Spartan Daily - Serving San Jose State University since 1934

Issue date: 4/17/07 Section: News

A new combined soccer and football stadium at San Jose State University's south campus would not use any city or student money to be built, according to a report released yesterday by the city.

SJSU President Don Kassing has been in discussions with Oakland Athletics owner Lew Wolff and Mayor Chuck Reed over the past several months regarding the new stadium, however, the report is the first time specific details have officially been released to the public.

Wolff's plan for a new stadium calls for the facility to be built on university property adjacent to the existing Spartan Stadium, which would then be torn down. The new stadium would house both the SJSU football team and a new Major League Soccer team, to be called the Earthquakes.

Paul Krutko, the author of the report and the city's chief development officer, said that having a new stadium would help improve both the city's and the university's images.

"We believe that San Jose State University is the city's other franchise," Krutko said. "We believe that a new facility built in the 21st century rather than an old stadium from the 1930s is the right image for the university and the city."

The report says that while no city funds would be used to build the new stadium or practice fields for SJSU, the city and university are currently in discussions to develop other parts of the South Campus neighborhood.

Such improvements may involve city-funded community soccer fields and other university-funded facilities, however, these discussions have been put on hold while the university and city are in talks with Wolff about the new stadium, said Larry Carr, the university associate vice president for government and community relations.

Carr confirmed that university president Kassing will be meeting with Wolff later this week to continue their discussions about the stadium. The university's current concern is how revenue from events at the stadium will be split between the university and the soccer team, Carr said.

"President Kassing and Mr. Wolff continue in their dialogue and continue to look at the numbers, … the revenue numbers," Carr said. "That is what it comes down to for San Jose State."

Carr said that no money from student fees or from the state would be used to build the new stadium.

"That is one of the things that the president is insisting on," Carr said. "There would not be any student fees used."

However, university funds could still be used for other projects in the south campus area, Carr said.

Kymber Geddes, a sophomore majoring in child development, said that she thinks the stadium is a good idea and is worth the money.

"I would be willing to pay for it," she said. "I am all for soccer. It would be good if other teams can use the practice fields and maybe will help pay for them."

To pay for the new stadium, Wolff is seeking a zoning change from the city for a parcel of land in the Edenvale area of south San Jose, according to the report.

The land, which is located near highway 85 and the Monterey Highway, is currently zoned for industrial development and is owned by iStar San Jose, LLC. Wolff hopes to purchase the 75 acres at its current value, have the city council rezone it as residential, and then develop the property.

According to the report, the current value of the land would be about four times greater if it was zoned for residential use. Wolff hopes to use the profit from the development to pay for the new stadium.

The report also says that while no city money would be used to build the stadium, the Redevelopment Agency is spending $10,000 to do a traffic study on the impact of changing the iStar property to residential use.

The report comes in response to a request by San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed for the city staff to outline the current status of discussions between the city, university and Wolff's organization. The city council's rules and open government committee, which Reed chairs, requested the report when it denied a request by the San Jose Mercury News for documents regarding the plan to be made public.

Reed said that while he normally favors making information available to the public, there are times that releasing such information could hurt the current negotiations.

However, Reed requested the report to answer questions regarding the source of funding for the new stadium and how city resources might be used.

The report was released yesterday and will be discussed in the community and economic development committee meeting next Monday. The full report is available on the city's Web site, http://www.sanjoseca.gov/clerk/CommitteeAgenda/CED/042307/CED042307_g.pdf

San Jose lost its Major League Soccer team, the Earthquakes, in 2005 when its owner moved the team to Houston. San Jose, however, retained the rights to become the home of a future expansion franchise, which would have the same name, logo and colors of the old team, the report says.

The report also says that any future stadium, as well as the Edenvale zone change, would have to go through a lengthy review period that would include environmental impact reports and obtaining public feedback.

The city already has a Web site for the South Campus district plan and is compiling a list of people that are interested in receiving notification of plans for the area, said city senior planner Juan Borrelli.

"We are still flushing out the details," Borrelli said. "We are making sure that we have contact with all the stakeholders."

Anyone who wants to be put on the notification list should contact Borrelli through the city's Web site, http://www.sanjoseca.gov/planning/district_plan/default.asp/

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