Gilroy
– A regional soccer facility in Morgan Hill may relocate to the
outskirts of Gilroy or to northern San Benito County if facility
representatives and San Jose officials are unable to compromise on
a new location.
Gilroy – A regional soccer facility in Morgan Hill may relocate to the outskirts of Gilroy or to northern San Benito County if facility representatives and San Jose officials are unable to compromise on a new location.
Dave Morton, president of the San Jose Soccer Complex Foundation, said pressure from San Jose City Council and the desire for cheaper land has led the group to look at properties around Garlic World, just south of Gilroy along Highway 101, as well as land on Highway 25 near Shore Road, in San Benito County.
“We’re looking at some alternative sites but have not pursued it to the next level,” Morton said. “The attractiveness frankly is the potential size of the parcels available. We’re looking to build a large complex. It could be more than 16 fields.”
The current 35-acre soccer complex on Condit Road in Morgan Hill was built 12 years ago. The foundation began searching for a new home because Morgan Hill plans to convert the site into an outdoor sports complex. City officials plan to contribute $1 million of the projected $3.5 million needed to build 16 new fields by Ann Sobrato High School. But San Jose officials, who retain control over the proposed site since it lies in the city’s greenbelt, are demanding exclusive use of several fields as a condition of approval.
Morton and foundation officials are opposed to ceding exclusive rights to any of the fields. They expected to meet with San Jose officials in coming days to discuss alternatives. In the meantime, they have begun shopping for cheaper alternatives.
Gilroy City Administrator Jay Baksa said soccer representatives stopped by his office about six months ago, but was unaware of any recent plans to move the facility closer to Gilroy. He welcomed a regional complex, which draws families from Northern California and the western United States for weekend tournaments throughout the year.
“The good part of it is it brings a number of folks in on the weekend,” he said. “That’s good from a restaurants point of view, a lodging point of view. There’s an economic benefit to it.”
Any proposal in Santa Clara County faces significant environmental hurdles, according to Rachael Gibson, a policy aide for county supervisor Don Gage. Most of the land surrounding Garlic World is classified as medium- or large-scale agricultural. The latter designation would not allow for a soccer complex under any conditions. Locating on medium-scale land requires proof that the property is of “marginal” agricultural quality, meaning poor soil quality, water resources, or other conditions. More importantly, any land used for recreational purposes must be for the exclusive use of rural county residents, prohibiting a facility
“The land down by Gilroy would be cheaper, but the reason it’s cheaper is because it has more restrictions on it,” Gibson said. “The challenges are pretty formidable.”
Morton said they had yet to explore land restrictions in Santa Clara County.
A more workable option may involve a site further south in San Benito County. Morton will meet with San Benito County Supervisor Don Marcus early in June to discuss a potential location.
Freelance writer Luke Roney contributed to this report.
