Well it looks like more delays for a new SJ soccer stadium...
Earthquakes to play at Santa Clara U.
Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal - by Lindsay Riddell
Friday, October 26, 2007 - 10:37 AM PDT
The San Jose Earthquakes soccer team will play home games at Santa Clara University's Buck Shaw Stadium for the next two seasons and possibly three as efforts to gain city approval to build a new stadium continue.
"We look forward to making upgrades to Buck Shaw Stadium in order to improve the soccer experience for not only Earthquake's fans but also Santa Clara soccer fans," said Michael Crowley, president of the Earthquakes and the Oakland Athletics.
The Earthquakes played in San Jose for more than a decade at San Jose State University before being moved to Houston in 2005. Lew Wolff and other Oakland A's owners won an exemption from Major League Soccer to bring the team back for the 2008 season despite a major league rule that bars the purchase of a team without permanent facilities.
The Earthquakes announced today they will upgrade Buck Shaw Stadium, named for a former Santa Clara football coach, including adding 5,000 temporary seats and a digital portable video score board. The team will also renovate a practice field on University grounds, will expand hospitality areas and will reconfigure stadium lights for soccer.
"The upgrades to the stadium and practice field will greatly benefit our nationally recognized soccer programs as they continue to compete with the best collegiate teams in the country," said Dan Coonan, Santa Clara University director of athletics and recreation. "We look forward to a strong relationship with the Earthquakes in the future with the potential of hosting college cups and other soccer events in the South Bay."
The Earthquakes are awaiting approval on a plan to construct a new 18,000-seat stadium near the Mineta San Jose International Airport. The plan hinges on zoning changes that would allow Earthquakes owners to build homes on industrial land in the Edenvale neighborhood to finance the stadium.
The San Jose City Council will likely make a judgment on the rezoning plan at its general plan update meeting scheduled for February.
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