August 23, 2004
Earthquakes set move deadline
The San Jose Earthquakes owners have stepped up their threats to leave town if they don't get $50 million in public funding for a new soccer-only stadium. The Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns about half the teams in Major League Soccer, has declared a September 17 deadline by which the team will either be 1) moved to San Antonio, 2) sold to a Mexican soccer club that would move it to Houston, or 3) kept in San Jose if a local buyer can be found. Reports the San Jose Mercury News: "Asked if putting out a deadline before talks entered serious stages made it seem as if AEG was never serious about keeping the team in the Bay Area, [Earthquakes President Alexi] Lalas said, 'If we've been at fault for anything, it's for not adequately expressing our urgency.'" Hey, somebody's been taking PR lessons from David Samson!
