San Jose: New soccer complex faces unanswered questions, another delay – San Jose Mercury News

SAN JOSE — After delaying construction of a highly demanded soccer park in January, city leaders are poised to put it off again Tuesday in a last-minute bid to buy time to move the fields a mile away to a much larger, more attractive site — but one that’s riddled with red tape.

The city already spent $3 million from a voter-approved bond to build the new fields on Coleman Avenue, but it’s putting those plans on hold to explore an alternative piece of land large enough for a regional soccer complex. The discussion, scheduled for Tuesday, will come back to the City Council on April 19.

San Jose voters in 2000 approved a measure to improve parks and build new recreational facilities. Since its passage, the measure has paid for 93 projects throughout the city, but two remain — a softball complex in the Evergreen district, which is still in the planning stages, and new soccer fields near downtown.

A new four-field soccer park was planned for a 13-acre site behind Avaya Stadium, an area known as the Airport West site at 1125 Coleman Ave. City officials were getting ready to award a $15.3 million contract to Robert A. Bothman for construction.

But then a more enticing offer came along. The San Jose Earthquakes, along with other private landowners and partners, suggested moving the proposed soccer park to the Guadalupe River Park and Gardens — and building seven fields instead of four. The Earthquakes Academy would use three fields, but the rest would be open the public, and the 44-acre project would have a park and overflow parking for Avaya.

The group would also pay a portion of construction costs, bringing the city’s cost of $20.1 million for the Coleman site down to $15.25 million at Guadalupe Gardens. The city could even be reimbursed the $3 million it already spent on development of the Coleman project, officials said.

In January, the City Council delayed the contract to Bothman, who agreed to wait until March 22, to explore the new plan. But three months later, city leaders still have unanswered questions.

“We want to make this project work, but at the end of the day, there are still a lot of risks,” said Matt Cano, assistant director of the city’s Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services department.

The biggest question is whether the Federal Aviation Administration will sign off on the plan since the site is in the flight path of Mineta San Jose International Airport. While both sites are owned by the city, the Guadalupe Gardens land has more hang-ups because it was purchased using airport grants.

And if federal regulators sign off on the plan, can the city afford to pay the land lease? Cano says the FAA requires the city to pay the airport a fair-market lease for using the property, and it’s unclear if the soccer park will generate enough revenue to cover the costs.

City leaders on Friday asked Bothman for another extension. He agreed, but it opens the door to another risk — if Bothman walks away from the deal and the city can’t get the approvals for the Guadalupe Gardens site, it’s stuck rebidding the original contract. That could mean paying up to $3 million more, Cano says.

At least one council member is concerned about another delay.

“We’ve collected money from taxpayers, and we need to complete these projects,” said Vice Mayor Rose Herrera. “We don’t know for certain this other site is a real option.”

Despite the risks, city officials are leaning toward the Guadalupe Gardens site because it’s “a better location with more soccer fields,” which are highly in demand.

Nanci Klein, the city’s assistant director of economic development, said another benefit to moving the fields is it frees up the 13 acres on Coleman Avenue for parking for a planned development next door called Coleman Highline. That project, under development by Hunter Properties and other partners, will feature 1.5 million square feet of office space and 50,000 square feet of retail.

“By allowing the fields to move across the street, the city has the opportunity to recognize the full economic development of the space,” Klein said.

Contact Ramona Giwargis at 408-920-5705. Follow her at Twitter.com/ramonagiwargis.