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 Major League Soccer

Houston Becomes New Home for Earthquakes

December 15, 2005 - Major League Soccer (MLS) News Release


NEW YORK (Thursday, December 15, 2005) - AEG announced today that the city of Houston, Texas will become the new home of the San Jose Earthquakes. The move is effective immediately and all players and coaching staff currently under contract will transfer to Houston as part of the new organization. Complete details will be unveiled at a press conference on Friday, December 16 at 10:00 a.m. CT at City Hall in Houston.

The City of San Jose and Major League Soccer have signed a Letter of Intent which provides a wide variety of support elements, including a stadium financing plan, to attract a local investor for an MLS expansion team in San Jose as early as 2007. The details of the Letter of Intent will be voted on at a future San Jose City Council meeting. The Earthquakes name, colors and competition records have been retained by MLS for this future expansion team.

"We thank the fans of the Earthquakes for their support throughout the past 10 years," said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. "It is our intention to bring Major League Soccer back to the Bay Area with a new expansion team as early as 2007. MLS is committed to working with local business leaders and city officials to continue these efforts. With the support of the City of San Jose, a local ownership group and a soccer-specific stadium, professional soccer can be very successful in northern California."

"Houston is a proven soccer market with a passionate, knowledgeable and diverse fan base," Commissioner Garber added. "With positive discussions for a new, soccer-specific stadium along with talks with potential investors, the market provides the team, and its owner AEG, the opportunity for success both on and off the field."

Soccer-specific stadiums are a critical component of MLS' strategy to grow professional soccer in the United States. The Columbus Crew, Los Angeles Galaxy, Chivas USA and FC Dallas presently play in soccer-specific stadiums, while the Chicago Fire (2006), Colorado Rapids (2007), MetroStars (2007) and Real Salt Lake (2008) will all play in new soccer venues in the near future. The majority of these stadiums have been financed through public/private partnerships.

"It is with great regret that we were unable to find a solution to our facility issues in San Jose," said Timothy J. Leiweke, President & CEO, AEG. "It was not for lack of effort and financial investment made by AEG, providing a life-line to this team for three years, to turn around a difficult situation. Unfortunately, despite efforts by the City of San Jose, there was never a solution to the facility issue. We thank the fans for their support and are hopeful that a team will be back in this marketplace in the near future."

The San Jose Clash was founded at the start of MLS in 1996 and was owned and operated by the League. In November 1998, the Kraft family became the investor-operator of the club, renaming the team the Earthquakes in October 1999. In early 2001, Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment became the operator of the Earthquakes, and partnered with AEG to become the investor-operators of the team in March 2002. AEG became the sole investor-operator in 2003 with plans to keep the team in San Jose while working to identify a new local ownership group and stadium plan. Since 2002, AEG has invested more than $20 million in the Earthquakes, and without significant ancillary stadium revenues, incurred significant losses during that time.

The two-time MLS Cup champion Earthquakes (2001, 2003) made MLS history in 2005 when it became the only club to ever go an entire season unbeaten at home (9-0-7). Under the leadership of Head Coach Dominic Kinnear and standouts such as forward Brian Ching, goalkeeper Pat Onstad and midfielder Ricardo Clark, the Earthquakes won the 2005 MLS Supporters Shield with 64 points, the second-highest point total in MLS history.

The fourth largest city in the United States and one of the most ethnically diverse populations in the country, Houston was ranked the fourth best sports city in the United States by the Sporting News in 2004.

About Major League Soccer

Headquartered in New York City, Major League Soccer is the top-flight professional soccer league in the United States and features many stars from the U.S. and around the world. Entering its 11th season in 2006, the 12 teams in MLS are: the Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids, Columbus Crew, FC Dallas, Kansas City Wizards, Los Angeles Galaxy, MetroStars, New England Revolution, D.C.United, Real Salt Lake, Club Deportivo Chivas USA and the yet-to-be-named Houston team that will begin play in 2006. For more information about MLS, log on to the League's official Web site at www.MLSnet.com.


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