SAN JOSE — The potential sale of the San Jose Earthquakes by owner John Fisher might be a way to entice the soccer club to play its games in downtown San Jose, the city’s mayor says.

After the announcement this week that Earthquakes owner John Fisher had hired an investment bank to sell the team, Mayor Matt Mahan weighed in on where the team should relocate under new management.

“I look forward to welcoming the Quakes’ new ownership and working with them to one day bring the team into the future sports and entertainment district we’re planning” on the western edges of downtown San Jose, Mahan stated Wednesday in a post on X.

Formed in 1994 as a charter member of Major League Soccer, the Earthquakes currently play their games at PayPal Park, a stadium in north San Jose near the airport. The club played its first match versus D.C. United in 1996, a 1-0 victory at Spartan Stadium in San Jose.

PayPal Park opened in 2015 and was known as Avaya Stadium from 2015 through 2020. Called Earthquakes Stadium in 2020, it received its PayPal moniker in 2021.

In 2024, Bay FC, a women’s soccer club, began playing National Women’s Soccer League matches at the stadium.

Attracting the team to San Jose’s urban core would mean the city’s western downtown area could host multiple sports teams, which already includes the Sharks of the National Hockey League, who play at the SAP Center.

“We’re working to make our downtown Silicon Valley’s downtown, but to do that, we need to double down on what’s working,” Mahan said in a text message to this news organization. “That’s our experience economy.”

The mayor believes unique experiences could be a way to spur the downtown economy.

“My long-term vision for San Jose includes building out a sports and entertainment district to continue the momentum” in the downtown district, Mahan said.

It wasn’t immediately clear if San Jose officials have begun to envision a location for a soccer stadium. The city owns land in the western downtown district, the mayor’s office noted, including the surface parking lots next to SAP Center.

The lots were previously identified as a potential spot for a major sports complex, according to Bob Staedler, principal executive of land-use consultancy Silicon Valley Synergy.

“The city and the redevelopment agency have studied putting a baseball park and a soccer stadium adjacent to SAP Center,” Staedler said. “It would take a lot of time and effort to figure out a cohesive plan to see if it’s feasible.”

A new soccer stadium at that location would be adjacent to the footprint of a transit-oriented village and neighborhood that Google has proposed near the SAP Center and Diridon train station.

The mixed-use development is currently paused, according to Google executives. The tech giant is attempting to refine the scope and nature of its office footprint in the Bay Area and nationwide.

Google envisions a new neighborhood of homes, offices, shops, restaurants, entertainment hubs, cultural loops and open spaces in western San Jose.

Other obstacles remain, including the actual sale of the MLS soccer club.

“The Earthquakes will absolutely have a role to play alongside our Sharks,” Mahan said.

The San Jose Sharks are nearing a new lease deal with the city whereby the hockey team would continue to play at SAP Center on a long-term basis.

“For now, we’re making lasting investments by building out Sharks Way, establishing new entertainment zones, and revitalizing the Guadalupe River Park,” Mahan said.