Lew Wolff is moving the A's to Fremont. Bet most Oaklanders wish it was the Raiders who were moving. As far as I can tell Fremont hasn't been in seriuos contention for the Quakes SSS, but this type of interest (9-figure interest) in the south bay has to make it more likely that the city of San Jose will come to the table with Wolff. I'm far from an expert on the situation, though. Perhaps a truckload of frothing, emotionally castrated San Jose Ultras could stop by and give us the specifics.
I'd rather hear from overheated, bitter, unreconciled Tampa Bay fans. They were much more lucid and entertaining. Nobody liked ClashQuakes fans when they were actually in the league anyway. Sort of a low-rent version of DC fan style preening, only without the beer they were too young to purchase legally. "Weve got LDo and you don't" seemed to be the apogee of their discourse. A kiddie corps taking a break from AIM and self-abuse long enough to delude themselves into thinking they were soccer fans. I mean, when you have the transcoastal Diva as your patron saint, exactly how much lower can you go?
Ahh, how I miss the witty repartee of your typical MLS fan. This has nothing to do with the SSS. It won't be located in Fremont, which is about 12 miles from downtown San Jose, BTW. Lew Wolff has repeatedly stated that the baseball and soccer stadiums are two separate projects. However, tomorrow the new Quakes will be having a reception announcing the opening of their new offices in downtown San Jose. This is the first step towards getting the new SSS built. Fans are invited.
It's not totally irrelevant for the Quakes. It means that the focus SJ politicians had put towards building a downtown baseball stadium was for nothing. Perhaps with the man himself telling them, repeatedly, that he does not want to come to San Jose for baseball, it will sink in that our politicians should focus on soccer. It means that Wolff himself can focus energies on building an SSS for the Quakes in the South Bay because he has taken care of the baseball stadium. There's lots to be done but by his creativity and pedigree Wolff will be the best option for the Quakes return. Because he specializes in development and because SSS development is critical to the Quakes return, he is the ideal man for the job. The A's open their South Bay soccer office tomorrow. Of course, if you want to know all of this without a big soccer thread, you can sign up to be a member of SSV and get e-mail updates, and invites to the office opening party. www.soccersiliconvalley.com
Baseball has territorial rules. One that was kind of bent was to give San Francisco Giants the "rights" to Santa Clara County when they were trying to build a ballpark in San Jose. San Francisco never gave up those rights after that effort failed. The kicker: they CLAIM that 60% of their fan base comes from Silicon Valley, also known as Santa Clara County. They believe that's where the disposable income is in the region. On its face, siting a baseball stadium in a suburb like Fremont is a HORRIBLE idea, especially if it's not close to a BART station (is it?) or other mass transit. BART having a stop right at McAfee is a reasonable selling point, though even that current location stifles opportunities for the Athletics since it's not anywhere near downtown Oakland. Lew Wolff wants - or wanted - to tap Silicon Valley. Frankly, siting in Fremont tells me he still wants to tap Silicon Valley. Thing is, are those fans solidly Giants fans, or can Wolff pull some of that? If Wolff can pull some of that, it drives down the value of the Giants' territory. Conceivably, "siting" in Fremont is a kind of vaporware... with the eventual goal being Peter Magowan reducing the "price" of that territory (which can be bought and sold) so Wolff can then turn around and site the Athletics in San Jose. OTOH, given how the Bay Area in particular - and California in general - act in regards to subsidizing stadia, Fremont may also be the only viable option for Wolff. It might be the cheapest land available. (A note to all those who demand that soccer site downtown: I agree that it's optimal, I highly prefer it, but I've yet to meet the money man who actually wants to spend his or her own money to do that for a soccer team in America... that's not an accident. Demanding it only creates massive disappointment.) THEREFORE- I have reservations on whether Wolff is really giving up baseball in San Jose. I'm not totally sure that the soccer effort isn't related, and it quite possibly isn't related. In either case, I'd keep an eye out.
A lot of people here posit this theory, but in the end it would not really matter for the Quakes. As you correctly point out, the downtown site is more of a dream than a realistic site for soccer. So long as Wolff is serious about soccer - and based on his opening a South Bay office and negotiating with various governmental and other entities, we think he is -- the two can co-exist in San Jose and the South Bay. He can put his baseball site downtown (if that's what he wants to do) and still put his soccer stadium at the sites we at SSV have shown him.
I've never given you much credit, Bill Archer, but now I see I was wrong. You have somehow built a time machine that goes back to 2003. I salute you and your monumental feat of engineering prowess.
I would say Paul is the most right here, namely that the site in Fremont has mostly to do with MLB's territorial rights. The bottom line is, Wolff would love to put the Athletics in San Jose (which is the largest of the Bay Area cities, after all) but couldn't because of the Giants' territorial rights include Santa Clara county. But Fremont is in Alameda county, and therefore under the A's territorial rights, meaning they can move there freely. And the land is cheap, relatively speaking. Cisco has is now, but has decided not to use it, so they're apparently trading it for naming rights and suppliers' contracts. Supposedly the stadium's going to be very high tech, but not very large. As for a Quakes connection, there may be something done with Cisco at the new Quakes ground as well, but I expect the biggest connection will be the A's adopting the old "Golden Bay" moniker from the NASL quakes, because they'll not be in Oakland (proper) anymore.