CEFCU Stadium
CEFCU ('sef-kyü) Stadium, formerly known as Spartan Stadium, is an outdoor athletic stadium on the west coast of the United States, located in the Spartan Keyes neighborhood of central San Jose, California. Owned by San José State University, the venue is the longtime home of Spartan football; it also hosts the university's commencement ceremony on Memorial Day weekend, and occasional high school football games. Known as Spartan Stadium for over eight decades, it was renamed in 2016.
View from northwest in 2007 | |
San Jose Location in the United States San Jose Location in California | |
| Former names | Spartan Stadium (1933–2015) |
|---|---|
| Address | 1257 S. 10th Street |
| Location | San Jose, California, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 37°19′11″N 121°52′6″W |
| Public transit | Tamien |
| Owner | San Jose State University |
| Operator | San Jose State University |
| Capacity | 21,520 (2019–present) 30,456 (1998–2018) 31,218 (1985–1997) 18,155 (1948–1984) 11,000 (1937–1947) 8,500 (1936) 4,000 (1933–1935) |
| Surface | AstroTurf (2017–present) FieldTurf (2009–2017) Natural grass (1933–2008) |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1933 |
| Opened | 1933 |
| Expanded | 1936–1937, 1948, 1985 |
| Construction cost | US $2.25 million (1985 expansion) |
| Tenants | |
| San Jose State Spartans (NCAA) (1933–present) San Jose Earthquakes (NASL/WSA) (1974–1988) San Francisco Bay Blackhawks/San Jose Hawks (WSA/APSL/USISL) (1989–1993) San Jose Clash/Earthquakes (MLS) (1996–2005) Bay Area/San Jose CyberRays (WUSA) (2001–2003) Silicon Valley Football Classic (NCAA) (2000–2004) San Francisco Dragons (MLL) (2008) California Redwoods (UFL) (2009) | |
CEFCU Stadium was the home of the San Jose Earthquakes (originally San Jose Clash) of Major League Soccer from the league's inception in 1996 through the 2005 season. Other tenants have included the original San Jose Earthquakes of the North American Soccer League from 1974 to 1984, the San Jose CyberRays of the Women's United Soccer Association from 2001 to 2003, and the San Francisco Dragons of Major League Lacrosse in 2008. Soccer Bowl '75 was also held at CEFCU.
During the winter and spring of 2009, the stadium's natural grass playing field was removed and replaced with FieldTurf, a new generation of artificial turf with a crumb rubber and sand infill. This improvement resulted in significant savings to the university in water use, fertilizer, seed and labor. The FieldTurf playing surface was later replaced with AstroTurf Rhino Blend in 2017. The playing field is aligned north-northwest to south-southeast, at an approximate elevation of 100 feet (30 m) above sea level.
The stadium also received significant upgrades to the scoreboard and sound system in 2011 and 2020. This included installation of an HD video screen by Daktronics at the south end of the stadium in 2011, and a new, much larger video board at the north end in 2020.