July 08, 2004

Footying the bill

Major League Soccer, the only sport where most teams don't have new taxpayer-funded facilities, is working hard to remedy that situation. Last week, the New York/New Jersey MetroStars put forward a plan for a $160 million soccer-only stadium in Harrison, N.J. (across the Passaic River from Newark), all but $30 million of which would be paid for by the town. Under the plan, which still must be approved by Hudson County officials, the public costs would be "repaid" by tax revenues from an accompanying privately built $300 million complex of stores, offices and apartments - sound familiar?

Meanwhile, Sports Business Journal was reporting that both the Kansas City Wizards and the San Jose Earthquakes would be relocated for the 2005 season. Lamar Hunt, owner of both teams (the MLS, unlike other sports leagues, smiles on multiple ownership, with developer Philip Anschutz alone owning five teams and a share of a sixth), promptly issued a written statement that fanned the flames, stating only: "As has been the case since the start of [MLS], we will each year evaluate the progress of the league and its member teams." Soccer-only stadiums, wrote Hunt, "represent the future for Major League Soccer, and we will study every possible way to encourage such projects all across America." Including, apparently, leaking rumors of planned moves to the Sports Business Journal.