Quakes Are As Good As Gone
MERCURY REPORTS GRIM NEWS; TEAM LIKELY TO HOUSTON
The president of the Anschutz Entertainment Group and one of the most powerful men in U.S. Soccer had sobering news for San Jose Earthquakes fans in today's San Jose Mercury News.
Souding a bit perturbed from the year-long saga of finding a local buyer for the Quakes, AEG's Tim Leiweke has given notice that Major League Soccer's 30-day deadline is unlikely to unearth a local buyer and/or plans for a South Bay stadium.
That quote taken with the fact that "a fair amount of progress" had been made in finding a training site and stadium in Houston portends for a sad day for Bay Area soccer fans.
According to the story, the only plausible buyer would be the owner of the San Jose Sharks. For that to happen, local government in San Jose are going to have to layout a plan for a mid-size 20,000-25,000 seat stadium. The issue of the stadium is the most important issue to MLS, not the buyer.
Since Columbus built a soccer-specific stadium the longtime health of the league has been predicated on new stadiums. Three already exist in Los Angeles, Dallas and Columbus and four more are being constructed in Chicago, New York and Colorado and Salt Lake City.
Whether AEG is playing hardball or not, the loss of MLS tradition in San Jose and the intense rivalry with the L.A. Galaxy would be a major setback for the league, not to mention, the loss of the fifth largest market in the U.S.
You can be guaranteed that Bay Area soccer fans will not adopt the Galaxy and will likely return to kiddie leagues and Sunday afternoon pickup games in the park without a mention of the Earthquake-less MLS and maybe that's part of the problem.
The president of the Anschutz Entertainment Group and one of the most powerful men in U.S. Soccer had sobering news for San Jose Earthquakes fans in today's San Jose Mercury News.
Souding a bit perturbed from the year-long saga of finding a local buyer for the Quakes, AEG's Tim Leiweke has given notice that Major League Soccer's 30-day deadline is unlikely to unearth a local buyer and/or plans for a South Bay stadium.
'We stayed at the request of the fan club, and the guy they brought to the table had no money,' he said of how booster group Soccer Silicon Valley introduced Tony Amanpour as a potential buyer in 2004. 'We came out a lot worse because of it.'
That quote taken with the fact that "a fair amount of progress" had been made in finding a training site and stadium in Houston portends for a sad day for Bay Area soccer fans.
According to the story, the only plausible buyer would be the owner of the San Jose Sharks. For that to happen, local government in San Jose are going to have to layout a plan for a mid-size 20,000-25,000 seat stadium. The issue of the stadium is the most important issue to MLS, not the buyer.
Since Columbus built a soccer-specific stadium the longtime health of the league has been predicated on new stadiums. Three already exist in Los Angeles, Dallas and Columbus and four more are being constructed in Chicago, New York and Colorado and Salt Lake City.
Whether AEG is playing hardball or not, the loss of MLS tradition in San Jose and the intense rivalry with the L.A. Galaxy would be a major setback for the league, not to mention, the loss of the fifth largest market in the U.S.
You can be guaranteed that Bay Area soccer fans will not adopt the Galaxy and will likely return to kiddie leagues and Sunday afternoon pickup games in the park without a mention of the Earthquake-less MLS and maybe that's part of the problem.
best regards, nice info dark cavern interracial site La vie en rose song lyrics racial conflict of interracial relationships Advantages and disadvantages of pda Free paris hilton sextape clips Hombres gays desnudos
Posted by
Anonymous |
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 8:26:00 PM