"County officials and Major League Cricket leaders started exclusively negotiating the lease of 12 acres at the fairgrounds to build and run a stadium for local, national and international play in 2022. The two parties met regularly for more than two years. But after the national league restructured - and began to grapple with an intensifying, internal power struggle - county leaders said stadium planning talks shifted to the local team, the San Francisco Unicorns, which plays at the Oakland Coliseum."
"County leaders said they terminated the latest round of negotiations, which started in 2024, after the Unicorns couldn't meet a deadline for a viable proposal. Team representatives, who asked for anonymity to speak freely, argue the issue went deeper than deadlines. Team sources told San José Spotlight the potential cost of a stadium became unrealistic for them, and there was a lack of understanding about the county's long-term plans for the fairgrounds."
""We look forward to having the right structure in place in order to achieve success and unlock the extraordinary potential of the fairgrounds for the benefit of the surrounding neighborhood and entire Santa Clara County community," County Executive James Williams told San José Spotlight."
Silicon Valley leaders and sports executives promoted building a national cricket stadium at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds four years ago. County officials and Major League Cricket leaders began exclusively negotiating a lease for 12 acres in 2022 to build and operate a stadium for local, national and international play. The parties met regularly for more than two years. After the national league restructured and experienced an internal power struggle, stadium planning shifted to the San Francisco Unicorns. County leaders terminated 2024 negotiations after the Unicorns missed a deadline for a viable proposal. Team representatives said projected stadium costs were unrealistic and county long-term plans for the fairgrounds were unclear. County and San Jose leaders had pursued simultaneous agreements with San Jose State University and the San Jose Earthquakes. County leaders initiated a new master planning process for the 165-acre fairgrounds.
Read at San Jose Spotlight
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