Soccer fans seem hungry for MLS in San Diego – The San Diego Union-Tribune
In the shadow of the trolley overpass at Qualcomm Stadium on Sunday, Ron Ericson tailgated with friends before the U.S. national soccer team’s game against Serbia.
Ericson wasn’t decked out in red, white and blue like so many other American fans, but his place as a supporter of sports in San Diego was unmistakable as soon as he opened his mouth.
“I remember the days of going to the beach all day and Padres games at night – about 30 times a year!” Ericson said.
A 26-year resident of the city, Ericson said he regularly attends San Diego State football and basketball games, and Sockers indoor games. His 7-year-old son, Levi, plays recreational soccer in Clairemont.
His reaction to Major League Soccer possibly awarding San Diego an expansion team that would play in a new stadium on the Qualcomm site?
“It’s awesome! Let’s do it! Hurry up!” Ericson said.
San Diegans may have a much clearer picture of MLS’s intention on Monday.
A press conference has been scheduled on the flight deck of the USS Midway Museum. In attendance will be most of the major players who would push the MLS project forward, including Mike Stone, the leader of the potential local ownership group, FS Investors, MLS Commissioner Don Garber, Mayor Kevin Faulconer, and former mayor Jerry Sanders, president and CEO of the Greater San Diego Chamber of Commerce.
The group is expected to provide further detail about Stone’s plan to buy up to 80 acres of the 166-acre Qualcomm Stadium property and build a $200 million, 30,000-seat stadium by March of 2020. The MLS team would share the stadium with San Diego State’s football team.
Stone’s group also proposes retail space, a park, and providing land for SDSU to use for facilities and housing.
At Qualcomm on Sunday, an announcement went up on the video board about a “March to the Midway” by soccer fans on Monday to support MLS. A couple of hashtags were offered: #soccercitysd and #mlssd.
In attendance for the Americans’ scoreless draw against Serbia was an announced crowd of 20,079 that was packed into the north side of the field and plaza level seats to present a better look for the national broadcast on ESPN2.
The field was sodded and configured to be wider and longer than those for an NFL game, but the reminder of the Chargers’ recent decision to move to Los Angeles was there. Apparently, no amount of mowing or scrubbing could fully erase the numbers on the yard lines or the outline of CHARGERS where the end zones were.
As it was for professional soccer here more than 30 years ago, when the Sockers played outdoors in the North American Soccer League, the crowd was dwarfed and made quiet by the sheer expanse of Qualcomm. To some, it only further emphasized how obsolete the stadium is for anything but the NFL.
“It would be nothing but awesome for the entire frickin’ county,” Ericson said of a new, more intimate stadium. “There’s no reason that they shouldn’t make a beautiful little spot and go from there. You see the people watching MLS games, singing and screaming – that’s what we need.
“The Chargers were awesome,” Ericson said. “We love to root for the home team. But it was the same product every year. So, see you later Chargers.”
Ericson said he would “100 percent” buy season tickets for an MLS team.
Michael Bradley, captain for the U.S. national team and Toronto FC of MLS, said he and his teammates talked on the bus to Qualcomm about the Chargers leaving.
Of San Diego being a viable MLS city, Bradley, said, “I can’t give a good answer.
“I spent a little bit of time here when I was younger. Obviously, from afar it’s an incredible city with passionate sports fans and great weather. It’s a place that should be appealing to Major League Soccer.”
U.S. coach Bruce Arena, who spent nine years in Southern California at the helm of the Los Angeles Galaxy, was more obviously bullish on San Diego.
“It’s a viable market, no question about it,” Arena said. “We know across the border, Tijuana has had a lot of success there. There are a lot of fans of the sport who go across the border to watch (the Xolos). There’s no reason to believe if they bring an MLS franchise to San Diego that it won’t be supported.
“We’ve known for the last 30 years this has been a very good market for the sport. I’m sure it’s a strong possibility. I can’t speak for MLS about what they’re thinking, but I love these markets where the weather is nice.”
A couple of soccer fans on Sunday who came out of the cold are Alex Dos Santos and Joe Partynski. The former high school soccer teammates moved to San Diego from Massachusetts several years ago and were avid fans of the MLS’s New England Revolution.
Dos Santos spoke of enjoying MLS because it’s mostly comprised of American players rising from the college ranks, with some aging former European stars sprinkled in.
“It’s nice to see a system being built here in the U.S.,” Dos Santos said.
Partynski, who estimated he’s seen at least 25 MLS games in person, said, “It remains to be seen, but I definitely think there is a market here. There’s a lot of soccer culture down here and I think it would show.”
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