Santa Clara County leaders question Earthquakes' soccer complex deal – NBC Bay Area

The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors has stopped allowing the San Jose Earthquakes to build a private soccer complex at the county fairgrounds under current proposed terms.

Some county leaders Tuesday criticized Earthquakes' proposed terms as a “laughable” sweetheart deal that belittles the public about community benefits — and expressed little confidence in Earthquakes as a “good faith” partner for the county. County leaders and team executives are negotiating a deal to develop four state-of-the-art public artificial turf soccer fields and a private training center — including four additional fields for the Earthquakes' professional team and youth academy.

Supervisors have publicly considered proposed terms for a 25-year lease agreement with Earthquakes — giving the team 26 acres of fairgrounds to develop along Umbarger Road. While the board voted unanimously to continue negotiations with the team next month, Superintendent Joe Simitian said the terms as presented undervalued the fairgrounds property “by more than $100 million.”

“I think the public benefit is very minimal, which is laughable, if it weren't so serious,” Simitian said. “I am not convinced that Earthquakes Soccer LLC would be a bona fide partner to work with – it pains me to say it but I think recent history suggests that is the case.”

Simitian pointed to Earthquake owner John Fisher. From the podium, he read aloud media reports and scathing newspaper columns referring to Fisher's ownership of the Oakland Athletics baseball team as “one of the worst teams in sports.” Fisher faced Bay Area-wide backlash for his decision to move the team to Las Vegas, where Nevada officials have already approved a $380 million taxpayer subsidy to help pay for the sports team's new stadium.

“All of this is what I've been reading for the better part of a year,” Simitian said. “So when I look at a $100 million giveaway, which is a neglected public good — paltry, really — and a track record of letting fans down, I can’t support it.”

Under the current proposal, the earthquake company would be responsible for $12 million of the $18 million to design and build the public fields and pay an initial rent of $240,000 annually, with annual increases of 2.55%, over a 25-year ground lease. San Jose — whose City Council unanimously approved the terms Tuesday — will contribute $6 million toward construction. The lease will have three 10-year extension options totaling 55 years. Earthquakes would retain all revenue over 25 years, but then would be required to pay the county 50% of any net income earned from managing the public fields.

The team will also provide just 250 hours of free community use of public playgrounds each year, equating to less than one hour per day.

For years, county supervisors have been courting various sporting interests — including track and field facilities and Major League Cricket — to envision a new use for the 160-acre fairgrounds. However, that vision has clashed with that of affordable housing and homeless advocates who pushed for a plan in 2021 to open the fairgrounds to secure parking sites and prefabricated homes.

Supervisor Susan Ellenberg balanced the need to address the fairness of the deal with the need to transform the fairgrounds from an underutilized space into a community resource.

“I welcome opportunities to change this narrative,” Ellenberg said.

Supporters of the earthquake project described it as a solution to the dearth of adequate recreational facilities and public playgrounds in Santa Clara County, where families in some neighborhoods must walk miles to the nearest park or safe playground to play on.

Steven Sosa, the Earthquakes' coach for the past nine seasons, said providing more fields for youngsters is “essential.” “It provides children with a safe, accessible space to stay active, build skills and foster friendships,” Sosa said at the meeting. “Physical activity promotes mental health and concentration and teaches values ​​like teamwork and responsibility. I have an 18-year-old who has trouble finding fields to train in, and now I have a one-year-old. I'm tired, and we need fields for them.”

Other public interest centered around the team's proposal to use artificial turf. A joint letter from a coalition of environmental and community groups urged supervisors to ban artificial turf in the project. The moderators agreed that this was a concern before the vote.

“Even if this is a non-binding agreement, it doesn't work for me,” Supervisor Sylvia Arenas said. “We have not included our community in this conversation. This is not our money — this is the public's money.”

But the supervisors were not ready to close the deal completely.

Simtian agrees that there is a “kernel” of a good idea in the project, provided that the team comes back with a “realistic proposal” that “puts a lot of money on the table.”

Supervisor Cindy Chavez expressed concern that the discussion could push the district “significantly further away” from the project.

“To me, this is the best opportunity we've had in all our time on the board to do something at the fairgrounds,” Chavez said during the meeting.

This story was originally published in San Jose Spotlight and was written by Brandon Vu.

Contact Brandon Pho at [email protected] or @brandonphooo on X, formerly known as Twitter.

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