San Jose officials to release report on stadium

By: Kyle Hansen

Posted: 4/12/07

San Jose State University students and San Jose residents should have a better idea next Monday what it will take to get a new stadium built to replace the aging Spartan Stadium.

The city council's Rules and Open Government Committee yesterday approved a proposal by Mayor Chuck Reed that asks the city staff to release a report to the public Monday for consideration in the next committee meeting.

The report comes in response to a request by the San Jose Mercury News for the release of documents submitted to the city by developer Lew Wolff.

The committee decided not to release the requested documents, but asked the city staff to compile a report that will inform the public on what the city has done so far in preparations for the new stadium.

Mayor Reed and the other members of the city council on the committee expressed concern that releasing the document could harm the negotiations and future projects in the city.

"While my initial inclination is to just release the documents, because I like that," Reed said, "I am convinced that there are instances where if you set that kind of a precedent we would make it impossible for some other kinds of transactions to go forward."

Councilman Sam Liccardo agreed that the documents should not be released, but said that it is important to keep the public informed in land-use decisions.

"We don't want to be releasing specific terms and we don't want to get into issue that will put in a disadvantage with regard to our competitors," Liccardo said. "But it seems to me that as much as I believe we shouldn't be releasing documents in the middle of negotiations, or even before negotiations have started which appears to be the case here, we're involved in making significant land use decisions that have profound effect upon communities… ."

Wolff, who is also the owner of the Oakland Athletics, has been in talks with Mayor Reed and university President Don Kassing about building a new stadium on the field just east of the existing Spartan Stadium. The proposed stadium would house the SJSU football team as well as a Major League Soccer team to be named the Earthquakes.

The Mercury News requested that the city release any documents submitted by Wolff and his organization that outline his plans.

City Attorney Richard Doyle wrote to the Mercury News saying that the documents did not need to be released under the California Public Records Act.

"After careful consideration of your request," Doyle wrote, "We believe that the public interest is better served at this time by not disclosing this very preliminary document while ongoing discussions regarding its concepts remain pending and that disclosure may properly await conclusion of such discussions."

According to President Kassing, Wolff plans to pay for the new stadium with money he can make from a rezoning of property in the southeast part of the city.

"I can't tell you everything because I don't want to compromise the confidentiality of the conversations," Kassing said in a press conference on April 3. "But the Earthquakes, through a really creative idea of Lew Wolff's, would seek from the city the rezoning of a parcel of property … and change the zoning from commercial/industrial to residential. Apparently when you do that, the value goes way up… . That difference would be used to build the stadium."

Kassing said that the current sticking point in negotiations is how revenue from the new stadium would be split between the soccer team and the university.

Larry Carr, the associate vice president of government and community relations, confirmed on Tuesday that the university is still involved in discussions with Wolff.

"President Kassing is waiting to hear back from Mr. Wolff," Carr said. "The president is excited that someone wants to have this kind of a conversation with us."

At the press conference, however, Kassing did not seem convinced that a new stadium was guaranteed.

"I don't know if it's going to come together," Kassing said. "I say that not to be pessimistic, but I don't know. It would consume 40 acres approximately, so we would provide a parcel of land - they put a commercial activity on that land and then make money.

"So we provide an opportunity for them to make money by having a parcel of land. We don't donate it, it's our land, belongs to the State of Calif. - San Jose State, and we want a return on that land, and so far we haven't found it."

Carr said that the current debate within the city about the release of documents was not a concern to the university.

"I don't know what the contents of the letter are," Carr said. "That is not part of the dialogue with San Jose State right now, that is between Mr. Wolff and the city of San Jose. There are other things that we are working on now."

Political Science Professor Terry Christensen said that it is normal for the city to keep documents confidential while in negotiations with developers.

"Projects like this are usually negotiated in private," Christensen said via e-mail. "You can't really negotiate if everybody knows what you're offering or withholding - that's what negotiations are all about."

However, Christensen said that at some point the documents and the information will be released to the public.

"At some point the deal must become public," he said by e-mail. "That should be early enough for various communities of interest to evaluate the deal and take a position in support or opposition."