Quakes Reborn

California’s San Jose Earthquakes soccer team has a new lease on life as the newly named Houston 1836 and a possible new stadium is in its Texas future.

Houston city leaders and Major League Soccer officials revealed the new team name during a January 25th press conference in the city.

The unusual moniker is said to be similar to how German clubs name their teams by including the year a city is founded.

“From this day forward, the Houston 1836 logo will be a symbol of a hard-working team,” team president Oliver Luck said.

The team, owned by Anschutz Entertainment Group, will play its first three seasons at the University of Houston’s 32,000-seat Robertson Stadium.

AEG also hopes to partner with a school district or other public entity that would share the cost of building a new stadium in Houston, which could cost between $65 million and $80 million. If the deal goes through, the company would share the 20,000- to 25,000-seat venue with high school athletes, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Luck, a former Houston Oilers quarterback, is also seeking sponsors to help build a soccer-only stadium.

The Earthquakes moved to Texas last month, although San Jose officials tried to keep the team from leaving with talk of subsidizing a new stadium. The team played at Spartan Stadium at San Jose State University and reportedly wasn’t happy with the conditions.

Despite the loss, San Jose retains the Earthquakes team name, logo, colors and records and is moving forward on attracting another MLS team. The league has already signed a letter of intent that would give the city an expansion team in 2007.