MLS commissioner Don Garber anounnced the move which also gives the MLS three teams in California, joining the Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA, both based at the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles.
Lew Wolff and John Fisher will lead the ownership group of the Earthquakes, who had left San Jose in 2005 to become the Houston Dynamo. The pair are also the principle owners of Major League Baseball’s Oakland Athletics.
"While we are thrilled to bring Earthquakes soccer back to the Bay Area, we want to make one thing very clear: this is the dawn of a new era for professional soccer in San Jose," Wolff said.
"We join MLS at a very exciting juncture in the league's - and the sport's - history in the United States," he said. "With the development of new soccer-specific stadiums, expanded national television exposure and increased fan and corporate sponsor support, coupled with this area's cultural diversity and long-standing interest in soccer, we expect a very bright future for this team."
