How the pieces (might) fall into place

Earthquakes backers consider women's team, too

San Francisco Business Times - 2:20 PM PST Thursday, March 1, 2007
by Eric Young

A group trying to revive professional men's soccer in the Bay Area might try to score a women's team as well.

Earthquakes Soccer LLC, backed by Oakland A's managing partner Lew Wolff and Gap Inc. scion John Fisher, would consider operating a women's team. Earthquakes Soccer has had discussions with Women's Soccer Initiative Inc., a San Francisco nonprofit planning to revive the WUSA next year. The WUSA was the women's soccer league operating from 2001 to 2003 with players like Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy and Mia Hamm.

The Women's Soccer Initiative has lined up investors in five cities to operate teams and would like to base a team in the Bay Area as well.

"Do we have an interest? Yes," said David Alioto, who oversees business operations for Earthquakes Soccer. "Women's soccer is very interesting and could fit very well with what we're doing."

He said no deal is in place, however.

Earthquakes Soccer's first goal, he said, is to secure a stadium where a men's team can play as part of Major League Soccer. The 12-team MLS gave Earthquakes Soccer until 2009 to secure a soccer-only stadium and field a team.

Wolff agreed to the framework of a stadium deal with San Jose State University this week, according to the San Jose Mercury News. More details need to be worked out, but "everything that needed to be ironed out to move forward ... was agreed upon," an unnamed source told the newspaper.

The deal calls for construction of a multipurpose facility next to SJSU's Spartan Stadium. The approximately $80 million facility could be opened as soon as 2009.

San Jose had a MLS team between 1996 and 2005, when it moved to Houston after failing to secure a deal for a new stadium.