The San Jose Earthquakes are a little more than six weeks away from playing their first MLS match in their new home, Avaya Stadium. Obviously that depends if the season starts on time. The Earthquakes recently confirmed that they have over 11,000 fans that have purchased season tickets for the 2015 MLS regular season.
Their former home, Buck Shaw Stadium, only held 10,525. That leaves fewer than 1,000 season tickets left of the 12,000 season ticket cap. The stadium's capacity is set at only 18,000 and so far they have almost every regular season game sold out to this point, which includes their season opener on March 22 against the Chicago Fire.
"It shows what kind of success we can have here," team president Dave Kaval said. "There has been a challenging history of soccer in the Bay Area. To see this level of support has been impressive."
With only than a 1,000 tickets left, the Earthquakes have decided to raise season ticket prices by 10 percent starting on Feb. 23. The price increase will not affect the Supporters’ sections. Those sections will maintain the current price of $300 for the 20-game package. Once the Earthquakes reach 12,000 season ticket holders, they will create a waiting list similar to what the Portland Timbers have done. Avaya Stadium will have a soft launch Feb. 28 in an exhibition against the Los Angeles Galaxy. Tickets have been limited to 10,000 for the friendly and are a hot commodity among the Earthquake faithful.
The European-inspired building is the first cloud-enabled venue in MLS and will be among the most technologically advanced stadiums in the world. The stadium features a canopy roof and the steepest-raked seating in the league to provide the best possible fan experience. Additionally, the north end zone houses the largest outdoor bar in North America, a two-acre fan zone and a double-sided video scoreboard. The suites and club seats are located at field level, giving fans a premium experience unlike any other in professional sports.