?” Fioranelli asked. “What we’re trying to do is to work very selectively and individually on the most promising players. And by giving them the right type of environment and the right types of challenges, we strongly believe that they will be able to excel.”
If he was around here I'd say the Quakes should get him into their academy, but Luis Flores (Shattuck- Saint Mary's; Half Moon Bay, Calif.) looks like he's at Shattuck St Mary's in Minnesota. http://ssmathletics.org/sports/soccer/boys_u17da/2017-18/roster They're not MLS but they're a pretty famous school, and have their own USSF development academy. Only 9 of the 24 on this roster are non-MLS (including McKinze Gaines' younger brother), and two of those are at SSM.
SSM have some impressive alumni, including Sidney Crosby. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shattuck-Saint_Mary's
It's the way players in every other country get on the necessary road to becoming elite and even world class. This needs to happen more and more in MLS, it's awesome that Fioranelli and the Quakes are now vanguard not follower in this important aspect.
"FEATURE: Sophie Jones making Quakes proud with U.S. U-17 WNT" (SJEarthquakes.com - Friday, 2/23/18) GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G