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CEFCU Stadium

Coordinates: 37°19′11″N 121°52′6″W / 37.31972°N 121.86833°W / 37.31972; -121.86833
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CEFCU Stadium
Aerial View
Map
San Jose is located in the United States
San Jose
San Jose
Location in the United States
San Jose is located in California
San Jose
San Jose
Location in California
Former namesSpartan Stadium
(1933–2015)
Address1257 S. 10th Street
LocationSan Jose, California, U.S.
Coordinates37°19′11″N 121°52′6″W / 37.31972°N 121.86833°W / 37.31972; -121.86833
Public transitSanta Clara Valley Transportation Authority Caltrain Tamien
OwnerSan Jose State University
OperatorSan Jose State University
Capacity18,203 (2021-present)
21,530 (2019–2020)
30,456 (1998–2018)
31,218 (1985–1997)
18,155 (1948–1984)
11,000 (1937–1947)
  8,500 (1936)
  4,000 (1933–1935)
SurfaceAstroTurf (2017–present)
FieldTurf (2009–2017)
Natural grass (1933–2008)
Construction
Broke ground1933
Opened1933; 91 years ago (1933)
Expanded1936–1937, 1948, 1985
Construction costUS $2.25 million (1985 expansion)[1]
Tenants
San Jose State Spartans (NCAA) (1933–present)
San Jose Earthquakes (NASL/WSA)
(1974–1988)
San Francisco Bay Blackhawks/San Jose Hawks (WSA/APSL/USISL) (1989–1993)
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)
California Redwoods (UFL) (2009)

CEFCU ('sef-kyü) Stadium, formerly known as Spartan Stadium, is an outdoor athletic stadium on the west coast of the United States, located in the Spartan Keyes neighborhood of central San Jose, California. Owned by San José State University, the venue is the longtime home of Spartan football; it also hosts the university's commencement ceremony on Memorial Day weekend, and occasional high school football games.[2] Known as Spartan Stadium for over eight decades, it was renamed in 2016.

CEFCU Stadium was the home of the San Jose Earthquakes (originally San Jose Clash) of Major League Soccer from the league's inception in 1996 through the 2005 season. Other tenants have included the original San Jose Earthquakes of the North American Soccer League from 1974 to 1984, the San Jose CyberRays of the Women's United Soccer Association from 2001 to 2003, and the San Francisco Dragons of Major League Lacrosse in 2008. Soccer Bowl '75 was also held at CEFCU.

During the winter and spring of 2009, the stadium's natural grass playing field was removed and replaced with FieldTurf, a new generation of artificial turf with a crumb rubber and sand infill.[3] This improvement resulted in significant savings to the university in water use, fertilizer, seed and labor. The FieldTurf playing surface was later replaced with AstroTurf Rhino Blend in 2017.[4] The playing field is aligned north-northwest to south-southeast, at an approximate elevation of 100 feet (30 m) above sea level.

The stadium also received significant upgrades to the scoreboard and sound system in 2011 and 2020.[5] This included installation of an HD video screen by Daktronics at the south end of the stadium in 2011, and a new, much larger video board at the north end in 2020.[6][7]

Stadium history

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Spartan Stadium, 1950s

CEFCU stadium officially opened in 1933 as a 4,000-seat facility. The stadium featured large berms on the east, west, north and south sides of the field, which gave the stadium a "sunken bowl" appearance. The stadium's seating capacity was increased to 8,500 in 1936, and later expanded incrementally to a total seating capacity of just over 18,000 by 1948. The most recent additions came in the 1980s when the capacity of the stadium was expanded from approximately 18,000 to just over 31,000 by adding end zone bleachers, an upper deck and boxes on the west side.

In 1998, the field was widened and other renovations were carried out for the San Jose Earthquakes soccer team in accordance with official FIFA regulations.[8] As a result of these renovations, parts of the stands closest to the playing field were removed, thus lowering available seating for all sports to 30,456.

On January 13, 2007, the San Jose Mercury News reported that the city of San Jose, San Jose State University and the San Jose Earthquakes owners were in negotiations to demolish Spartan Stadium and build a new stadium just to the east. The new facility, to have 22,000 permanent seats but be expandable to a capacity of 30,000 for single games, would have been privately built by Lewis Wolff and John Fisher, the primary owners of the Earthquakes, with San Jose State providing the needed land. Additionally, the team and the university would build community soccer fields across Senter Road in Kelley Park using San Jose municipal bond money that had been approved years earlier for the purpose but never spent. The plan was for the new version of the San Jose Earthquakes to play in Spartan Stadium during the 2008 MLS season, then move into the new stadium in 2009. Plans for the stadium collapsed on April 19, 2007 after the Earthquakes and SJSU could not come to an agreement on revenue sharing.[9]

Seating capacity remained at 30,456 until 2019, when it was temporarily reduced to 21,520 as part of a massive east-side stadium renovation project that included construction of the $70 million Spartan Athletic Center.

In August 2016, Citizens Equity First Credit Union purchased sole naming rights to Spartan Stadium for $8.7 million. The deal between CEFCU and San José State University will last for 15 years. SJSU was the first university in the California State University system and second university in the state of California to strike such a deal.[10] The CEFCU sponsorship deal marked the third such arrangement among the 12 Mountain West Conference football members.[11] The $8.7 million payout will primarily be used for athletic scholarships, athletics operations, and athletics facilities.[12]

Spartan Athletics Center and East-side Renovations

[edit]

A CEFCU Stadium east-side building addition was completed in August 2023 at an approximate cost of $70 million.[13] Known as the Spartan Athletics Center, the 55,000 square-foot, multi-story facility houses a new football operations center, locker rooms, offices, meeting and training rooms and a sports medicine center.[14] The facility also includes soccer team offices and locker rooms, as well as dining and hospitality facilities, event spaces and premium viewing areas.[15]

The east-side stadium renovation has temporarily reduced seating capacity at CEFCU Stadium from just over 30,000 to 21,520.[16] Approximately 9,000 seats were removed from the stadium in 2019 to make way for the new building. This includes virtually all of the east-side stadium seating and some of the north end zone bleachers. The north end zone bleachers were removed to make way for construction of a new state-of-the-art video scoreboard and outdoor bar and lounge area. The new scoreboard was completed in 2020.

As of 2023, a second phase of the east-side building and renovation project remains in the planning stages. The second phase is aimed at replacing spectator seating that was removed to make way for the SAC.

Other uses

[edit]

The now defunct NCAA Silicon Valley Football Classic bowl game was held at CEFCU Stadium from 2000 to 2004.

CEFCU Stadium has hosted numerous FIFA events. Most notably the stadium was used as one of the venues for the 1999 Women's World Cup. Additionally in 1999, the stadium was the host site of the 1999 NCAA Women's College Cup.

The stadium previously hosted commencement ceremonies of San José State University every spring, as well as musical concerts throughout the year.

International soccer matches

[edit]
Date Competition Team Res Team Crowd
14 Feb 1986 International Friendly  Mexico 1–2  East Germany 6,000
16 May 1998 International Friendly  United States 0–0  North Macedonia 23,861
6 Nov 1998 International Friendly  United States 0–0  Australia 15,074
27 Sep 2000 International Friendly  Mexico 1–0  Bolivia 30,154
2 Jun 2007 International Friendly  United States 4–1  China 20,821

1999 FIFA Women's World Cup

[edit]
Date Competition Team Res Team Crowd
19 Jun 1999 Group C  Japan 1–1  Canada 23,298
19 Jun 1999 Group D  Sweden 1–2  China 23,298
30 Jun 1999 Quarterfinals  China 2–0  Russia 21,411
30 Jun 1999 Quarterfinals  Norway 3–1  Sweden 21,411
[edit]
  • Spartan Stadium, San Jose, California — 1933
    Spartan Stadium, San Jose, California — 1933
  • Proposed Expansion — 1960s
    Proposed Expansion — 1960s
  • Spartan Stadium – San Jose State vs. Boise State — 2008
    Spartan Stadium – San Jose State vs. Boise State — 2008
  • Spartan Stadium – Aerial view at night — 2008
    Spartan Stadium – Aerial view at night — 2008
  • First season using new "FieldTurf" playing surface, San Jose State vs. Utah – 2009
    First season using new "FieldTurf" playing surface, San Jose State vs. Utah – 2009
  • The Spartan Stadium field in 2015
    The Spartan Stadium field in 2015
  • Aerial view from the southwest, 2017
    Aerial view from the southwest, 2017

Nearby venues

[edit]

CEFCU Stadium is only one block from several local professional sports teams and arenas, including:

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ Herb Muktarian (September 6, 1985). "Project's 3-year history outlined". SJSU ScholarWorks. Spartan Daily. p. 3. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  2. ^ "Campus Grounds: South Campus". SJSU Athletics. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  3. ^ "Spartan Stadium Field Turf Project Underway". SJSU Spartans. San Jose State University. January 11, 2009. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  4. ^ "San José State University Football Upgrades to AstroTurf". astroturf.com. AstroTurf. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  5. ^ "SJSU in the News: Spartan Stadium Upgrades Scoreboards, Sound System | SJSU News". Blogs.sjsu.edu. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  6. ^ "25 New College Football Systems". Daktronics.com. Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  7. ^ "Spartans Upgrade CEFCU Stadium With State-of-the-Art Scoreboard". SJSU. Archived from the original on August 25, 2022. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  8. ^ "MLS: Three Clash Home Games accionvegana to Stanford Stadium". Soccer America. February 24, 1998. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  9. ^ Barry Witt and Jon Wilner (April 20, 2007). "SJSU stadium deal collapses". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved June 12, 2007.
  10. ^ Wittry, Andy (August 15, 2019). "Is Your School Receiving Top Money for Its Football Stadium Naming Rights?". Watch Stadium. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  11. ^ Lyell, Kelly (April 19, 2018). "CSU's on-campus stadium naming rights sell for $37.7 million". Coloradoan. Fort Collins, CO. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  12. ^ "SJSU & CEFCU Announcement Enhanced long-term Partnership Agreement for Spartan Stadium". Archived from the original on September 4, 2018. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  13. ^ Kevin Nguyen (August 11, 2023). "Why SJSU's new $70M Spartan Athletics Center is a 'big deal'". Silicon Valley Business Journal. The Business Journals. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  14. ^ Avalos, George (August 13, 2023). "University Adds $70M Athletics Complex". The Mercury News (San Jose, CA). pp. B1.
  15. ^ "Spartan Athletics Center". San Jose State University. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
  16. ^ "New look for San Jose State's football stadium". The Mercury News. September 5, 2019. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to CEFCU Stadium.
Preceded by
first stadium
 Home of the
San Jose Earthquakes
1996–2005 		Succeeded by
Buck Shaw Stadium
2008–2014
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum (big game venue)
2008–2009
Preceded by Host of the College Cup
1969 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Host of the Women's College Cup
1999–2000 		Succeeded by
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