Panthers plan to work with South Valley youth in schools, sports teams and Boys and Girls Club

Photo by Marty Cheek From left, dance team members Michelle and Lindsay, Dixie Wooten (offensive coordinator), Darren Arbet (head coach), Rob Keefe (assistant head coach and defensive coordinator) and dance team members Nicolle and Alejandra.

By Marty Cheek

South Valley residents occasionally see a wildcat in the region. Next spring it might be an everyday  occurrence — if the Bay Area Panthers move to Morgan Hill.

An aerial view of the Outdoor Sports Center where the Bay Area Panthers plan to practice for their Indoor Football League games. Photo courtesy Morgan Hill Outdoor Sports Center LLC

Representatives with the professional Indoor Football League team are now finalizing the details in negotiations for players and coaches to use the city’s Outdoor Sports Center as a practice field. The team will also move its headquarters from Livermore to Morgan Hill and players will live in rented apartments for up to six months during the football season. They will use local facilities including the gym at the Centennial Recreation Center for their physical conditioning.

The Panthers’ new head coach Darren Arbet announced the hopes of the team moving its operations to Morgan Hill at a fan appreciation event held Nov. 16 in the lounge area of the SAP Center, the stadium where the Panthers play.

“We needed each other,” he said of the emerging partnership with Morgan Hill. “They wanted a sports team. We needed a community that was going to embrace us.”

The Panthers’ plan to build a cooperative relationship with residents “is a critical part of the deal,” he said. This involves football players serving as mentors to young people in schools, the Morgan Hill Raiders youth football team, and the El Toro Boys and Girls Club.

“We’re just excited about the community and helping young kids, encouraging families to come to our games,” he said. “We want Morgan Hill (residents) to be able to come to these games, whether they can afford it or not.”

The process to move to Morgan Hill began Sept. 20 when Arbet rang up Jeff Dixon, president of the Morgan Hill Youth Sports Alliance and 2022 Chamber of Commerce Man of Year. They talked about the potential of using the OSC for the Panthers’ practice site. The coach used to live in San Martin and so is familiar with the state-of-the-art facility on Condit Road.

The Bay Area Panthers dance team. Photo courtesy Bay Area Panthers

Dixon set up a meeting with team representatives and various city staff including Brittney Sherman (Economic Development Coordinator), Chris Ghione (Public Services Director), Jenny Tucker (Aquatics Center Recreation Manager), Krista Rupp, executive director of Visit Morgan Hill, and the Morgan  Hill Outdoor Sports Center’s concessionaire.  Within a month of talks, the Panthers saw the desire for collaboration by the community and decided to make Morgan Hill their new home base, Arbet said. (As of Nov. 23, the final contracts have not been officially signed but both parties expect to do so soon.)

The Bay Area Panthers team is co-owned by NFL All-Pro running back, Marshawn Lynch, and Roy Choi, who also owns the IFL’s Cedar Rapids River Kings and San Diego Strike Force. Choi said he was pleased by the ease and speed in the negotiations with the city of Morgan Hill. He sees the relationship growing with the rest of the community.

“There’s a positive sense of partnership,” he said. “It’s one thing when it feels very transactional. This did not feel transactional. They really want to welcome us. They really want us to be a part of the community, and I felt it.”

After visiting Morgan Hill three times to see the OSC and learn about the community, Panthers offensive coordinator Dixie Wooten said he sees the city as “a perfect fit” for the team. The city plans to install buildings on the center so the players can have locker rooms and planning sessions.

“The conditions of the fields are great,” he said. “(We’re) just being outside on turf, so the guys don’t have to play in the grass and the mud and anything like that.”

Wooton sees the athletes growing connected with the South Valley community as they participate in festivals and other events as an important component of the relationship. Residents will be welcomed to watch the players practice and get to know them, he said.

“I think Morgan Hill was the best place for the team,” he said. “We’re going to have a great fan base. We’re going to have a great community for us to call home . . . We want to appreciate Morgan Hill and show them every day we want to be in the schools — from the little schools to the high schools. We want to talk to all the players in the Little League sports. We want to make sure that Morgan Hill sees us every day.”

A team goal is to have the Panthers players working with children and teens — including in the South Valley Flag Football youth league — and  encouraging them to live solid lives, said Rob Keefe, assistant head coach and defensive coordinator.

“We want to help kids and be positive influences on them and really get them to games,” he said. “We want to show them what they can be if they really work hard and stick to the books and stay in school and do all the right things that are necessary for success.”

The character of the Morgan Hill people was an important selling point for the Panthers to decide to come to the city, he said.

“First and foremost, when you start an organization and you want to get ingrained in the community, you want a good base to support the team,” he said. “Seeing the people of Morgan Hill, seeing what they’re going to mean to us, I think it’s a perfect fit for everyone.”

Among the people he credited is Jeff Dixon.

“Jeff’s a great representative of the people who are in Morgan Hill, and that’s exactly the community we want to be a part of,” he said.

Morgan Hill resident and Panthers fan Douglas Kirk attended the announcement and said he and his wife are pleased the team could move into South Valley because they will add to the region’s sports culture. Gilroy is now in negotiations with the San Jose Sharks to build an ice rink at its Sports Park.

“We really love this town and we love all the genuine people in it,” he said. “And to see the team come down there and (practice), it’s really cool for the people of the city. The after-school things the players can do with kids, those guys can do nothing but help our community.”

Kirk vows he’ll ride his Harley motorcycle to the OSC to attend the practice sessions.

“I guarantee you I’ll be there a lot, rooting the coaches on, rooting the players on — and how much fun is that!” he said. “ Man, this is as much fun as watching the actual games.”

With an eye for sports-based media news bringing public attention to Morgan Hill, Krista Rupp believes the football team’s move to the city will enhance the region’s tourism economy.

“Having the Panthers here and having their practice location here is really going to distinguish Morgan Hill as a regional sports tourism destination,” she said. “We’ll be showcased across the Bay Area. Think about the other cities that have teams that are playing the Panthers. We’ll get exposure there as well.”

Once the contracts are signed and the deal is done, Dixon sees the Panthers making their new home in Morgan Hill as bringing many advantages to the South Valley community.

“They are a credible, professional football organization. They want to do good things with community partners,” he said. “Our kids would benefit by working with them in a variety of different ways. Having those young men in the team in our community will be nothing but good.”