The San Francisco Chronicle has an update on the pro soccer stadium situation in San Jose. Real estate tycoon Lew Wolff, who also owns the Oakland Athletics, this week said he hopes to secure an agreement with San Jose State President Don Kassing to build a new stadium next to the Spartans’ existing football venue that would be shared between the resurrected San Jose Earthquakes and the university.
Wolff would raise the funds by cutting a deal with the city to rezone land that either is owned or will soon be owned by Wolff from commercial to residential so he can sell it for an estimated profit of four times its current value. However, that value depends on the number of entitlements the city decides to grant Wolff.
“One of the powers that cities and counties have is invested in their ability to provide entitlements,” he explained. “Usually the benefit of that entitlement goes into the developer’s pocket. In our case it would go into the development of soccer. We’re not residential builders.” Wolff would then use $80 million-$90 million of the profits to build a new 23,000-seat stadium that the Chronicle says could be upgraded to 30,000 for the university’s football team. If all goes according to plan, pro soccer would return to Silicon Valley, and without the need for public money, which is the reason the Quakes left San Jose in the first place.