By RYAN TOLMICH
The San Jose Earthquakes reportedly have signed a deal for their new stadium’s naming rights with a local tech giant.
The San Jose Mercury News is reporting that the Earthquakes’ new stadium, which is set to open next season, will be named Avaya Stadium after the club signed a deal with the Silicon Valley technology company with $20 million over a 10 year period. The team is expected to announce the deal on Wednesday.
“We wanted to find a company that could actually enhance the stadium; that’s why a technology company would be logical for that,” club president Dave Kaval told the Mercury News. “The cool thing for fans is it’s going to be constantly evolving.”
In addition to the naming rights, Avaya will lend a hand with the stadium’s technology, which will include the league’s first stadium cloud system and a new app.
“This is a way for us to play a bigger part in the community,” said Joe Manuele, Avaya’s vice president of cloud services. “It’s also a showcase for us so our customers can see the technology in action in a very unique environment.”
The stadium sponsorship deal comes on the heels of news that costs surrounding the Earthquakes’ new home have skyrocketed from an expected $60 million. With totals now reaching $100 million, which is roughly average for MLS teams, the Earthquakes have insisted that they will pay for the cost overruns.
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What do you think of the stadium name? Excited for the debut next season?
Share your thoughts below.
To preface, I’m going to be a 5+ year season ticket holder this year. Yes, Buck Shaw was “minor league” but a fun place to watch a match, I never had a “miserable” experience at the stadium. I have no, again no, complaints regarding the new stadium – it will be awesome. And it’s next to the airport, Santa Clara U and downtown SJ is 2 miles away. People…
When my son was still young, it was pretty miserable for him. The bench seating and close quarters meant he was knocked around a lot and never had a good view of the game. He’s 15 now so that’s no longer a problem, but the parking behind office buildings, the inconvenient concessions, a whole lot of other stuff made it pretty poor, I thought. (Loved going to Spartan, on the other hand.) I’ve been to MLS games at 9 different venues – Buck Shaw was far and away my least favorite.
the 2012 SS season almost made the whole time worth it. almost.
NOTHING..Can be as bad as Candlestick. I actually rather liked BuckShaw, in a scrappy kinda way.
That stadium was never going to cost $60 million, $100 million sounds more like it.
“It’s also a showcase for us so our customers can see the technology in action in a very unique environment.” It sounds like a genuinely mutually beneficial agreement. The Quakes get money and the added technical perks, and Avaya gets a real-life demonstration of its technology/products. Very cool. I suppose it’s not unlike StubHub buying the rights to the StubHub Center: They get the naming rights, and I buy tickets to Galaxy games on StubHub. It’s cyclical… or something.
Very much looking forward to the new stadium as watching games at Santa Clara U was a miserable experience. Now if they can just get a kit sponsor. The blank Earthquakes jersey just looks odd.
Too bad they won’t close off the end of the stadium…
Agreed, looks very 1.0.
I agree it looks bad, but I think they did it for easier concert load-ins.
I don’t know what the outdoor music venue market is like in the Bay Area, so not sure it’s worth it if they’ll only host a minimal number of concerts, but I heard that’s the reason for leaving it open.
The open end is not as bad as it seems. It looks out onto the south bay hills. During evening games, it will be a stunning view.
Is your stadium location better than a downtown stadium in San Jose.
It’s central to San Jose, Santa Clara and the rest of Silicon Valley.
Pretty sure Sporting Park has a cloud? And an app.
Regardless, good deal for the Goonies! Sporting can’t even get a stadium sponsor after the Livestrong fiasco
No, this is an actual, physical cloud around the stadium. It’s next-level sh!t.
My name is Indigo Montoya and I endorse this sponsorship.
Good news. I’ve always wondered why the Quakes had so much trouble finding a tech company to sponsor either their shirts or stadium. It’s such a no-brainer and I’ve assumed that the main reason was front office mismanagement.
They will get a bump from the new stadium, but they need to sign an impact midfielder and probably two or three other potential starters to keep interest level high. Not really a Quakes fan, but I live in NorCal so I will likely be there a lot.
Way back when, they had Yahoo emblems on their sleeves. This was pre-shirt sponsor days.
I’m with you on your second paragraph. Despite my handle. I never connected with Quakes 3.0 (if you count the NASL). I didn’t like going to Buck Shaw and won’t miss it. I’ll go to game at the new stadium because, well, going to games is what I do.
“I’ve always wondered why the Quakes had so much trouble finding a tech company to sponsor either their shirts or stadium.”
I work for a big tech company, and we’re not interested in putting our name on shirts or a stadium or for that matter buying a box. That kind of marketing may work for other companies, but it doesn’t work for us. Not the fault of the Quakes, but that’s not how we spend our $$$.
That is the most ridiculous statemnet ever. At least do some research before you make sh*t up. You just sound dumb. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sports_venues_with_sole_naming_rights
Sweet! A stadium cloud system.
Looks like that whole Qatar bid was spot on!