Showing posts with label earthquakes stadium san jose. Show all posts
Showing posts with label earthquakes stadium san jose. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Despite the name change, SVO continues to break ground with small business owners

When asked to write my first article to cover an organization AND see the insides of Avaya Stadium, I was totally stoked to do it for The San Jose Blog! Plus, getting some h'orderves and a drink doesn’t hurt either!

View of the Avaya Stadium sign welcoming SVO (Photograph by John Huân Vũ)
That opportunity came on the evening of Thursday, June 8, 2017 at a June Networking Mixer hosted by the Silicon Valley Organization (SVO). I had only heard of SVO once when Josh Santos wrote an article about its name change earlier this year. Josh stated that the removal of San Jose from its name followed “an unsettling trend preceded by The Business Journal and The Mercury News, our two top news publications.” However, like Josh Santos, we are both “not completely opposed to the idea” especially when it can “better raise our [city’s] global awareness.” Put simply, the San Jose Chamber of Commerce is now the Silicon Valley Organization.

Let’s start out with the venue. As shown on their infographic below, Avaya Stadium seats 18,000 people with free wireless internet along with indoor and outdoor patio suites. Sweet deal if you want to be involved in the game! On hand were two employees of the San Jose Earthquakes who gave us the rundown of the venue and their field known as their “sanctuary.” The highlight for me was seeing the insides of the locker room (sorry, no cameras). Inside the locker room, there are high resolution photographs depicting the evolution of the San Jose Earthquakes spanning from its infancy to their location today at Avaya Stadium. However, what amused me the most was the nicely pressed and folded uniforms, undershirts, and grey underwear briefs for every player ready to use for the next game!

Source: www.sjearthquakes.com/avayastadium
During the networking mixer, I met a lot of people whom I got to hear more about SVO, why they are part of SVO, and most importantly, how they benefited from SVO. I met a handful of first timers who were invited by other SVO members or wanted to check out if the organization is right for them. The people who impressed me were those who were part of SVO (before the name change) for 5, 10, or even 15 years. I met realtors, caterers, photographers, doctors, graphic designers, and salespeople from other sports teams, banks, and hotels. Most importantly, the people were generally friendly, open to talking about their business, with diverse backgrounds in industry, age, ethnicity, and national origin.

View from one of Avaya's patio suites (Photograph by John Huân Vũ)
They all had one thing in common: SVO opened doors for their small business. As a software engineer for a big company, listening to their stories really brought me down to how small businesses are thriving (and struggling) every day. I also realize how stupid I was for not having business cards! I met a woman who works as a caterer but attends the SVO events to network with others who might be a florist or finding a business owner that needs delicious lunches. People said that it was much better to put a face to a business name instead of reading a review online. The SVO also builds business partnerships and even friendships along the way.

When asked about the membership fees, a SVO member and sole proprietor said that, “If I can just get one referral for my business, then that just paid for itself for my annual membership.”

For future events, networking opportunities, and ribbon cutting, check out their website at www.thesvo.com.

-John Huân Vũ

Thursday, December 29, 2016

World Cup qualifying match coming to San Jose in March

On March 24th, the US Men's National Team will face off with Honduras in Avaya Stadium for a shot at the 2018 World Cup. The US lost its first two qualifying games, so it is pretty much do or die for the team. It should be a great game and it's a huge honor for San Jose to host it.

Source: SVBJ


Saturday, February 13, 2016

San Jose will host the 2016 MLS All-Star game

On July 28th, the MLS All-Stars will take on Arsenal FC at Avaya Stadium. Arsenal's draw is huge--people from around the world will be coming to see the team play. The best part is that the event will bring a whole week's worth of events that include parties at San Pedro Square to celebrate soccer and the MLS. It is expected to be a significant economic driver for San Jose.

This will be the Arsenal's first visit to play in the Bay Area. For more information hit the source link below.

Source: MLS


Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Check Out Avaya Stadium!

The new Quakes stadium is coming along quite nicely. I really like the blue pattern that they chose for the seats and of course that massive bar below the scoreboard. Oh, and the team also signed a new sponsor: BMW. The club at Avaya Stadium will be branded the BMW Club and cars from the Bay Area BMW Centers will be displayed at each MLS game. The sponsorship is worth $2 million over the next 5 years.

Check out the great photos below by Vicki Thompson. There are a bunch more at the Silicon Valley Business Journal article over here.





Friday, January 10, 2014

Another Costco Coming to South San Jose

An empty 76-acre Edenvale site near Highway 85 and Great Oaks could become the site of another Costco. This is land that used to be part of the IBM/Hitachi campus. In addition to the massive wholesaler, there would be 260,000 SQFT of new office space, ~50,000 additional SQFT of retail, and 720 housing units. The city of San Jose plans for this to eventually become and urban village connected with mass transit.

One surprising side benefit of this development project is that $10 million would go towards the new San Jose Earthquakes Stadium. The money would be used for upgrading the stadium, including an upgraded seating system and riser, and a terra-cotta finish.

Source: SVBJ

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Earthquakes Stadium Construction Photo

Check out the latest progress on the Earthquakes stadium! The cement is starting to be poured and the steel is going up on the locker room and clubhouse building. Hat tip to Joseph Meduri for sending this in.


Friday, June 28, 2013

San Jose Earthquakes' Stadium is Making Progress

With a $1.4 billion stadium rising in Santa Clara, it is easy to forget about the Earthquakes' new stadium. The total cost of this project is going to be $60 million, which is almost a rounding error compared to what the 49ers are spending (they recently announced an extra $75 million on tech upgrades alone). However, having a soccer-specific stadium for the Earthquakes will energize both the team and fans and help take the world's favorite sport to the next level in the Bay Area. Now that ground has been broken and construction is getting into full swing, I think you'll be seeing the Quakes' stadium a lot more in the news. The final product will seat 18,000 people and be home to the largest outdoor bar in North America. Frankly, I can't wait to see how this one turns out.

Source: The Merc

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Earthquakes Stadium Groundbreaking Ceremony is on October 21!

Well, it looks like there is one San Jose stadium that is in the bag. The groundbreaking ceremony for the $60M Earthquakes stadium is taking place Sunday, October 21st at 1125 Coleman Avenue. So far multiple Fortune 100 companies have shown interest in naming rights and 7UP Bottling has already become a founding partner and sponsor.

The team is even shooting for the Guiness World Record for largest groundbreaking ceremony. 4,533 people will have to dig with commemorative shovels for 2 minutes in order to break the current record which was set in India. If you want to participate in the record breaking, sign up right over here!

Source: SJBJ

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Massive New Office Project on Coleman

The big projects just keep on rolling in. Hunter/Storm LLC, the same developer behind @First, is gearing up to build out 1.5 million sqft of office space, 2 hotels, and 50,000sqft of retail along Coleman right across the street from the new Earthquakes stadium. The icing on the cake is all this is going in a location near mass transit. The Caltrain station is right around the corner and one day BART will be there as well. SJC is right across the street.

Along with the new stadium, this will indeed be a great project leading people into Downtown from Coleman. Phase one should break ground early next year and be complete by Summer 2014.

Source: SJBJ

Rendering of Hunter Storm project
SJBJ

Locator Map of Hunter Storm project
SJBJ

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

New Earthquakes Stadium Sketches

It looks like the Earthquakes filed some new sketches for their stadium with the San Jose Planning Department. It's supposed to take a year to build and be ready by 2013, so it should be breaking ground sometime in 2012. Future phases will also include retail, offices, and housing in the area near the stadium.

Thanks to the good folks at the San Jose Development News Forum for the tip. Click the image below to enlarge.


Thursday, February 11, 2010

Earthquakes Stadium Renders

I don't know about you guys, but I'm drooling over these Quakes stadium renders. My only concern is noise with the proximity of the airport and the U-shaped design. Earthquakes fans will have no choice but to be louder than the planes ;).