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San Jose shakeup NHL's Sharks agree to oversee Earthquakes
Updated: Wednesday January 10, 2001 6:39 PM
ATLANTA (CNNSI.com) -- The San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League have agreed to a multiyear deal to oversee the operations of Major League Soccer's San Jose Earthquakes. MLS commissioner Don Garber was to attend a press conference at the San Jose Arena with Earthquakes executives for the announcement on Wednesday. MLS also announced that San Jose will host the 2001 MLS All-Star Game on Saturday, July 28. The midseason showcase will be the second marquee MLS event at Spartan Stadium. The league's inaugural game was held in San Jose on April 6, 1996. While the Sharks will not immediately become the investor-operator of the Quakes, the deal provides an option for Silicon Valley Sports and Entertainment (SVS&E), a business division of the Sharks, to become an investor-operator of the Earthquakes. MLS owns a controlling interest in each of league's 12 teams. "Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment brings tremendous expertise in managing first-class sports entities to Major League Soccer," said Garber. "The addition of this organization will enhance the progress we have made in San Jose during our first five seasons." The Earthquakes (formerly known as the Clash) were overseen the previous two years by the Kraft Group Sports, owner of the NFL's New England Patriots and Foxboro Stadium, and investor-operator of MLS' New England Revolution. Kraft chose not to exercise an option to become owner of the Earthquakes. The San Jose club was run by the league during its first three years. It is not yet known whether the Quakes will retain coach Lothar Osiander, interim general manager Tom Neale or other members of the staff. "I'm still planning for the 2001 season," Osiander told the newspaper. "Other than that, nobody has told me anything." Said Neale, "We're all waiting to see what happens." MLS revealed Tuesday that Iranian midfielder Khodadad Azizi, signed last season, will not return to the Earthquakes. The league said that the Quakes are owed three marquee player allocations -- two more than any other team -- one for losing Azizi, one for losing Eddie Lewis last year and one for not making the playoffs. The owner and chairman of the Sharks is George Gund, who along with his brother Gordon, a minority owner of the Sharks, also co-owns the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association. "The Sharks are one of the elite organizations in the NHL," Garber added. "Through the success and expertise of SVS&E in hockey, tennis, golf and venue management, it is clear that their understanding of the Bay Area sports market is unmatched. We began our relationship with them this past season and look forward to their increased involvement with the league." MLS has attracted no new investor-operators since Kenneth A. Horowitz began operation of the expansion Miami Fusion in the 1998 season. Major League Soccer's existing investor group includes Philip Anschutz, railroad/real estate industrialist and co-owner of the NHL's Los Angeles Kings and the Staples Center; John Kluge and Stuart Subotnick of Metromedia Company, one of the largest private companies in the United States; Lamar Hunt, founder of the American Football League and owner of the Kansas City Chiefs; Kenneth Horowitz, a communications entrepreneur and wireless telephone pioneer, and former U.S. Soccer President Alan I. Rothenberg. "We feel it is another positive step for San Jose to strengthen the Earthquakes organization and help re-establish Major League Soccer's foothold in the Bay Area," said Greg Jamison, president and chief operating officer of the San Jose Sharks and San Jose Arena Management. "We recognize the upside in soccer in the U.S. at a professional level and are willing to have our organization get involved and take it to a higher platform. "The SVS&E group knows that MLS is working hard to sell soccer in the U.S. and Spartan Stadium is a great place to watch a soccer game," added Jamison. "We embrace the challenge of making the Earthquakes viable for this season and many more to come."
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