So Club Tijuana Xolos are officially in the Primera Division.... are they our team now?

Supposedly about $114M of the $987M cost. Besides MetLife Stadium, that's the smallest percentage (12%) of public funding for an NFL stadium opened (or to be opened) since 1997.

IF San Diego builds a stadium, I'm guessing it will be for the Chargers (when push comes to shove, rather than lose them to LA), but I can't see public funds being used to (even partially) fund that and a soccer stadium. Any MLS team in San Diego (which becomes more and more counter-productive every day, given the rise of the Xolos) would likely have to "make do" as a tenant in that stadium (which, again, would be counterproductive). Or the Chargers would have to have a very close relationship with said team. And I'm not sure they're interested in that.

Regardless, MLS had their window of opportunity, had Vergara chosen San Diego over LA, to have a team in San Diego. Other cities have passed them by while they figured out other things. I love San Diego, but the fact the Sports Arena* and Jack Murphy* are still your main stadiums, while other cities have built new NFL and/or NBA/NHL stadiums in the intervening years, makes me think it's not happening.




*Still calling them that. Don't care.

 

The Santa Clara Stadium is being built with less than 10% public funding actually now that the cost has ballooned to over 1.2 billion. Though it was direct funding not just redevelopment funds. And of course discounted land which is par for the course for almost all stadiums. And yes the Chargers situation needs to ne ironed out first. But unfortunately a Chargers stadium likely won't be a long term option for a soccer team. SD is not Seattle.

 

Well to be fair, San Diego doesn't have an NBA or NHL team so building a newer arena is an act in futility just like it currently is up in Seattle and is in other cities that have no team except maybe Kansas City. The Sports Arena serves it's particular niche just fine in its current condition as a minor league venue.

The football/potential soccer stadium is more worrisome. But even then, the city just spent a boat load of cash upgrading Qualcomm for the Chargers back in the late 90's. That was a mistake, but at the time that's what the team wanted. Now they're coming to the city and want another handout 15 years later. And they're not asking for a relatively token donation like the 49ers did up in Santa Clara.

Also don't forget there is one other major venue in SD that was built, albeit with a large chunk of now gone redevelopment public funding, Petco Park.

 

Or....you could look at it as "One of the major reasons San Diego doesn't have an NBA or NHL team is because they never built a new building."

Kansas City is a good example, though, of someone who built a building with hopes of an anchor tenant and still doesn't have one. But San Diego isn't Kansas City. I think San Diego would be a much more attractive market. I think you could look at it from either perspective, but (without doing the actual research here), I can't think of a city that you'd consider "major" that has such outdated NFL and/or NHL/NBA arenas. Pretty much everybody I can think of has done one or the other, or both. San Diego's a bit of an outlier.

(All that said, given the actual economic impacts of stadiums, maybe San Diegans are just smarter than most.)

And I quite like that one. And you're not going to lose the Padres anytime soon. The Clippers are already gone (perhaps as much because Donald Sterling is a strange bird as for the Sports Arena) and the Chargers are constantly rumored to be.

 

Tonight's first leg is only on Univision Deportes, a premium channel not on DirecTV (and maybe not in some other places). So it's not just MLS and USSF who puts important games on channels with limited distribution.

 

At least the closing leg is on regular Univision. And from what I'm hearing they'll also be broadcasting it in English on Univision Deportes too.

Also, I can't believe the Tijuana-San Diego metro area is only a tie game away from its first top level championship (unless you count the Chargers AFL championship as top level). Even more amazing is that that championship is coming from south of the border rather than SD where there have been top level teams for 50 years.

 

(I would have liked to have seen the 1963 Chargers against the 1963 Bears in Super Bowl -III.)

The Padres did win an NL championship, for what that's worth. With the worst NL championship team since the 1973 Mets.

 

Unfortunately NL pennants haven't been the top prize since 1900. But they've actually won 2. Not sure which of the two teams you think was the worst since the 73 Mets however (though I'm assuming you meant the '84 team not '98).

 

Really? Thanks. I had no idea there was another baseball league.

That's why I said "for what that's worth."

And the '84 team was the worst NL Champion of the last quarter of the twentieth century.

 

What makes you say that?

 

Well the window keeps closing for MLS in the San Diego region. Club Tijuana just took their first Liga MX title (and the SD-TJ region's first title in any major sport) in very convincing fashion winning 4-1 on aggregate.

 

Just read this thread and gotta say I'm a little shocked by the SD negativity being thrown around.
First off, SD is a youth and rec soccer hotbed (for whatever thats worth).
The Pads suck since moving into Petco? Maybe in terms of our performance in the playoffs, but without doing an internet search I'm pretty sure we had a good run of winning our division with Peavy and the boys .... we only started to suck when Moores got divorced and we halved our payroll (hopefully the new ownership will correct this).
As for my beloved Bolts, if they move to LA I will be heartbroken. Leave the name, uniforms, and records in a SD please, ala Cleveland---> Baltimore (although I know there will be some asshole LA fans that claim the Chargers are really from LA ..... that shit doesn't count).
The most valid point against MLS to SD is what a previous poster mentioned about securing the stadium for the Chargers .... to have MLS we would be an owner who would foot the bill (difficult).
Lastly, Xolos ... bravo! Very cool to have a team in our region. Need to buy a tshirt or something to rep. The only knock I have on them is that they aren't MLS, which would be preferable.

 

This thread is dead but still wanted to put in my 2 cents.

First to anyone outside the San Diego area critisising our crappy Qualcom there is some news we really don't care. We are not Pittsburg, or Green Bay, or Kanasas City, yes sports is important and the Chargers are a big deal here but there is more to this city then sports. I am a huge "Bolts" fan have been a season ticket holder in the past and would probably cry if I heard they left up the coast to LA. But even with all that in mind I don't want us to build them a stadium. If the Chargers leave that would suck, but not as bad as living in Cleveland. I agree with some public help, either in the form of direct money into the project, bonds or infrastructure improvements (or maybe all 3) but this basically needs to be 70-80% Spanos.

As for the Soccer side as everyone knows you need three parts for an MLS franchise, fans, owner, stadium. We have the fans, would argue San Diego might be the best Soccer Market in the country. Not sure MLS would have worked here at the start because it's a very savvy soccer market but I think it would now. But no owner, and no stadium and no hope of a stadium (short of the scenario that the Chargers leave, the Q is demolished and SDSU builds a smaller one, possible but just as likely SDSU does away with football). So that's not going to happen so what's left ..


The Xolos, been to two matches this season and trying to figure out how to go to more games. Have friends who are not big soccer fans but have heard going to a soccer game is fun bugging me to go the next time. MLS has not lost this market yet but might be in danger of it.

 

Based on what?

I'm not trying to start a fight, I'm seriously asking.

On what basis would you argue San Diego, California, is the best soccer market in the country?

 

Besides my personal ,mind you biased, opinion would go off the ratings for the 2010 world cup. San Diego was at the top or near the top for all the US games. High ratings for MLS considering we don't have a team. Also, (and this is based on a conversation at a pub so take it for what it's worth) talked with a guy in the Galaxy marketing department and he said approx 1/3 of their ticket sales come from the San Diego area.

Other things to consider is a very vibrant youth club soccer set up, and a knowledgeable market. Our local paper has a dedicated Soccer writer who has been to the world cup covering it for a small (crappy) local paper in 98, 02, 06 and 10. Would be surprised if another paper of simmilar size and circulation believed it worthy to send a writer all the way over their, and Soccer is actually covered on local sports talk radio as well. Anecdotal I know but shows that there is interest in the community. Finally someone in MLS offices must think this is a good market because we keep getting mentioned as a possible expansion city even without a viable owner or stadium.

Oh yeh and again people will probably laugh but while American Soccer was going through it's darkest days after the NASL the Sockers were as big in this town as the Chargers or the Padres. Yes it was indoor but it's still soccer.

Now not going to argue about the word "best" if you would propose another city that's fine. Just my completely biased opinion.

 

I wasn't proposing anyone. Just wondering as to the metrics. The TV ratings thing I had forgotten about, that's certainly a chit (Houston was there once, too, I believe).

I have a hard time believing 6,500 people a game go from San Diego to Galaxy games, but I would imagine there's interest. Would be curious to see how many of those folks take the shorter (but possibly longer, given the border) trip to TJ now instead, if any.

But lots of cities have youth soccer setups, I'm not sure Ziegler really tips the scales too far in your favor, and, while MLS (or the NASL, or whomever) certainly mentions San Diego a lot, if you were truly the best in the country, someone would have figured out a way to put something there by now, wouldn't they? I mean, if someone thought the market was really great, wouldn't somebody have taken the plunge by now?

Boca is a mess. The Flash can't get investors for what must certainly be a small budget. The original Flash was a flash...in the pan.

I have no doubt participation and interest (especially given the demographics of Latinos and, in many places in San Diego County, rich white folks) are high, so there's that. The Sockers did better financially (I'm told) at the Arena than they had done in Del Mar and they're obviously selling tickets, so that's good. The MFL teams that come over and play don't (IIRC) attract huge crowds, nor do MLS friendlies (even the Galaxy - which has done okay, but if 6,500 people are going up to Carson 18 times a year, you'd think they'd all go to USD once). I have no knowledge of how the sport is covered on local radio.

And the Sockers were a big deal in the 1980s when they were wining championships all the time and putting 11k for playoff games in the Sports Arena. They never quite got to a 10k average for the regular season, and never led the original MISL in attendance, but they were certainly a big deal. Bigger than Dan Fouts and Company? Or Gwynn and the Padres of that era? Not sure.

 

First agree about the 1/3 number seemed high when he told me and he may have been padding the numbers to pander to the locals (it was a bar in San Diego) and get more people to buy tickets but I do think there is a sizable number of people who make the treck north. I usually make it north for a game or two a season and have a number of friends who have multi game packages to the Galaxy.

But to answer another point I for one prefer going south to see the Xolos play. First it is a shorter drive, and if you time the border back it's not that bad, plus you can walk across and take a taxi to the stadium (although the pedestrian line has gotten much worse recently). But the main reason is the connection, TJ is part of the greater San Diego-TJ community LA is not. When I go up to Galaxy games I am cheering for Galaxy just to be polite. But feel no connection to them they are from LA. The Xolos I feel is my team, one of their slogans roughly translates into a team without borders. So I do feel like they are actively embracing their position on the border as well. And I agree they may make such inroads in the San Diego market that it might be to late for MLS.

 

Anyone going to tomorrow night's game at PETCO? Some tickets do still seem to be available but it should be a good sized crowd watching the two most recent Liga MX champs go at it (and hopefully it doesn't get crazy like the debacle up in Vegas).

 

Great turnouts this weekend at both big games.

25,050 showed up at Qualcomm to see the USMNT dismantle Guatemala 6-0 in a game that was nothing more than an overpriced glorified scrimmage.

And 28,759 showed up at Petco to watch the Xolos put the hurt on Club America 5-2.

I'd be lying if I didn't say that both turnouts exceeded my expectations. Especially the USMNT number.

 

i had no idea so many showed up. last i'd heard on the ticket count was something like 1400 AO, 18k total. such a great game and so great to see so many at the AO tailgate.

 

Those numbers are actually smaller then I thought. The 25,000 for the Nats was a pleasant surprised but figured they would be close to full for the Xolos. Maybe a lot of people figured like me, would rather wait for the season and see a game at Caliente.