PayPal Park

About PayPal Park

PayPal Park occupies a stretch of Coleman Avenue in San Jose, wedged between downtown and the runways of Mineta San Jose International Airport, close enough that planes pass overhead during matches, a quirk that’s become part of the venue’s character. With 18,000 seats, it’s one of the smaller stadiums in MLS, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in atmosphere and design ingenuity.

The San Jose Earthquakes and Bay FC of the NWSL share the venue. 360 Architecture (now part of HOK) designed the roughly $100 million stadium, which was privately financed by the Earthquakes, a rarity in American professional sports. The club broke ground on October 21, 2012, in Guinness World Record fashion: 6,256 people swung shovels simultaneously, the largest groundbreaking ceremony in history.

The signature feature is the Epicenter, a two-acre fan zone behind the northeast goal that houses what the club calls the largest outdoor bar in North America, set beneath a double-sided video scoreboard. It doubles as a supporters’ terrace and social hub, blending the European standing-section tradition with Silicon Valley’s outdoor culture. The bowl rakes steeply upward, among the steepest in MLS, creating a wall of noise that makes the compact venue feel much larger than its capacity suggests.

The pitch uses SISGrass hybrid technology, natural grass reinforced with synthetic fibers injected into the root zone, providing durability and consistency while maintaining the feel of real turf. The stadium’s selection as a 2028 Los Angeles Olympics soccer venue confirms its quality for international competition, and Bay FC’s arrival in 2024 as the NWSL’s Bay Area expansion club ensures the venue now hosts top-flight women’s and men’s professional soccer year-round.

San Jose’s climate is a major asset. With over 300 days of sunshine per year and minimal rainfall during the MLS season, the stadium operates comfortably as an open-air venue. Evening matches benefit from San Jose’s signature cool breezes that drop temperatures into the low 60s°F, making for ideal conditions. The proximity to SJC airport, just 3 km away, means planes descend low overhead on approach, a quirk that’s become part of the venue’s charm rather than a nuisance. Fans have been known to track flight paths during lulls in play.

Getting to PayPal Park

Public Transit

PayPal Park has excellent transit access for the Bay Area.

VTA bus routes 10 and 60 also serve Coleman Avenue with stops near the stadium entrance.

Driving + Parking

GPS address: 1123 Coleman Ave, San Jose, CA 95110.

On-site parking ranges from $20-40 on match days. Lot 1 is closest to the main gate. Advance online purchase through the Earthquakes or Bay FC websites is recommended. Street parking fills quickly in the surrounding neighborhood.

Rideshare

Uber and Lyft operate throughout the South Bay. Drop-off at the Coleman Avenue entrance. From downtown San Jose, expect $10-15; from San Francisco about $50-70. Post-match surge is moderate, the VTA Light Rail is a better bet for the return trip.

From the Airport

Construction & Design

360 Architecture, the Kansas City sports practice later absorbed into the global firm HOK, designed PayPal Park, with structural engineering by Magnusson Klemencic Associates and Devcon Construction as general contractor. The result is a compact, European-influenced horseshoe bowl of about 18,000 seats built for atmosphere over scale, wrapped by a partial canopy that shelters the stands while leaving the pitch open. It has some of the steepest-raked seating in Major League Soccer, a deliberate choice to pull spectators close to the field and channel crowd noise back onto it, with suites and club seats set unusually at field level rather than in an elevated ring. The seating bowl uses a steel frame with aluminum decking. Ground was broken on October 21, 2012, in a Guinness-record ceremony of 6,256 people, on a former industrial parcel immediately west of Mineta San Jose International Airport.

Behind the northeast goal sits the two-acre Epicenter fan zone, home to what the club and several outlets call the largest outdoor bar in North America, set beneath a double-sided video scoreboard so the social hub stays tied to the match. Terraced general-admission supporters’ sections sit behind both goals, home to the San Jose Ultras and the Seismic Union. The three-acre playing field, designed and built by Verde Design, was planted with a hybrid Bermuda grass chosen for drought and shade tolerance and precisely leveled in both directions; the surface is now a SISGrass hybrid, natural turf reinforced with stitched synthetic fibers.

The project’s defining fact is financial. The roughly $100 million cost was financed entirely by owners Lew Wolff and John Fisher with no public money from the City of San Jose, a rarity among major American sports venues. Sustainability measures include 882 solar panels over the VIP parking area, roughly 90 percent recycled steel in the structure, drought-tolerant landscaping, and reclaimed redwood salvaged from Moffett Field’s historic Hangar One used to panel the press box.

History of PayPal Park

The San Jose Earthquakes spent decades as nomads. After joining MLS in 1996, the club played at Spartan Stadium (San Jose State) before relocating to Houston in 2006, restarting as an expansion team in 2008, and bouncing to Buck Shaw Stadium at Santa Clara University. The quest for a permanent home was the franchise’s defining saga for nearly two decades.

The Coleman Avenue site, a former industrial lot near the airport, emerged as the chosen location in 2012 after years of failed proposals in downtown San Jose, Santa Clara, and Fremont. Unlike most MLS stadiums, the Earthquakes financed the roughly $100 million project privately, without major public subsidies, a bold bet by owner Lew Wolff that reflected both Silicon Valley’s wealth and the difficulty of securing public funding in the Bay Area. 360 Architecture (now part of HOK) designed the venue with an emphasis on atmosphere over capacity, and the Guinness-record groundbreaking on October 21, 2012, signaled the start of construction.

Key moments in the stadium’s history:

• October 21, 2012: Guinness World Record groundbreaking, 6,256 people break ground simultaneously.
• February 28, 2015: Stadium opens as Avaya Stadium with a preseason match. The first MLS game follows on March 22, 2015, Earthquakes defeat Chicago Fire 2-1.
• 2020: Renamed Earthquakes Stadium after Avaya’s bankruptcy.
• 2021: PayPal acquires naming rights, becoming the stadium’s current identity.
• 2024: Bay FC (NWSL) begins play as the venue’s second primary tenant.
• 2028 (upcoming): Designated venue for Olympic soccer at the LA 2028 Summer Games.

The stadium’s proximity to the airport means planes descend low overhead during evening matches, a feature fans have embraced rather than complained about. Combined with the Epicenter bar, the Silicon Valley setting, and the arrival of Bay FC, PayPal Park has evolved from a long-awaited home into a genuine Bay Area destination for professional soccer. After two decades of wandering, the Earthquakes finally have a place that feels permanent, and with the 2028 Olympics on the horizon, the best is yet to come.

Sources & Further Reading

• Wikipedia entry on PayPal Park: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PayPal_Park. Capacity, dates, cost, the naming history, architect, and features.
• San Jose Earthquakes official PayPal Park page: sjearthquakes.com. The Epicenter, the Scoreboard Bar, and fan amenities.
• MLSsoccer.com, “What will $100 million buy you?”: mlssoccer.com. The cost, the steel tonnage, and the design.
• Verde Design, Avaya Stadium playing field: verdedesigninc.com. The field designer on the hybrid grass and leveling.