Spartan Stadium (San Jose)
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| Spartan Stadium | |
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| Location | 1257 S 10th St San José, CA 95112 |
| Broke ground | 1933 |
| Opened | 1933 |
| Owner | San José State University |
| Operator | San José State University |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction cost | $1.5 million USD (expansion) |
| Tenants | SJSU Spartans (WAC) (1933-present) San Jose Earthquakes (NASL) (1974-1984) San Jose Clash/Earthquakes (MLS) (1996-2005) Bay Area/San Jose CyberRays (WUSA) (2001-2003) Silicon Valley Football Classic (NCAA) (2000-2004) San Francisco Dragons (MLL) (2008-present) |
| Capacity | 30,578 (Football & Soccer) |
Spartan Stadium, located in San Jose, California, is the football stadium of the San José State University Spartans. It is currently the home of the Spartan football and soccer teams. Spartan Stadium was the home of the San Jose Earthquakes (originally San José Clash) of Major League Soccer from the league's inception in 1996 through the 2005 season. Past tenants have included the old San Jose Earthquakes of the North American Soccer League from 1974 to 1984, and the San Jose CyberRays of the Women's United Soccer Association from 2001 to 2003. It is now also the home stadium of the Major League Lacrosse team, the San Francisco Dragons.
On January 12, 2007, it was announced that Oakland Athletics owner Lewis Wolff had a tentative proposal that would build a new football/soccer stadium just east of Spartan Stadium, which would serve as a replacement to Spartan Stadium as well and housing an expansion MLS club. The Stadium was tentatively scheduled to open in 2009, and calls for the current stadium to be replaced by a parking garage. [1] The deal however fell through in April and plans were scrapped for a full replacement. However, SJSU may be considering upgrades to the 80+ year old structure.
Beginning with the 2007 football season, a temporary jumbotron screen will be placed in the northeast corner of the stadium.
[edit] Stadium history
Originally built in 1933 as a 4,000-seat facility, it has been renovated and expanded over the years to its present 31,000 seat capacity, with private boxes and upper seating areas for additional fans. The most recent additions came in the late 1980s with the capacity of the stadium increased from 18,000 to its present capacity of 30,578. For MLS games however capacity is limited to 26,525.
Around 2004 the stadium had come under criticism from the Earthquakes management. The field is narrow by soccer standards - 70 yds (64 m) wide - , since it was designed for NCAA football. In addition the stadium's eastern bleachers are still made partly of wood and the stadium has no jumbotron style video boards. The team had expressed interest in a new soccer-specific stadium in San José or elsewhere.
Spartan Stadium has played host to numerous FIFA events. Most notably the stadium was used as one of the venues for the 1999 Women's World Cup.
The stadium also hosts the commencement ceremonies of San José State University every spring. In addition several concerts have been played in the stadium over the years. Spartan Stadium is only 1 block from San Jose Municipal Stadium, home of the San Jose Giants, the High A minor league baseball affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. This year it will host the NCJLA championshups for lacrosse.
The defunct NCAA football Silicon Valley Football Classic was held there from 2000 to 2004.
[edit] External links
- SJSU Spartans.com - official athletics site
- Terraserver.microsoft.com - aerial photo (1998) - Spartan Stadium
| Preceded by first stadium |
Home of the San Jose Earthquakes 1996 – 2005 |
Succeeded by Buck Shaw Stadium & McAfee Coliseum |
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