Adios, Quakes

Several news outlets reported today that the Quakes are on their way out of town. To Houston, no less. There has been a lot of fingerpointing in recent weeks about who's most to blame. It's well known that ownership group AEG (Anschutz Entertainment Group) had no interest in holding onto the team in the long term. The City of San Jose had done little over the last several years to improve the Quakes' lease situation with SJSU. And SJSU wasn't budging over the terms. Attendance wasn't a big complaint driver because a well-developed fanbase and winning seasons. Revenue was.

That brings us to today, when MLS commissioner Don Garber thanked local fans and talked about a new team coming to roost in San Jose as early as 2007. The city signed a letter of intent with MLS to get a stadium financing plan in place. Judging from the message boards at bigsoccer.com, it's no consolation.

Which brings me to an interesting A's related bit of news. Quakes announcer and longtime South Bay sports media guy John Shrader mentioned on KNBR that one of the local investor groups thought to potentially save the Quakes or invest in a new team was led by none other than Lew Wolff and the A's. No details were revealed beyond that, which is enough to start some wild speculation:

• How serious was Wolff about investing in the Quakes?
• Did he make any kind of proposal?
• Did the proposal involve a new soccer specific stadium?
• Or was it more along the lines of a shared stadium situation?
  
• If so, where? San Jose? Oakland? Elsewhere in the Bay Area?
• Does this mean he actually has designs on the A's moving to San Jose?
  

Obviously, any number of conclusions can be drawn from this tiny bit of information. Garber mentioned that talks with Wolff and the A's will continue into the new year. It can't be denied: Wolff's connections to San Jose and the Bay Area are as strong as ever, as evidenced by his willingness to entertain Quakes talks. And that should come as a relief to A's fans who fear a move to Vegas or Portland.