‘Wondo’ could get some street cred from city
SAN JOSE >> “Wondo Way” sounds just right.
The Earthquakes have filed a permit request with the city of San Jose to change the name of the side street near their stadium in a tribute to the team’s greatest player, Chris Wondolowski.
The striker who fans and teammates affectionately call “Wondo” said he is playing in his final season, which opened Saturday at home against Toronto FC.
According to the permit filed Tuesday by Chris Gennuso, The Earthquakes’ vice president, the street would change from Champion Drive to Wondo Way. The dirt street divides the Quakes’ practice field with a parking lot for Coleman Highline mixed-use complex, where streaming giant Roku is headquartered. Plans call for the street to eventually be paved and extend to Brokaw Road.
Wondolowski’s father, John Wondolowski, said that he was overwhelmed by the gesture.
“When he was drafted it was a surprising and amazing day with nothing but the unknown” and concern “that it would end in some kind of heartache,” John Wondolowski said. “It wasn’t going to last. He could not have found a better place to spend the last 15 years.”
Chris Wondolowski and team officials could not be reached for comment.
Wondolowski, 37, is Major League Soccer’s alltime leading scorer with 155 goals. He broke Landon Donovan’s record in May with a four-goal game against the Chicago Fire.
The permit lists the project status as “under review.” It took the team months to rename a nearby side street “Earthquake Way” when the stadium opened in 2015.