The San Jose Earthquakes new home officially has a name - and no, it's not the "epicenter of soccer".
SANTA CLARA — The San Jose Earthquakes new home officially has a name, and no, it’s not the “epicenter of soccer.”
The club announced in a press conference Wednesday morning Santa Clara-based global communications firm Avaya as official sponsor of the Earthquakes’ new 18,000 seat home, with the venue to be simply known as Avaya Stadium.
Avaya will reportedly pay $20 million for the naming rights over the next 10 years. This is an above-average figure relative to both MLS and Bay Area naming rights agreements.
According to the San Jose Mercury News, the deal is the third-most lucrative in MLS annually and the third-most lucrative amongst Bay Area professional sports teams behind only the 49ers and Levi’s ($11 million annually) and the Giants and AT&T (just over $2 million annually).
According to Earthquakes President Dave Kaval, Avaya Stadium will be the first venue in MLS to utilize cloud-based technologies to bring an interactive fan experience:
“By partnering with a leader in the technology industry, we believe that Avaya Stadium will deliver fans one of the most engaging and technologically-advanced experiences in professional sports.”
The stadium is slated to be completed by March 2015 when the MLS regular season play begins.
In other Quakes news, San Jose selected Kris Tyrpak with the ninth overall pick in the Chivas USA dispersal draft Wednesday afternoon. The 22-year-old striker made nine appearances (no starts) in his rookie campaign with Chivas in 2014, scoring one goal and tallying one assist.
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