New Earthquakes Stadium
Encyclopedia
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
. The stadium will seat 18,000 fans, will have at least twelve luxury suites and is estimated to cost $60 million. 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.
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 (267,092.8 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. 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 (303,514.5 m²) of the Airport West site to a smaller 65 acres (263,045.9 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.
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.
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
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.
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.
Soccer-specific stadium
Soccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States, Canada, Australia and South Korea coined by Lamar Hunt, to refer to a sports stadium either purpose built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multipurpose...
that will be built in San Jose, California
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, for Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
’s San Jose Earthquakes
San Jose Earthquakes
The San Jose Earthquakes professional soccer team is located in the San Jose, California, United States suburb of Santa Clara, and participates in Major League Soccer , the top level soccer league in the United States and Canada....
. 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
San Jose International Airport
Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport is a city-owned public-use airport serving the city of San Jose in Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is named for San Jose native Norman Yoshio Mineta, who was Transportation Secretary in the Cabinet of George W...
. The stadium will seat 18,000 fans, will have at least twelve luxury suites and is estimated to cost $60 million. 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
Lewis Wolff
Lewis N. Wolff is an American real estate developer. Wolff is also known for owning sports franchises; he is currently the co-owner of the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball and the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer...
, owner of the San Jose Earthquakes
San Jose Earthquakes
The San Jose Earthquakes professional soccer team is located in the San Jose, California, United States suburb of Santa Clara, and participates in Major League Soccer , the top level soccer league in the United States and Canada....
, 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 CouncilSan Jose City Council
San Jose City Council is the municipal government of the city of San Jose, California.- 2006 Elections :Primary Election, June 6, 2006Mayor Chuck Reed*Cindy ChavezCouncil District 1Jay JamesPete Constant*Ross Signorino...
in June 2007. The proposal called for the city of San Jose to rezone
Zoning
Zoning is a device of land use planning used by local governments in most developed countries. The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another...
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
Option (finance)
In finance, an option is a derivative financial instrument that specifies a contract between two parties for a future transaction on an asset at a reference price. The buyer of the option gains the right, but not the obligation, to engage in that transaction, while the seller incurs the...
to purchase the land. Rezoning the parcel would increase the value of the property by approximately 80 million USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
. 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
Soccer-specific stadium
Soccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States, Canada, Australia and South Korea coined by Lamar Hunt, to refer to a sports stadium either purpose built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multipurpose...
on the Airport West site (formerly the site of an FMC Corp.
FMC Corp.
FMC Corporation is a chemical manufacturing company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. FMC employs over 4,800 people world wide, and had gross revenues of US$3.115 billion in 2008.-The Bean Spray Pump Company:...
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 (267,092.8 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. 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 (303,514.5 m²) of the Airport West site to a smaller 65 acres (263,045.9 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
San Jose Mercury News
The San Jose Mercury News is a daily newspaper in San Jose, California. On its web site, however, it calls itself Silicon Valley Mercury News. The paper is owned by MediaNews Group...
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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)