Didn't see this posted anywhere else: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/29/sports/soccer/29soccer.html May be nothing really new here - I haven't followed things closely, lately - but I found the tone of this kind of interesting: Regarding Spartan Stadium; "Wolff’s offer to finance a new stadium there was rejected. “I may never know the real reason why,” Wolff said. “And I don’t really care.”" The rest talks about where the Earthquakes will probably play until the stadium is built, and interest from the Sharks.
Thanks for the link Len. Add the NY Times to the group who cover the Quakes with feature while the Murk reporters sit on their typing fingers.
Oh mann, I hope SF, or at least Stanford, gets a few games as well. Oh well, pickers can't be choosers so I'll probably go to SCU and the Colisseum (or whatever its current name is) if they play there. You know, this article should be in the daily news thread.
Maybe it'll be there tomorrow. Check the date on the article, its the 29th. It was written in the future (*cue science fiction movie music*)
Luckily, he doesn't listen to Ann Killion. "The hospitality industry is a shaky investment, full of over-the-hill resorts and unambitious young motels."
The San Jose Earthquakes has always been the Bay Area's MLS team and Northern California's MLS team as a whole... and the San Jose Earthquakes will be once again. It's just that this ownership will let everyone know of that. If there's to be a second New York MLS team, it'll hopefully be called the New York Cosmos (just as the likely Seattle MLS team should be called the Seattle Sounders). GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
That would be cool. I like the franchises using the traditional names. It acknowledges that even though the pro soccer business hasn't been run very well in many instances, representing the local soccer community is a key part of any team's mission. In other words, the uniform stands for something bigger than the players, the managers and the owners. Too bad not everyone who owns a slice of MLS understands that.
Color me unexcited about the Sharks becoming part of the ownership group. I Love the idea of the Quakes playing in different venues throughout Northern California. Its a real opportunity for Sacramento to show if they have the chops to fully support a MLS club of their own. BTW, I got to see UC Davis's new football stadium. The stadium itself is very nice and modern. However, field turf is used with permanent American football lines. I read recently the stadium seats 9 or 10,000. I had thought it was a 20K stadium, but that must be part of another phase. Here's a pic: http://www.aggiepack.com/graphics/Pictures/football/new_fb_stadium1.jpg Sac State and Sac City College would also be viable choices. I think.
That comment by Ann Killion is pretty funny when directed at Lew Wolff. His hotel interests pretty much only include high end properties. Some of them have been around for a while, but they are hardly "over the hill resorts and unambitious motels." I am still trying to figure out the MN writers' beef with Wolff.
Sacramento, ugggh. Noone wants to goto Sactown to watch a game, especially in the heat of the summer. Seriously, Sacramento? damn.
Even when taking out the McAfee Coliseum games out of the equation, I doubt that it'll be an even split between Santa Clara University and Sacramento. There'll likely be only a few games in Sacramento at the most (hopefully none of them will be a Thursday game, though). GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
i looked up the SCU stadium website and it says that it can only seat about 7k...isnt that an insult? Is that all Wolff thinks would show up for an MLS game in the Bay Area? That stadium isnt big enough- maybe for a practice site or to play KC. Why isnt he preparing for attendance to be 20k like the expectation for every other major cosmopolitan area of the continent?
She's my favorite new boogieman. But I'm sure I'll get over it after the Murk gets sold and converted to a free daily with lots of used-car ads.
You obviously have not been following the stadium issue very closely. If Buck Shaw Stadium is to be used, it is likely that the capacity will be expanded with temporary seating, bringing it up to somewhere in the 12K to 15K range. It's been done before for the NCAA women's soccer finals. There are likely to be games that require a larger facility, such as the home opener, LA or Houston. Those would be played elsewhere. When Columbus comes to town, especially if it is Wednesday, Buck Shaw will be more than enough. The real marketing will be taking place during the temporary stadium phase. We know the die-hards will be there, no matter what. Wolff's problem really revolves getting the interest of another 8K to 12K who currently don't call themselves "Earthquake fans". Getting those people to show up consistently is not going to be easy.
You sure like hating on every city around these parts. Sacramento is fine, just a little far for some.
I hope the Sacramento games are not part of the season ticket packages. (I say that as someone who did travel to watch the Quakes play a Champions Cup match there five or six years ago.) But if they wanna play U.S. Open Cup games or other matches that are not part of the season ticket cost, that's cool. By the way, is this the first time we've seen "very likely" and specific locations in the same sentence? Any guesses where the team will stay for away games? Could do a lot worse, I suspect.
Yeah, it was in March 2002 vs. CD Olimpia at Sheldon Florin H.S. in Elk Grove. I remember it being surprisingly cold, too. We took our young niece and two nephews who live there to the game, and when their parents called at halftime, the first thing one of them said was, "Daddy, I'm cold!" We haven't been asked to babysit since...
You want some cheese with that whine? What are you, some kind of candy-ass? Grow a pair, suck it up and go to the games.