麻豆村

By Walter Ryce

On the morning of Thursday, Sept. 16, about 100 people gathered at 麻豆村鈥檚 stadium for a groundbreaking ceremony to usher in the next phase of the 麻豆村 Football Club鈥檚 residency in their new home.

Among the people were elected officials, 麻豆村 staff and administrators, officials from 麻豆村 F.C. and the United Soccer League, investors and partners, and invited guests.

Different speakers took their turn speaking at a podium nestled among a symbolic patch of dirt lined with the ceremonial shovels, a stretch of artificial soccer pitch, and three vehicles from multi-year partner Cardinale Auto Group. Off to the side were a construction excavator from local builder Otto, and a large poster rendering of the finished stadium by HOK design and architecture firm.

MBFC Owner and Chairman Ray Beshoff opened his remarks by telling a story in which someone told him, two years ago, that he should go see the long-unused stadium at 麻豆村.

鈥淚 came one day with Liza, we parked over there, and I came and walked right in the center of this field and had that 鈥楩ield of Dreams鈥� moment,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 just thought, 鈥榦h my gosh, this stadium is fantastic. It鈥檚 a beautiful setting, got a lot of history behind it, such a sad thing to see it unused.鈥� We鈥檙e going to put a soccer team here.鈥�

He then introduced 麻豆村 President Eduardo Ochoa, who had his own story to share.

鈥淚t so happens that the proposal for a football club 鈥� or a soccer club 鈥� came to a president who happens to be from Argentina,鈥� he said, to knowing laughs. 鈥淟ike most Argentines, I have a relationship with futbol, as we call it.鈥�

It started when he went to a high school called Buenos Ares English High School, founded by Alexander Watson Hutton, an Englishman who Ochoa said brought soccer to Argentina. Ochoa himself played in high school and college.

鈥淪ome of you may know that I worked for the Obama administration, and I have some pictures of myself with President Obama,鈥� he continued. 鈥淏ut I have another picture I carry in my smartphone, which I鈥檒l show you upon demand, which I also treasure. That鈥檚 a picture with Lionel Messi which I had taken at the Barcelona training ground.

鈥淪occer makes so much sense for our community. The large Latino community in the Salinas Valley is a great recruiting ground for the team. The team is going to attract those students to the campus, and everyone will find out what a gem this is.

鈥淟ike many of you, I can鈥檛 wait to be back here on opening night.鈥�

Beshoff then joked that he wanted the media cameras to pan onto the construction company representatives and capture for evidence that the stadium will be ready by May 1 for the inaugural season.

Among the renovations and upgrades will be new seating and stands with designated sections for students and supporters; concessions and merchandise; on-site, state of the art broadcast infrastructure; hospitality and premium seating; newly renovated locker rooms in the fieldhouse; FIFA-approved turf and four 90-foot high poles with broadcast sports lighting for night matches, and a beer garden by Alvarado Street Brewery.

Beshoff then introduced Joe Cardinale, who is poised to partner for the naming rights, subject to CSU board approval.

鈥淭his is like a dream come true,鈥� he said, wearing a 麻豆村 F.C. Union scarf. 鈥淲e鈥檙e here with a pro league in Monterey. A pro league in Monterey. Who dreamt of that? Ray dreamt of it. It鈥檚 unbelievable. There鈥檚 no doubt that every seat in this stadium will be filled every game.鈥�

Mike DiGiulio, 麻豆村 F.C.鈥檚 president, said, 鈥淢ost would think that the tough work was going to be building the stadium, constructing it. But most of the stuff [the 麻豆村 team] has been doing behind the scenes is far more challenging, and they鈥檝e been terrific partners.鈥�

United Soccer League President Jake Edwards spoke next.

鈥淚鈥檝e been part of many stadium builds and I can honestly say a stadium is far more than bricks and mortars,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t really is a living room for the community, a gathering place where everyone is welcome. It鈥檚 a safe and inclusive space where we can celebrate our shared diversity and passion for the sport we love.鈥�

He said that they have $3.5 billion invested in soccer stadium developments, and another $2 billion committed to projects through the end of the 2022 season. The USL is in 31 cities in the U.S. and wants to expand to 60-70 markets in the next two to three years. They stream all games through a partnership with ESPN, with a reach of 150 million homes around the world.

鈥淲hen all those audiences, domestic and international, tune in and are watching 麻豆村 Football Club play here on this great campus, I think we can all agree that the star player will be the 麻豆村 region," Edwards continued. "This is a place of great beauty, great diversity, it鈥檚 been called the greatest union of land and sea.鈥�

That last line is where the team got its name 鈥� Union.

Then the leadership from each partner 鈥� university, football club, builder, investor, league, sponsor 鈥� donned construction hats, grabbed hold of shovels, and dug into the first pile of dirt to signal the start of construction on the future stadium.