Fresno could sell Selland Arena to Fuego soccer team. Here’s what we know
Dec. 10, 2020 Update: The Fresno City Council unanimously voted Thursday to designate the Selland Arena, Valdez Hall and the ground level parking lot as surplus property, which will allow officials to entertain bids on the property.
The Fresno City Council will consider declaring Selland Arena and surrounding spaces as surplus property, setting it up for a potential sale, according to records made public on Friday.
The Fresno Convention Center recently drew interest from a professional soccer organization looking to use the facility under the Fuego flag — a team name that existed once before with a different team in Fresno — according to Councilmember Miguel Arias.
But, the council cannot sell the land without first declaring it as surplus and making it available to other buyers. California law gives affordable housing, parks and school uses priority before other buyers can make a bid, according to city officials.
“At this point, all we’re doing is making the land available,” Arias said. “Ever since we lost soccer, we’ve been looking for ways to bring it back.”
Saroyan Theater, the multi-story parking structure and the newer convention center building on M and Kern streets are not part of the potential sale and would remain with the city.
Mayor-elect Jerry Dyer confirmed Friday he has been in talks with team ownership connected to the Fuego brand of soccer.
“It’s the intent of the Fuego to be playing soccer at that location sometime in 2022,” he said.
Dyer said ideas for the convention center space include a 5,000-seat outdoor arena, an indoor field and multiple spaces for futsal, a game similar to soccer but played on a hard surface on a smaller field with fewer players than regular soccer.
“Downtown Fresno is a huge focus of mine,” Dyer said. “The overall goal for me is to take that area and make a soccer magnet for California.”
The Fuego name brings with it a large fan base in the region. Dyer said he expects the potential soccer hub to garner interest from fans in Tulare, Kings, Madera, Merced and other San Joaquin Valley counties.
Fuego ownership could not be immediately reached for comment on Friday.
The City Council will consider the item during Thursday’s meeting.
Selland Arena
In June, the City Council approved a five-year deal with ASM Global, the company that runs Selland and its surrounding properties, as well as the Save Mart Center.
The city agreed to pay a $145,000 management fee and $50,000 in promotional fees, according to the new contract. The contract has a local vendor preference clause, but the fate of the contract is unclear if the convention center sells.
ASM did not return a request for comment on Friday.
Dyer said Fresno could benefit from getting out of the convention center business.
“It’s created a financial burden on the city, upwards of $700,000 a year in debt we have to absorb,” he said. “I do believe it can be more successful if we privatize it.”
The convention center has drawn fewer big acts — like live music, college sports and professional wrestling — since the Save Mart Center was completed in 2003.
Soccer in Fresno
Despite the Fresno Foxes soccer club’s on-field success during its first two years, the team left the city before the 2020 season began.
Mayor Lee Brand and the United Soccer League club management confirmed late last year that attempts to find a more permanent and soccer-specific location for the team were not fruitful.
The team’s ownership paid $5 million to start the team knowing games at Chukchansi Park would be temporary. USL requires teams to play on fields designed specifically for soccer, but the league allowed the team to modify the baseball field in the short term.
Moving the field around before and after each game came with a cost.
Before the Foxes took the pitch in Fresno, the Fuego amateur-level soccer had been around since 2003. The league the Fuego used to play in has been renamed the USL2.
Pro sports
A new team in Fresno could be a welcome reprieve for pro sports fans after news that the Fresno Grizzlies are on shaky ground.
The Washington Nationals’ announced Nov. 19 the end of their alliance with the Grizzlies, and no other major league teams have expressed interested in the Fresno franchise as a Triple-A affiliate, according to the letter from Daniel R. Halem, deputy commissioner and chief legal officer for MLB.
The team may fall from a Triple-A to a Low Class-A league, three steps further away from the majors. MLB gave the city and the franchise more time this week to try to find a solution.
This story was originally published December 4, 2020 at 4:03 PM.
