Quakes Fans Don't Trust Wolff, Either

Lew Wolff has an increasingly big reputation for being a dishonest guy. How large is Wolff's credibility gap with his paying customers?

Look no further than the South Bay, where Earthquakes soccer fans are not happy with the newest sketch renderings that Wolff's front office team recently submitted to the city of San Jose, according to Sunday's San Jose Mercury News article. Here's an article excerpt:

The most recent documents ... show stark and rudimentary sketches of the stadium, not the colorful U-shaped version unveiled by team co-owner Lew Wolff to much acclaim at a September 2009 event. ... The latest bare-bones version, however, is alarming soccer fans and skeptics alike. They wonder whether the drawing -- submitted as part of the team's application for a building permit -- is a sign that Wolff is backing out of his support for the stadium.

Quakes president Dave Kaval said there is nothing to the controversy, and that the team plans to build according to the original rendering after March 3, when they will demolish an old factory at the soccer stadium site.

However, the whole brouhaha illustrates just how little faith local sports fans have in the words of Lew Wolff and co-owner John Fisher, whether it's in regards to the Oakland A's or the San Jose Earthquakes.

Maybe that lack of trust exists because Wolff has been caught telling so many lies in the past. Or maybe Quakes fans understandably are still mad that, in 2009, Wolff made comments that insulted the Quakes fan base. Then Wolff openly questioned the South Bay's corporate support for pro sports.

Or maybe it's because of the financial woes of San Jose's city government, or the money troubles plaguing Santa Clara County's cash-strapped coffers, are making fans wary of giving more multi-million-dollar discounts of taxpayer money to Wolff and Fisher.

Or maybe Quakes fans are wondering if Wolff will be as misleading with the remaining acres that San Jose sold to him at a discounted price to develop around the soccer stadium.

Whatever the reason, loyal South Bay soccer fans now seem to see Wolff the same way Oakland baseball fans long have viewed the Los Angeles developer: Someone not to be trusted.