Chivas USA’s victory over San Jose could be its last
Mario Ventura stood with a couple hundred members of his weekend family in the south grandstand at StubHub Center on Sunday afternoon, mourning the loss of a close friend.
Because when the final whistle sounded on Chivas USA’s 1-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes, it marked more than the end of another dismal season. It may also have marked a permanent end to the team which, after 10 mostly forgettable seasons, is up for sale. When the deal is consummated likely in the next few weeks, the new owners are expected to fold the franchise, giving them a chance to rebrand it and build a home before bringing it back to life as an expansion team in a year or two.
“It’s a little bit sad. We’re more than fans, we’re a family,” said Ventura, a Chivas jersey draped over one bare shoulder and a team jersey over the other.
“These guys, “ he said, nodding toward the Union Ultras, the team’s largest supporter group, “they’re going to go away. Who knows what’s going to happen next?”
When Chivas joined Major League Soccer in 2005, the league hoped to make it an iconic franchise and a worthy rival to the deep-pocketed Galaxy. And at first it was, making the playoffs four times in its first five seasons.
But then ownership embarked on changes that crippled the team, dropping it to the bottom of the Western Conference, cutting average attendance in half and losing millions of dollars. Discrimination lawsuits filed against the team last year further embarrassed MLS, which in February bought out the family of Jorge Vergara, a Mexican businessman, for about $70 million.
For the last eight months, the league has been acting as Chivas’ caretaker while it searches for an ownership group willing to meet three requirements: it must keep the team in Southern California, build a soccer-specific stadium and have at least one member with local ties.
Mark Abbott, MLS president and deputy commissioner, has met with 15 groups willing to meet those conditions as well as the league’s asking price of more than $100 million. The frontrunner is a four-man group headed by Peter Guber, chief executive of Los Angeles-based Mandalay Entertainment and co-owner of the Dodgers and the NBA’s Golden State Warriors.
The league is running short on time to get all the paperwork done because players with contract options must be told of their status by Dec. 1. Others, such as goalkeeper Dan Kennedy, who has a year left on his Chivas deal, have even more uncertain futures as long as the team remains in limbo.
Regardless of what happens next, with Sunday’s victory on Felix Borja’s first-half goal, Chivas’ players were able to go out with their heads high, ending the year, and perhaps the team’s history, with three victories in the final four games to finish out of last place for the first time since 2011.
But the crowd of 5,571, which dropped season average to a MLS-record 7,062, suggests the team ceased to exist long ago for many fans. Some diehards such as Ventura remained, and as they wiped away their last tears and exchanged their final hugs, the sounds of Ricky Martin’s “Adios te digo” began to waft over from a party at the adjacent tennis court.
“Goodbye,” Martin sings in Spanish. “Goodbye I say to you.”
“I feel for the fans,” said Kennedy, whose seven seasons with Chivas makes him the team’s most-tenured player. “Just looking them in the eye and seeing how much this means to them.”
