Stadium History
Originally built in 1933 as a 4,000-seat facility, Spartan Stadium has been renovated and expanded over the years to its present seating capacity of 30,456. The most recent additions came in the late 1980s when the capacity of the stadium was expanded from 18,000 to approximately 33,000 by adding boxes and an upper deck. In the early 2000s, renovations were carried out for the San Jose Earthquakes in order to make the field wide enough for a FIFA regulation size field. As a result of these renovations, parts of the stands closest to the playing field were removed, thus lowering available seating for all sports to the stadium's present capacity of 30,456. The maximum capacity for MLS games is 26,525.
Spartan Stadium has hosted numerous FIFA events. Most notably the stadium was used as one of the venues for the 1999 Women's World Cup.
The stadium also hosts the commencement ceremonies of San José State University every spring, as well as musical concerts throughout the year. Spartan Stadium is only one block from San Jose Municipal Stadium, home of the San Jose Giants, the High A minor league baseball affiliate of the San Francisco Giants.
The now defunct NCAA Silicon Valley Football Classic bowl game was held at Spartan Stadium from 2000 to 2004.
Read more about this topic: Spartan Stadium (San Jose)
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—Patricia K. Page (b. 1916)
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—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)