I'm a looking-forward kind of guy so I've been sifting through the various threads regarding Lew Wolff bringing the Quakes back in 2007, while ignoring the ones mourning the loss of the team. I'm trying to come up with a realistic picture of how we lost the team as well as the chances of seeing our boys back in town as soon as possible. Let me do this chronologically, and I'll try to come up with cites for my suppositions. Correct me where you think I'm wrong. If I have the facts wrong, show me how. --AEG takes over the team. They never wanted it in the first place. In December 2002, SVSE drops out of their share of the team. Is it safe to assume that AEG's soccer stadium business is being driven by its live entertainment business, and that AEG never considered building an SSS here because the Bay Area already has Clear Channel's concert pavilions in Concord and Mountain View? I think so. --So, AEG wants out. Period. End of story. Thus they turn down an offer to renegotiate the Spartan Stadium lease, according to Mark Purdy. It doesn't matter that Houston is about as ready as San Jose is to welcome a soccer team. Houston is apparently a better market for their concert business (about which I know NOTHING), and since they already own one-third of the league, they're not about to be awarded yet another expansion franchise. So they kneecap any attempts to make the Quakes more palatable for local buyers. (PosterPwave came up with this.) During the events of last week, Oakland A's owner Lew Wolff crops up as a potential buyer for the expansion franchise. Wolff is a longtime partner of AEG, as documented again by pwave. Wolff wants a new stadium for the A's, and has identified a parcel of land north of the Oakland Coliseum as the most desirable spot for this stadium. However, our new friend marinelayer, who as I understand it runs the Baseball San Jose website advocating moving the A's south to San Jose, asserts here that he believes Wolff's intention all along was to move the A's to San Jose, and that Wolff's potential involvement with the Quakes is a ploy to get both a soccer and a baseball stadium on the November 2006 ballot in San Jose. What I don't understand is how would adding a soccer stadium make this ballot proposal any more palatable? The general public is already leery of financing sports stadiums publically, how does adding more money to the taxpayers' tab make this ballot measure more likely to succeed? Add to this the fact that the parcels of land being discussed, near the Diridon station, are already cozy for one stadium, let alone two? (I won't even acknowledge the conjectures regarding one shared convertible stadium, such edifices are an abomination under God.) Ray Ratto, in yesterday's Chronicle, seems to think that this is a ploy for the A's to get a soccer stadium started in San Jose, then I guess he thinks it can be switched over to a baseball stadium . . . come to think of it, I have no idea what the hell Ratto thinks is happening. And I've read that article three times. It seems more logical to think that Wolff's interest in the Quakes is more to gain leverage with Oakland. Which leaves us Quakes fans out in the cold. Anyone care to argue with that? I have no problem with Lew Wolff if he wants to buy the Quakes, even if he has them play in the A's new stadium in Oakland. Is he sincere about the team? And another question: where is SVSE in all of this? I can understand them backing off from the city's $80 million proposal from last week; there was just too much uncertainty associated with that. But have they given up on the Quakes entirely? Couldn't they make a go of it with a soccer stadium in the Diridon area, south of the Arena? And what about the other sites, like the Great America parking lot and the Fairgrounds? So many questions . . .
That all makes sense to me. The problem with the fairgrounds is the lawsuit between the city and county. Those people won't even talk to each other. And since the lawsuit is at the behest of SVSE (who want to build a concert venue downtown IIRC) they're not interested in the fairgrounds either. Which is too bad, since the fairgrounds is a great spot for a stadium with practice fields. Great America or Mission College are both good places for a stadium and I hear Santa Clara is willing and able to do it without voter approval. But SVSE apparently isn't interested there either - I think they think it's too far out of their sphere of influence. I am very dubious about the Wolff offer. With all the uncertaintly about the future of the A's it just seems all too likely that he is just using soccer as a pawn in his game with Oakland and/or San Jose.
i read the ratto article, sounds like the A-Quakes deal means he wants both teams, and both of them in the bay area but it also sounds like, wolff is telling selig, 'i got money you want, but if you don't want it, i'll spend it elsewhere' it also sounds like wolff sees a long term investment coming into profit by bringing MLS back in other words i have no idea
The A's/Soccer Wolff offer is all about business & partnerships. Either way Wolff wins. AND, if he gets a stadium built in SJ or Oakland, then his buddies @ AEG can promote the venue. (sigh) and an extra bonus by Wolff talking now is to get us Quake fans to shut up by thinking a soccer team will come back for us. It helps take the heat off their friends AEG I say we push to Santa Clara. They are our friends. Historically they have proven they can be trusted. And, dangling a "Fifa violation carrot" (if one really exists) in front of MLS will help our causes. We can play that card
If we wind up having to share a stadium with the A's then we wind up having to share a stadium with the A's...it's not an ideal situation from a soccer standpoint, but if Wolff owns both teams as well as the stadium then it's just as good as an SSS from a financial standpoint. And DC has proved that stadium sharing with a baseball team isn't the disaster that many thought it would be. If the stadium deal is approved by the city in January then when could groundbreaking take place and when would the stadium be done by?? And, would the Quakes be allowed to play the 2007 season at Spartan if need be while the new stadium is being completed??
Sure you can. And that would be highly successful. Because FIFA would love nothing more than to kill off a domestic league in a market w/ a rapidly growing WC t.v. fees, to the point where said league would become economically unstable, which would essentially destroy an effective soccer management infrastructure that would transition nicely when the next time the WC comes to the US, where FIFA could put every single game in stadia of 70K+ and have record-setting attendances, as opposed to other nations and their 40-55K stadia.
"FIFA violation"??? Pie in the sky stuff my friend. FIFA is interested in whats good as a whole for soccer in the US. Moving one team to a different city isn't going to put much of a dent in FIFA's belief that MLS is running the show the way MLS should be. Lee
As others had said, I don't think FIFA is going to be responsive to a fan group asking for intercession. That said I do think it is in FIFA's best interest to ensure a fair and level playing field. FIFA has already said that MLS should be moving away from single entity or, more specifically, multiple team ownership by a single owner (unfortunately, they used similar soft language in their statement). Right now, AEG has no motivation to reduce ownership in MLS. They hold four voting seats and I have to think that having four seats actually controls more leverage than the 1/3 might indicate. The other owners either go along with AEG or they can kiss any support from AEG on their issues goodby. One way to motivate (or at least demotivate multple team ownership) would be to give one owner one voting seat rather than one team one voting seat. This would shrink the size of the bat of the multiple team owners and I think would make entrance to the league by new investors more attractive.
I don't think sharing a stadium would work. Baseball and soccer season are nearly a total overlap. It would be a lot of work to switch back and forth between the two and we would be competing for dates. I could forsee many more Wednesday night games, which would suck for the Quakes. What is kind of irritating, is that it looks like it would be much eaier to get a stadium built in Santa Clara, we just need to find investors willing to go that direction, since SVS&E certainly wasn't willing. If Wolff is interested, I hope it is not San Jose, or nothing.
Now, I know that I'll be accused of being an AEG apologist and all... but, the fact is that AEG is trying to divest itself of teams. In the last 2 years they've sold 2 of their 6 teams, and it seems like they're trying to set things up in Houston to sell the Wegotaproblems. (I'm going to go ahead and start calling them Problem FC.) They've stated repeatedly that it is their intent to sell their remaining franchises, only holding on to the Galaxy. The main question is which franchise will they sell first? NJ or Chicago?
Yes, although I would not be surprised if that is what is in the back of Wolff's mind. And I would not be surprised if, after all is said in done, that is what he ends up proposing (or what he ends up building).
I don't think whinning to FIFA is going to help us. If it does, will AEG or the league retaliate in some fashion? Maybe not awarding us an expansion team any tme soon? Who knows. As for Wolff being interested, well, the way I look at it is this: The Giants have territorial rights to the South Bay and Wolff is on record as respecting that. Perhaps by getting an MLS franchise in the South Bay, Wollf can expand his sports holdings and engender good will with the South Bay sports fans and politicos. Maybe he moves the A's down there years after getting an SSS built or maybe not. Either way, he not only comes of as a hero but makes some cheddar as well.
Here's how I figure it: 1. MLS: Wolff expresses an interest in acquiring Quakes v4.0. This gives him an 'in' into the San Jose market, which he uses... 2. Oakland: ...to gain leverage in negotiations with Oakland over the A's development. He knows that San Jose is Giant territory, and the stadium process is already started in Oakland. Plus, there isn't room for both stadia in San Jose. But if the A's stay, there isn't room the Quakes in Oakland without major revisions to the development plan, so... 3. San Jose: ...the Quakes remain in San Jose. With Wolff letting the San Jose know that the A's are staying in Oakland, and with the city ready to deal, they agree on a package that uses the land set aside for a baseball stadium next to the San Jose arena for Estadio Nuevo Spartan. This gives Wolff presence in two of the Bay Area's three major markets and doesn't force a compromise on the stadium issues on either count.
Talk about "best case scenario"!! I'd go for it (other than the new stadium having the word "Spartan" attached anywhere to it!) Lee
Except, I don't think there is a chance in hell the city is going to spend the $70-80 miilion that was quoted to buy the land next to the arena and use it on a soccer stadium, (maybe a park, as Purdy suggests ) The fire training site is already owned by the city, that is why they were willing to offer it for a soccer stadium. I am just hoping Wolff doesn't care where in the south bay he has an MLS team and goes with the city of Santa Clara since their offer is not contingent on a public vote.
I agree completely. He says absolutely nothing. If you strip the sentences of the cutesy characterizations it is much easier to tell that Ratto knows nothing, and is speculating nothing. He's just filling space for the day's column. The only thing noteworthy is that Ratto wrote about soccer in the first place, even if it took baseball to get him involved. His time has come and gone. I figure he'll be RIFFed one of these days. Newspapers are hurting, and the Chron has been quietly killing off their columnists for the last four years. They just kind of. . . disappear.
Hmm... I wonder who around here brought that up eariler? This did cross my mind as well. GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
Lew Wolff has ties to AEG. Based on these ties, how likely is it that AEG will have some type of involvement in running a new SJ stadium? Similar to the way AEG will run the concert side of DC United's new stadium? Moving the Quakes could be a way for AEG to get a concert venue in both Houston and the Bay Area without paying an expansion fee and taking on more MLS teams. Moving the team riles everyone up (and maybe brings the city and county together on the concert venue issue), and in steps Lew Wolff (with the popular baseball team leverage) to "save the day". - Paul
Well stated and eminently sensible. I think that's the exact business calculus behind the Wolff PR gambit.
Even still, it makes little sense for him to allow for AEG to get out of the picture if it seems like all parties involved, including AEG, wanted AEG out of SJ. Once AEG was out of the picture, all of the sudden big players started coming to the surface. It seems to me (and others have pointed this out) that AEG basically wanted to pull a Spartan Shops on the next owner, essentially making it impossible for an IO to make the real money on an SSS/MLS franchise. The franchise is just a loss-leader, a foot in the door to make money that will not be revenue-shared: concerts, high school football, rugby, lacrosse, X-games, international friendlies, etc. Ties to AEG or not, w/ them out of the picture, a soccer franchise is much more feasible.