Updated at 11:40 a.m., Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Soccer: San Jose will get expansion team in 2008
Associated Press
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber said today that professional soccer will return to Silicon Valley for the 2008 season with the approval of the San Jose Earthquakes as an expansion team.The ownership group is led by Lew Wolff and John Fisher, who also own the Oakland Athletics.
The Earthquakes will join the Western Conference, Garber said during his state of the league address in Colorado ahead of Thursday's All-Star game.
The Earthquakes still need approval from the San Jose City Council for plans to build a privately financed soccer stadium near Mineta San Jose International Airport. The stadium is scheduled to seat as many as 20,000 and open in 2010.
The Earthquakes won two MLS Cup titles before relocating to Houston in 2005 after plans for financing a new stadium in San Jose fell through. The Houston team, now known as the Houston Dynamo, won the MLS Cup title last year.
The San Jose Earthquakes will be MLS's 14th team and the third in California alongside Chivas USA and the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Wolff said the Earthquakes will play home games in temporary stadiums for the first two seasons. Negotiations with the venues are ongoing and the locations will be announced soon, Wolff said in a statement.
