After months of speculation by soccer fans and meetings with city officials, Chivas USA of Major League Soccer confirmed it is in talks to build fields and possibly a stadium for youth at an aging golf course in Santa Ana.
The team's conversations with the city were made public at a State of the City address by Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido this week. The talks have been going on for months.
"We're talking about working on soccer programs, youth programs, and what we can do that is vibrant and challenging," Pulido said in the speech, hinting at the plans by joking, "I hope none of you play golf there" and making the suggestive observation that "soccer is a very big sport today in the city."
The Carson-based team's co-owner, Antonio Cue, said the proposed youth soccer facility could include as many as seven soccer fields and a 2,000 to 3,000-seat stadium at Willowick, now a 102-acre golf course on the city's western border with Garden Grove. But a detailed proposal is months away.
Cue did not rule out that the site could eventually be a permanent home for the professional team. "We're only talking right now about the youth, we haven't thought about moving the team," Cue said. "We're open to possibilities, but not in the short term."
The prospect of the team raising its profile in Santa Ana has fueled speculation among soccer fans that Chivas USA itself was contemplating a move to the city.
"To have a team that is owned by Mexicans have more of a presence in Santa Ana would give us a lot of pride," said Daniel Albarran, a clerk at Deportes Salazar, a soccer supplies chain store.
In Santa Ana, one of the largest predominantly Latino cities in America, soccer is a near obsession for many, tempered only by a short supply of fields to play on.
Albarran said he first heard rumblings two months ago that a deal with Chivas was in the works, and said now that plans for a proposed youth facility are public, he is supportive. Chivas USA tickets are one of his best selling items.
The Mexican sister team, Club Deportivo de Guadalajara, also known as Chivas, enjoys widespread support among die-hard fans, especially immigrants from its home state of Jalisco, and gear emblazoned with Chivas de Guadalajara sells well, he said. However, Chivas USA gear is in such low demand that now it is only offered only on special order.
