To read more about how the stadium came to be, read this background post.
I mentioned that I was pregnant during Stadium Tour #4, and my son was born in Fall 2015. So, for Stadium Tour #5, we had to add the new logistics of accommodating a baby and his need to eat.
I’m going to pause here to give a shout out to the Cincinnati Reds baseball team, who recognized that moms love going to baseball games, and built the Pampers Nursing Suite. I attended a Reds vs Brewers game on my first Mother’s Day, and I cannot express how liberating it was to have a place where I could pump and store milk, feed my son, change his diaper in a comfortable and clean environment, and rock him to sleep, while still being able to cheer on my favorite baseball team.
That being said, not all sports franchises are so accommodating, nor did I necessarily want to bring my son to a soccer or baseball game on the stadium tour. So, we opted to postpone the stadium tour until September when it would be a little easier with a feeding schedule to fly, as well as be away from my kid and/or a pump for four or more hours. Just like a tour in the beginning of the season, a tour at the end of the season also meant taking weather into consideration, and we started looking West again. Ultimately, we decided to see the San Jose Earthquakes in their brand-new venue, Avaya Stadium.
We took an Uber to the stadium, though I think the stadium is easily accessible by public transportation. The stadium has a designated Uber lot across the street (the above picture was taken from there), making it very easy to get to the stadium as a tourist. We were told that Ubers line up in the lot after the game to reserve, but we walked to the In-N-Out Burger next door after the game. (Sis and BIL had never had In-N-Out Burger, and I wasn’t going to let them leave California without having it.)
Avaya Stadium was amazing – the most beautiful stadium we have seen as part of the Stadium Tour this far. The stadium had only been open for less than two years when we saw it, so it did not have the usual wear and tear of a stadium that had seen several seasons of fans attending games. But it wasn’t just the new-stadium cleanliness that made the stadium so appealing. Every detail of the fan-experience seemed to have been accounted for in the design and execution of the stadium.
The stadium is has horseshoe-shaped seating, with the open end hosting the “largest bar in North America,” that has over 100 beers on tap. There is seating at the bar, which is a rectangle with televisions overhead and service on all sides of the bar, but there are also bar stools and rails facing the pitch so that fans can watch the game, combining the in-person fan experience with the camaraderie of watching the match with your friends at a pub.
Behind the bar is a large, grassy area called the 7Up Epicenter Fan Zone that hosts interactive fan activities and games, but more importantly food trucks! Lots and lots of food trucks! I think there were ten food trucks at the game we attended, with everything from ice cream to tacos to Asian fusion. Depending on the truck, some of the lines were pretty long but I didn’t miss any of the game because of the gigantic scoreboard and multiple screens around the bar. I also charged my phone while I was waiting because they have charging kiosks in the Fan Zone too!
The one downside of the stadium is the steepness of the stairs. Our seats were four rows from the top, and it felt like climbing Mount Everest to get up to the seats. However, all the seats are close to the pitch so even from our nosebleed seats I felt like I was hovering over the field. And, much like Seattle, the overhang on the roof reverberates the sound creating a very loud, raucous atmosphere.
San Jose has an awesome stadium to visit, and I highly recommend catching a game there. Get there early so you can get a seat at the bar stools to watch the game, grab some grub from the food truck, and enjoy a cold craft beer while watching some soccer!
