A game changer: plans for a soccer stadium to come to Santa Rosa
A graphic of soccer stadium (Sloane Crocker/The Puma Prensa)
Sloane Crocker, co-executive editor
Most Santa Rosa residents don’t think of their city as any kind of major tourist destination, with the connection to Charles Schultz being perhaps the biggest claim to fame. But what if Santa Rosa were to receive a new attraction, something to bring the excitement? Something like a soccer stadium?
As it turns out, this stadium is already in the works. According to the City of Santa Rosa website, Santa Rosa and the United Soccer League, or USL, have already partnered and are in the early phases of “exploration and negotiation.” Formal discussions began on Oct. 17, when Sonoma County officials began to assess the Sonoma County Fairgrounds as a possible location for the stadium. The county officials began these assessments in partnership with the city government, the County Fair Board, and the USL, and the next steps are to explore issues surrounding land use, financing, and effects upon the broader community. According to Chief Economic Development Officer Scott Adair, he is currently working with a team of individuals from the Economic Development Division to help the USL find a Santa Rosa location, which he says aligns with his responsibilities to the city to create “opportunities for prosperity” for Santa Rosa residents.
Of course, for the stadium to be a real possibility, it must be proven to have a positive impact upon the area’s economy. According to City Council member Jeff Okrepkie, the city would not receive direct money from the Fairgrounds because that land is owned by the county. However, he went on to say that there would be “spillover” in terms of visitors to the stadium spending money at surrounding establishments like local restaurants and hotels. So, the potential stadium would, in his mind, “draw thousands of people,” which would in turn draw business to the city’s resources. As Adair put it, people travelling to the stadium would be “bringing those dollars with them.” Additionally, Adair added that the stadium would generate new jobs, including in terms of construction and groundwork that would last for several years. Further, upon stadium completion, he described other job opportunities that the stadium would create, such as management and maintenance. And finally, economic benefit from the stadium would not be solely from soccer purposes. Adair made clear that it could also be used for concerts, exhibits, and other shows, which would bring in revenue from fees and ticket sales on top of the benefit to the surrounding area from increased tourism.
Yet for all these economic benefits to come true, the simple truth is that the stadium would need visitors. So where would the fanbase come from? According to Okrepkie, although the city only has around 180,000 residents, this number increases to over 330,000 during the workday. Thus, a large number of people come to the area regularly even if they don’t stay overnight, meaning that this group would most likely help increase the number of visitors to the stadium. Additionally, Adair added that when he was first introduced to the opportunity for the stadium, Santa Rosa reached out to Oakland’s USL team, the Oakland Roots SC, to discuss the potential for a new team coming to Santa Rosa and possibly creating competition. However, Adair said that the Oakland leadership felt that an increased density of teams would only further the “love of the game.” In other words, more competition would bring more fans– fans who could travel between the Oakland and Santa Rosa locations. Adair said that Santa Rosa could borrow Oakland fans and vice versa, creating a sort of “synergy” that would benefit both teams.
Thus, Adair is confident that the team would have plenty of supporters. And in terms of how this team would be assembled, Okrepkie described the USL as highly focused on “local ownership” with a model similar to European soccer. This means that they aim for academies helping local kids get to the professional soccer level, and also that they focus on outreach to local businesses and youth soccer clubs. Adair added specifics, saying that the USL franchises out ownership and operation rights to independent owners who then pay some sum back to the league. Of course, before any of this happens, the project must be finalized with a level of certainty as to the fact that it will be properly permitted and regulated.
The final component left to be addressed is whether any drawbacks exist to the creation of the stadium and the addition of a USL team to the city. And, like in most things, there are cons as well as pros. According to Adair, the new development could possibly increase traffic and congestion in the surrounding area. It could also increase property values in the area, which could in turn push out socially or economically disadvantaged people and lead to gentrification. In terms of addressing these possible issues, Adair confirmed that he and other officials working on the project will be sure to take everything into consideration; he feels that “if we want the stadium to be successful, then we need it to be successful for all Santa Rosans, not just some Santa Rosans.”
It seems that the overall tone regarding the stadium is one of cautious optimism. The process is sure to be a lengthy one, with about three or so years left until the first tickets are sold, so Santa Rosa residents can’t enjoy a soccer game just yet. However, it seems that the stadium will be overall of great benefit to residents and to the community as a whole, and so it’s sure to be worth the wait.