MLS Gets a New City
Major League Soccer’s San Jose Earthquakes have been relocated to Houston, effective immediately, but MLS Commissioner Don Garber said Thursday that San Jose could be granted an expansion franchise as early as 2007.
“As part of our commitment to the market, the Earthquakes’ name, the colors, the competitive records and all other things related to the team have been retained by MLS for this future expansion team,” Garber said.
“This is similar to the NFL situation when the Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore and subsequently returned to the city a number of years later in a new football stadium.”
Garber said returning an MLS team to the Bay Area “will be a major priority of mine and the rest of the league office over the next year.”
With that in mind, the league and San Jose city officials Thursday signed a letter of intent that includes a stadium-financing plan aimed at attracting local investors.
According to Garber, city officials have land under consideration that could be developed into a soccer complex using a combination of public and private funds, depending on voter approval.
Garber also revealed that the league is in “preliminary discussions” with California businessman Lewis Wolff, owner of the Oakland Athletics.
“He has expressed some interest in investing in Major League Soccer, particularly in the Bay Area,” Garber said. “Those discussions will continue after the first of the year.”
Meanwhile, AEG, which has operated the two-time MLS champion Earthquakes since 2002 and owns four other MLS teams including the Galaxy, will retain ownership of the team in Houston, at least in the short term.
Tim Leiweke, AEG president and chief operating officer, will announce the team’s name and the stadium in which it will play at a news conference on the steps of city hall in Houston today. Garber declined to comment on either matter.
“All [Earthquake] players and coaching staff currently under contract will transfer to Houston as part of the new team,” he said.
Leiweke indicated this summer that AEG no longer was willing to spend millions on the Earthquakes, but it could not find an alternative to Spartan Stadium or a buyer to keep the team in the city.
“A deal for a stadium and local ownership couldn’t get finalized in time for us to prepare for the 2006 season,” Garber said. “We ran out of time and had to make a decision.
“As for Houston, we’ve always believed that the city has great potential to be a very successful soccer market. It’s the fourth-largest city in the U.S. and it’s got one of the most ethnically diverse populations in the United States.”
Moving the San Jose franchise to Houston marks the first time in its 10-year history that MLS has relocated a team, although it did fold the Miami Fusion and Tampa Bay Mutiny franchises a few months after the 2001 season.
Garber said he did not view Thursday’s decision as a black eye for the league, however.
“This is a tough business, the launch and growth of a professional soccer league,” he said. “We’ve gone through challenges in the past and now are sitting with a bit of momentum with stadium projects and a new television deal.
“We feel that we’re big enough and secure enough and strong enough now to go through our piece of adversity. We’re confident in where we are as a business and where the sport is in this country that we’ll get through this, hopefully even stronger.”
