Dear Google, please respectfully back off

Google has proposed massive construction plans by Diridon Station; they have put the Sharks time in San Jose in jeopardy.

Dear Google,

Let me preface this with a thank you for everything you have done for both the Bay Area community and the global community. You have provided hundreds of thousands of jobs to people living within the greater Bay Area.

Additionally, you were a pioneer in a wave of new tech companies that put San Jose, or as known nationally, Silicon Valley, on the global radar. Bringing respect, money, and some of the world’s greatest thinkers to the city.

At the global level, you have helped bring the information era to life. Never before has data, news, and other informative content been as accessible before your companies inception.

With that being said, please respectfully back off. According to Mary Meisenzahl of Business Insider, under your current approved plans, you have 79 acres of allotted land. It will supposedly cover housing, offices, recreational and commercial areas, along with preserved nature.

All of this does not even include the ginormous main campus in nearby Mountain View.

This project is great. It truly is. But it needs to be scaled back so both Google and the team can compromise and coexist, so both thrive.

The current construction will make the SAP Center less accessible than ever before. Internally, the team has expressed concerns that they may have to leave altogether.

Outside of tech, sports, particularly the Sharks and the Earthquakes of Major League Soccer, give a unique character to San Jose.

Whether or not it is intentional, you as a company are jeopardizing these institutions in the future.

It may not even be rezoning, but simply protecting the current roads and parking lots makes the stadium accessible.

While we see the interchange of locations within the Bay Area, most notably the 49ers moving from San Francisco to Santa Clara and the Warriors moving from Oakland to San Francisco, we do not want to see the Sharks move.

The team is already preparing for a massive rebuild. Alienating the core fanbase by leaving the SAP center could result in the team leaving the Bay Area. I would like to believe that that is a particularly bad thing.

We have yet to see anything to cause this particular jeopardization, but internal discussions are already brewing and do not bode well.

If that is not enough, there is a clear population of your own employees that are, in fact, Sharks fans.

Please, respectfully back off so we can preserve the Sharks and the usage of the best venue in the city of San Jose.

The SAP center not being accessible could affect the concert scene, future March Madness bids, and other profitable events for the area.

For Sharks fans who are particularly concerned, the link to sign a petition is here within the article.

Other franchises, like the Islanders, have recently had the future of their franchise threatened. But the fans came together to prevent it from happening. We as Sharks fans can do the same.

Google, please come to the table with the Sharks and make an agreement that will keep them at the SAP center.

Sincerely,

Sharks fans