New Earthquakes Stadium

New Earthquakes Stadium (Working name)
The Epicenter
Rendering of the new Earthquakes Stadium
Location	San Jose, California
Coordinates	37°21′5″N 121°55′30″W / 37.35139°N 121.925°W / 37.35139; -121.925Coordinates: 37°21′5″N 121°55′30″W / 37.35139°N 121.925°W / 37.35139; -121.925
Opened	Planned 2013[1]
Owner	City of San Jose
Operator	Earthquakes Soccer, LLC
Surface	Grass
Construction cost	est. $60 million (plus $7 million for land acquisition)
Architect	360 Architecture
Capacity	18,000
Tenants
San Jose Earthquakes (MLS)

New Earthquakes Stadium is the working name of a planned soccer specific stadium that will be built in San Jose, California, for Major League Soccer’s San Jose Earthquakes. The stadium will be built on what is currently called the Airport West site that is located to the west of San Jose International Airport.^[2][3] The stadium will seat 18,000 fans and is estimated to cost $60 million.^[4][5] The stadium will be part of a mixed use residential, retail, R&D and hotel development. The stadium is planned to be constructed privately with no public money provided by the city of San Jose. Additionally Lewis Wolff, owner of the San Jose Earthquakes, has offered to pay for the maintenance of the stadium for a fifty-five-year timespan.

History and details

The proposal for the new stadium for the Earthquakes was brought before the San Jose City Council in June 2007. The proposal called for the city of San Jose to rezone a parcel of industrial land in the city’s Edenvale district to residential uses. The parcel is owned by iStar Financial, but members of the Earthquakes ownership group own an option to purchase the land. Rezoning the parcel would increase the value of the property by approximately 80 million USD. The site’s industrial capacity would be transferred to surrounding properties allowing those sites to increase the density of the developments on their land, eliminating early generation single level developments. This would also preserve the industrial capacity for the city in the Edenvale area. The option on the land would then be sold and the proceeds would be used to construct the soccer-specific stadium on the Airport West site (formerly the site of an FMC Corp. facility) at no cost to the city. Additionally, Wolff and his partners will be funding and building the mixed use development adjacent to the stadium out of pocket.

On April 15, 2008, it was revealed that a deal to sell the Airport West site to the group headed by the Earthquakes ownership had been reached. The ownership group would pay $132 million dollars for 66 acres (270,000 m²) of the Airport West site, land San Jose purchased for $81 million dollars in 2005. The deal was approved after the May 21 vote by the San Jose city council.^[6][7] The purchase price was renegotiated between the city and ownership group in April 2009 to account for the lost value of the land due to the economic climate change since the original deal was struck. Additionally the Earthquakes and their partners have reduced the purchased land size from the full 75 acres (300,000 m²) of the Airport West site to a smaller 65-acre (260,000 m²) parcel further reducing their purchase price to $89 million dollars.

Lewis Wolff’s ownership group’s purchase of the Airport West site from the city of San Jose also alleviated the city of 7.5 million dollars in tax service the city was paying on the site annually. The Airport West site had previously been purchased by the city for a possible expansion to the San Jose International Airport infrastructure. However, as of November 2007, the airport had indicated that the land is no longer needed in any current or projected developments.

The city estimates that the total development of both the Airport West and iStar site would bring approximately 1.3 billion dollars worth of capital investment to San Jose and would bring in millions of dollars in tax revenues. The development would also provide new research and development, retail, and hotel jobs to the city. The iStar site would be developed with a mix of residential and commercial uses, while the Airport West site would be developed by Wolff with two hotels, as well as residential, research, and retail developments.

In a San Jose Mercury News article in August 2009, Lew Wolff backed off from publicly claiming a definite 2012 opening date for the stadium until a naming rights sponsor could be found and signed.^[8]

The first official public renderings of the stadium were released to the public on September 19, 2009 by team owner Lewis Wolff. The rezoning of the property was approved March 16, 2010 to allow for the construction of the stadium.^[9]

In April 2010, the Earthquakes completed construction and opened the Nutrilite Training Facility, including a training field adjacent to land intended for the new stadium ^[10]

In November 2010, Earthquakes ownership requested the City of San Jose for another amendment to the purchase option for the stadium site. The amendment reduces non-refundable option payments to the City by $2 million to $5 million as well as extends the option period from 2013 to 2015. If Earthquakes ownership closes on the property earlier, a reduction of $4 million in non-refundable option payments will occur. In the event that the economic climate continues to preclude the implementation of the stadium, the option includes provisions for the City to consider allowing retail on the stadium site.^[11]

On January 20, 2011, the Earthquakes submitted an application to the city for a development permit. They held a demolition ceremony at the stadium site on March 3, 2011 to kick off a twelve week demolition on the site in advance of construction.

References

1. ^ http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12086078
2. ^ http://www.sanjoseca.gov/clerk/CommitteeAgenda/CED/102207/CED102207_h.pdf
3. ^ http://www.sanjoseca.gov/clerk/CommitteeAgenda/CED/042808/CEDC042808_4h.pdf
4. ^ http://www.mercurynews.com/sportsheadlines/ci_11036473
5. ^ http://www.centerlinesoccer.com/san-jose-earthquakes-proposed-soccer-specific-stadium-undergoes-neighborhood-scrutiny-new-design-elements-begin-to-take-shape/
6. ^ Molina, Joshua, San Jose soccer stadium closer to reality, http://geeklinks.vox.com/library/post/san-jose-soccer-stadium-closer-to-reality.html, retrieved 2008-04-15 
7. ^ Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal (April 15, 2008), $132M deal worked out for San Jose pro soccer stadium, http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2008/04/14/daily20.html, retrieved 2008-04-15 
8. ^ San Jose Mercury News, Lew Wolff preaches patience, admits frustration with Quakes' situation, San Jose Mercury News, http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_13154971, retrieved 2009-08-21 
9. ^ http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_14689111
10. ^ http://www.sanjose.com/san-jose-earthquakes-finally-get-a-field-of-their-own-a29271
11. ^ http://www.sanjoseca.gov/clerk/Agenda/20101214/20101214ed.pdf

External links

• Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Business Terms for the Purchase and Sale of the Airport West Property and for the Development of a Major League Soccer Stadium (April 14, 2008)
• Amendment of Business Terms for the Option and Purchase and Sale of the Airport West Property (April 14, 2009)
• AMENDMENT OF BUSINESS TERMS FOR THE OPTION, PURCHASE, AND SALE OF THE AIRPORT WEST PROPERTY FOR DEVELOPMENT AND FOR DEVELOPMENT OF A MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER STADIUM (November 30, 2010)

Preceded by Buck Shaw Stadium 2008-present

Home of the San Jose Earthquakes Planned 2013–

Succeeded by none