Avaya Stadium preview

Ryan Vermont

Avaya Stadium, which opened March 22, is a state of the art facility that provides a much needed soccer-specific home for the Major League Soccer team the San Jose Earthquakes across from San Jose International Airport.

Avaya is unlike most stadiums in North America because it is similar to a European venue where it is open.

The stadium features its own app that allows fans to order food and drinks from the comfort of their seat, which makes it the first cloud enabled venue in Major League Soccer.

The best way to visualize the stadium is to picture a giant “U.” People enter through the top left or right sides of the “U” and make their way into the arena from there.

Walking into the stadium, the first thing that is impossible to miss is the giant video scoreboard. A huge screen towers over the stadium which shows close-up footage of the action and keeps the crowd entertained during breaks.

Directly underneath the scoreboard is the massive outdoor bar lined along the opening side of the “U.” The stadium claims that it is the largest outdoor bar in North America.

Because the scoreboard is double sided, fans can enjoy the state-of-the-art bar as well as stay updated with the game.

At most sporting events, this area will be packed; however because of the sheer size of the bar, the wait was not long.

Behind the bar area stirs a line of various food trucks which serve a wide variety of food, including Hawaiian BBQ, pizza, Chinese food, frozen yogurt and beer.

On the way to your seats, there are concession stands, games and more beer vendors in case the outdoor bar wasn’t enough.
Steep seating was a priority so that people had a better view of the game. No matter where someone is sitting, there is a decent view of the game.

Avaya Stadium is in the process of expanding events that may be held in the stadium which started with the United States
Women’s National Soccer Team on May 10. The game concluded with the U.S. showing a strong performance beating Ireland 3-0.