Earthquakes back to San Jose - will we see them at Stanford? Sports, posted by Sports fan, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Jul 18, 2007 at 10:03 am
The news is out. The Quakes will be playing again in 2008. This time, they will be using local stadia for "home" games initially. Since there is an increase in soccer awareness and in the event that they will be playing Galaxy and David Beckham, does that mean they will be coming to Stanford for at least some of the matches.
Personally, I would love to see this happen. Stanford Stadium is only occasionally used which seems a waste and we do have many soccer fans here, as last Saturday's event proved.
The one thing that must be improved is the traffic control. Whoever is the chief traffic engineer at the City must sit down and work out a plan that will work, unlike last weekend's fiasco.
The City of Palo Alto needs this to happen. Think of the tax revenue we can roll in. Think of the visitors to the City. Think of the value to local businesses, restaurants, etc.
This proposal should be put to the Earthquakes management and let's look forward to professional soccer at Stanford.
Posted by Traffic nightmare, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Jul 18, 2007 at 10:05 am
I am not sure that the city of Palo Alto will allow more soccer games at Stanford Stadium--tis creates too much traffic, especially down a well-traveled thoroughfare that happens to go by the home of one of Palo Alto's political elite.
Posted by Soccer Mom, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on Jul 18, 2007 at 12:56 pm
The field size is fine. Those of us who hang out on the Earthquakes forum agree that Stanford would be an ideal interim venue for the team. However, the price tag is high--Stanford apparently charged Chelsea over $100,000 for last Saturday's event.
The traffic would be much less of a problem for regular games, which typically draw around 20,000 fans. And regular attendees are familiar with the traffic patterns and public transit options so they know how to get to games without creating (or getting caught in) traffic jams.
For info on getting your season tickets, see Web Link
This is an exciting day for soccer fans throughout the Bay Area!
Posted by Sports fan, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Jul 18, 2007 at 1:25 pm
I think (although I might be wrong) that FIFA wants a bigger touch line boundary around the field than there is at Stanford. This would mean that Stanford is out for World Cup official matches, but I have no reason to believe that MLS league has a problem. As far as I am aware, other MLS teams use football fields without problems.
Posted by Tony, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Jul 18, 2007 at 3:28 pm
The soccer match held there just a few days ago between Chelsea and Club America was very successful. In fact, for many it was their first time at the new stadium. Everyone I have spoken to believe that it was a fantastic facility for soccer matches.
We aren't talking about World Cup qualifying matches or anything. We are talking about about 20 dates with the same size attendance as a Stanford Football game.
Furthermore, I bet most in Palo Alto hardly noticed a difference in traffic the day of the Chelsea v Club America match, and there was nearly 40,000 people there.
I think this is a great opportunity for the University to showcase all of the hardwork and money that went into the re-construction of Stanford Stadium. I find it hard to believe that so much money was spent for it to only be used about 10 times a year.
Posted by sarlat, a resident of the Crescent Park neighborhood, on Jul 18, 2007 at 5:24 pm
Stanford stadium doesn't meet FIFA's World Cup guidelines, but would qualify for MLS games. It is probably the only option for the new expansion team at this point. Stanford stadium is grossly underused and it would be great if it's utilized for the world's game:futbol in latin America, football in Europe, aka soccer in this country.
Posted by Sports fan, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Jul 18, 2007 at 5:48 pm
Can someone clarify something? Is it the Houston team returning to San Jose or is it a new extension team being formed? I have read/heard conflicting accounts.
Posted by sarlat, a resident of the Crescent Park neighborhood, on Jul 18, 2007 at 7:08 pm
It's a brand new expansion team. The Houston team, now named Houston Dynamo, formerly the San Jose Earthquakes, remains in Houston. My guess is that their coach, a former San Jose player and a Bay area native, will end up coaching the new expansion team.
Posted by Earthquakes forever, a resident of the Crescent Park neighborhood, on Jul 18, 2007 at 10:27 pm
We are finally getting a professional soccer team with a local owner who has a deep commitment to the sport and to the fans--something the Earthquakes lacked in their previous manifestation.
There's much speculation about coaches and players at Web Link
Posted by Sports fan, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Jul 19, 2007 at 10:02 am
My thoughts are that we need to get another European soccer giant on the team, either as player or manager, and then when we get against Beckham we can really see what the game is all about.
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