SSV president Don Gagliardi, Earthquakes managing partner Lew Wolff, and Quakes president Michael Crowley.

Council Unanimously Approves
Potential Sale of Airport West Site to Earthquakes' Investors

(May 20) In a unanimous vote, the San Jose City Council approved a memorandum of understanding which will pave the way for the sale of the Airport West property to a group of investors led by Lew Wolff and John Fisher, owners of the San Jose Earthquakes. A portion of the property is slated for a new stadium for the team.

The site, located at 1125 Coleman Avenue in San Jose, totals 74.8 acres. In addition to the 13.5 acre portion which will be designated for the stadium and its associated parking, the proposed development of the property includes 1.514 million square feet of office and research and development space, 300 hotel rooms, and up to 75,000 square feet of retail.

The city council's action allows the city to negotiate and execute an option agreement and a sale agreement for the property. Negotiations that have taken place over recent months have already formed a broad outline of both the option and sale agreements. Under the terms which were approved today, the parties have until June 30 to finalize the option and purchase agreements on the property.

Council to Vote on Proposed Stadium
Land Deal on Tuesday, May 13
(May 6) One week from today, May 13, the San Jose City Council will vote on the proposed purchase of the FMC property by Lew Wolff and his partners. Details of the proposal are available here (PDF file).

Essentially, the council will be voting thumbs up or down on a deal that has been negotiated by San Jose's economic development department which would allow Wolff and his partners to begin development of the 70+ acre property, setting aside an additional 13.5 acres for the stadium and associated parking lots.

While this will not be the final step in the political process that will, we hope, lead to a new stadium, it is nonetheless a very important step. For that reason, we'd like to have as many Earthquakes fans as possible in the San Jose City Council chambers as possible. Next Tuesday's council meeting begins at 1:30 p.m. — we hope to see you there!

San Jose's City Hall is at 200 East Santa Clara Street. A map is available here. Free validated parking is available in the underground City Hall garage — enter off of S. 6th Street and bring your parking voucher to the council chambers — the validation machine is there. Parking is also available for a fee at the 4th Street Garage behind City Hall (enter heading south off of S. 4th St., a half block south of Santa Clara St.) and the Third Street Garage (enter heading north off 3rd St. a half block north of Santa Clara Street). (Note that both 3rd and 4th streets are one-way.)


SSV Launches Non-Profit Foundation to Benefit Soccer Community
(December 19) With the return of the San Jose Earthquakes to the field in 2008, SSV's board of directors has been looking for a way to the collaborative relationship that we have established with the new Earthquakes management to ensure the vitality, and availability to all, of the sport of soccer in the Bay Area on an ongoing basis. As a vehicle for this continued collaboration, SSV has formed the SSV Community Foundation (SSVCF), a 501c(3) non-profit sister corporation to SSV.

“We believe that SSVCF, as a fan-run group working in tandem with a major league sports team, is unprecedented,” says Don Gagliardi, SSVCF president. “We are thankful to the Earthquakes for joining us in this collaborative vision and to attorney and fellow soccer fan Paul Marotta of The Corporate Law Group in Burlingame for donating his time and expertise to process the legal paperwork to establish the foundation.”

With the legal structure in place, now the group is looking for ideas and support from the soccer community. "We Earthquakes fans can accomplish a lot through our own charitable foundation, and we can all do this together. Our foundation will only be as strong as the collective unity and spirit of Earthquakes fans makes it,” says Gagliardi. “Earthquakes fans, through SSV, have proven that working together we are incredibly powerful and that we can do great things. Imagine how much good Earthquakes fans can do collectively – today, tomorrow, and into the future – for our club and for soccer, through our own charitable foundation.”

Donations to SSVCF are tax deductible and may be made online at SSVCF.org. The foundation is also looking for board members, program heads, and other volunteers and will be holding a membership meeting on March 1 to discuss these items. "Whatever your talent, we would like to find a place for it," adds Gagliardi.

The new organization hopes to start a number of programs immediately, with help from soccer fans throughout Northern California. Please attend our meeting on Saturday, March 1 from noon to 2:00 p.m. at the Britannia Arms downtown.

This message was e-mailed directly to SSV members. If you'd like to be kept informed of further developments, please join SSV and we'll add you to our e-mail list.

Previous SSV news items can be found here.

The "More News" section of the web site has been incorporated into the SSV blog.

Photo: JN Santos, International Sports Images

SSV's Founding Members (left to right): Colin McCarthy, Mike Turco, Don Gagliardi, Carol Vartuli-Marin, John Jussen, Jay Hipps, and Tony Huston.

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