City Council District 4 Candidates Stake Out Positions on Elk Grove Soccer Stadium Proposal
August 29, 2014 | As the City of Elk Grove's only council race for 2014, District 4 candidates will be facing questions from vo...
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August 29, 2014 |
As the City of Elk Grove's only council race for 2014, District 4 candidates will be facing questions from voters on a host of issues, least of which involves the city's high-profile bid for a Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise.
Although the city has been in an exclusive relationship with Fabian Nunez' Northern California Soccer (NCS) group since 2011, the initiative gained momentum this week when it was announced the MLS will be visiting Elk Grove next month as part of their previously announced Sacramento tour. The city and NCS also announced they will be working on finalizing a formal agreement where Elk Grove would construct a multi-million dollar stadium and facility to host a franchise which then can be presented to the MLS.
As one of the issues to face the candidates this fall, each of the four candidates have been contacted regarding the issue, and not surprisingly, all have varying views on the topic.
Candidate Nayyar Sarfaraz said he believes the stadium would be a positive for the community as it embraces the healthy lifestyle the city promotes, as well as providing additional tax revenue. He also said the stadium would bring other events to the city.
"If we examine some of the numbers of positive economic impact, we can see the job growth in Elk Grove created by vendors, restaurants, stores and others," Sarfaraz said. "I like what councilman Hume has said that in addition of hosting soccer games, the stadium would be used for other civic and entertainment events."
Candidate Daniel Jimenez reiterated his opposition to the stadium saying that the city's resources could be better used on infrastructure projects. Jimenez also noted the employment generated by the stadium would be low-wage jobs.
"Spending millions of dollars on a future soccer complex is not a sound investment for long term growth," Jimenez said. "At best it will bring hundreds of part-time minimum wage jobs because nobody wants to pay for medical benefits."
Taking a more nuanced position, Steve Ly said that stadium proposal is a complex project with many moving parts, but that he is supportive of endeavors that help correct the city's jobs-to-homes imbalance.
"It is at this point early and difficult how this project will unfold," Ly said. "Generally, I am supportive of projects that would bring jobs and revenues to the city and would bring us closer to fixing the job-housing imbalance."
Candidate Nancy Chaires said the timing of the publicly financed stadium is currently not in the city's best interest.
"My husband and son are avid soccer players, and I'm very supportive of soccer in our city," Chaires said. "I am keeping an open mind, but I don't think the residents of Elk Grove should go into debt right now to finance a soccer stadium."
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