Over 10,000 San Jose Earthquakes fans packed Buck Shaw Stadium to capacity for the professional soccer team’s final home game on the Santa Clara University campus.
The Earthquakes marked the end of seven seasons at Buck Shaw Stadium with a 0-0 draw against the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Die-hard fans, calling themselves the Casbah, held a funeral, complete with tombstones and a corpse. But they're ready for a fresh start.
"We’re in last place, you know. And there’s no way but up," Earthquakes fan Luis Cuellar said. "And I was just thinking without death, there’s no resurrection. So that gave me the idea for a funeral.”
The Earthquake’s new stadium near San Jose International Airport is expected to be finished in March and can seat almost double their last home. It opens just a few months after Levi’s Stadium debuted as the San Francisco 49ers' new venue.
The Earthquakes and 49ers join the long-time established San Jose Sharks as making the South Bay a sports destination with appealing stands.
“Silicon Valley has a lot of wealth and innovation and ideas," Earthquakes President Dave Kaval said. "I think the active lifestyle that sports has I think is a good connection with what people do in Silicon Valley.”
Lily Mae’s restaurant has already seen a boost in customers because of the 49ers' new stadium.
Adding the Earthquake’s new place will just extend the flow of big-spending sports fans another few months after football season.
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“We’re like ‘Come on. Come on!’ So we can offer you all these drinks," Lily Mae's owner Rhonda Manning said. "We got a great Kool-Aid mimosa. We’re ready to go!”
Just this week, the Earthquakes fired their coach after an awful 2014 season. So, this is truly new beginnings for the team.
