New/Old MLS Team in 2008

According to CNNSI's Jonah Freedman, Major League Soccer is close to making its return to the Bay Area in time for the 2008 season. The league is negotiating a deal to allow Oakland A's owner Lew Wolff to operate an MLS franchise sooner than anyone expected, even without a new stadium deal in place.

Wolff's previous agreement with the league stipulated that he complete a deal for a soccer-specific stadium before MLS would allow him to exercise his option for an expansion team. But the league is eager for a 14th team to begin playing as soon as possible to balance the uneven schedule, the source said, and Wolff's team is the furthest along of the handful of possible expansion projects nationwide.

SFUSA's Take: MLS needs a team back in San Jose, but I would want to make sure that a stadium is on it's way before giving them a new team. It's just asking for the same problems that Anschutz Entertainment Group had. I'm sure MLS can wait another season before evening out the schedule to make sure the team has the chance to succeed in the long term.

Plan to bring MLS back to San Jose fails

A plan to bring an MLS back to San Jose State University failed after a developer and campus officials could not agree about how much the school should be paid.

Developer Lew Wolff had proposed paying for a new stadium to house a revived Earthquakes Major League Soccer team and college football games on land next to Spartan Stadium. But the deal also would have required use of most of the university's 63-acre south campus for parking for stadium events, including concerts.

Wolff's option to buy an MLS expansion franchise expires in 2009 and hinges on his ability to construct a stadium. He acquired the option last year when the team moved to Houston.

Wolff is the current owner of the Oakland A's.

This is disappointing, but MLS needs to find another option. The Bay Area needs a team as much as the Pacific Northwest does. MLS needs to make itself a national league, without over expanding ala NHL.