http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_5790818 This article has nothing to do with the Quakes, and soccer isn't even mentioned. But it is about a City Council decision on whether to rezone some 542 acres in the Evergreen district from industrial to residential, so that developers can build 4,500 homes on the land. In other words, it's the exact same kind of debate we can expect to see over the iStar land that Lew Wolff wants to rezone to residential, so that he can pay for a stadium. Now, granted, the iStar parcel is only about one-third the size of this one. And just because the mayor is against this conversion, doesn't necessarily mean he'll be against the iStar conversion; he may object to the sheer size of the land being converted, or its location, or the fact that the profits to be made will line the developers' pockets and won't be plowed into a new stadium. Still, this bears keeping an eye on.
Different writer. One without a chip on his shoulder. This is how you write an objective news story. Props to the author.
Yeah, I have to admit I'm stunned. If it had been a typical Merc trash writer I would have expected them to mention Wolff's plan regardless of being unrelated.
Did the Murk endorse Reed or Chavez for mayor? I honestly do not recall. I don't subscribe so I never really paid any attention to their endorsement.
I hope Reed takes a huge stand here, denying any more development in Evergreen. That way, the iStar property doesn't look like just another back-alley deal, but one that'll actually do something for the city. The public will see two things: Evergreen development = no stadium or team Edenvale development = stadium and team Much of the Evergreen proposal is hardly infill, too. They're looking to extend to the limit allowed.
They endorsed Reed, and at the primaries I think they endorsed (chicken) Pandori. But I think it's less about trying to further a political agenda than it is about trying to sell newspapers. Create a story, stir up some controversy. And that's what they should be doing, trying to sell newspapers. But at some point that goal meets head to head with ethical journalism and you have to make some trade-offs. Otherwise you become the National Enquirer. That's been my complaint with the MN. I think they will sometimes trade objectivity and reasoned reporting for the chance to brew a controversy and sell more copy.
Looks like Carl Berg is the developer on this. Lew Wolff may be wealthy and well connected in SJ, but FWIW Carl Berg is 10x as wealthy and 10x as connected in SJ.
Good find Airblair! I think these two conversion proposals differ in significantly different ways. First, the scale is quite different. Second, the iStar property is right next to mass transit lines, whereas the Evergreen property is not. (At least I don't think it is.) Third, the Evergreen developers plan to give some cash to the city, but it's for roads, parks, and schools, which the city will have to maintain for a long time to come. Whereas Wolff plans to build a stadium, which he will maintain. This says nothing however about any money for schools, parks, roads, police, or fire services. Of course, Wolff's proposal isn't that far along yet, so these issues may well be included. This may be a crucial point in these decisions: I think Wolff's soccer stadium can go a long ways towards looking out for lots of people and the city in general. QUAKES FOREVER!! GO WOLFF!! GO SSV!! fuaeg! fumls! fuaeg! fumls! - Mark
The real money behind Wolff's group is John Fisher, who is listed by Forbes with a net worth of $1.5 billion. Berg is listed at $1.3 billion.
I was just going to answer the other posting about that. Carl Berg owned the Quakes for the final couple years of the NASL. With Dragon Popovic as coach, they did put a tremendous side on the field in 1983, undefeated at home until a 1-0 OT last second loss to Toronto in the playoff semi-finals. Steve Zungul had moved to the outdoor game in the US and pretty well proved that he was one of the great goal scorers in NASL history. That guy could find the back of the net with defenders draped all over him.