The San Jose Earthquakes have signed a 10-year naming rights sponsorship agreement for its stadium with PayPal Holdings, making the Major League Soccer club’s home known as PayPal Park.
PayPal Park will feature a 250-seat reserved section for underserved members of the community and provide them with access to complimentary tickets and transportation to and from matches. Local youth and nonprofit organizations will be invited to training sessions and have opportunities to play games on the stadium field. For each home game, PayPal and the Quakes will spotlight a small business, driving exposure through signage, curated social media promotion and other marketing activities.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to find a stadium naming rights partner that aligns with our vision of uplifting the local community,” said Earthquakes Chief Operating Officer Jared Shawlee. “PayPal is a highly respected global brand with its headquarters less than two miles from our front office. We’re excited to partner on a number of initiatives that aim to support local small businesses and underserved youth, while also making the stadium a more touchless experience for our guests.”
PayPal Park will be outfitted with PayPal’s digital payments technology, including the ability to pay touch-free with QR codes around the stadium. In addition, the Quakes will further embed the brand’s payment solutions throughout its digital properties and feature PayPal at multiple touchpoints throughout the stadium.
“PayPal is deeply committed to San Jose and we are excited to partner with the San Jose Earthquakes to introduce PayPal Park to our passionate Quakes community and local small businesses,” said Dan Schulman, president and chief executive officer of PayPal. “This is a unique opportunity to partner with a valued sporting brand and strong community of fans, as we draw on our digital payments technology and work together to redefine the future of live event experiences.”
PayPal Park is an 18,000-seat stadium located adjacent to the San Jose International Airport. The north end zone houses the largest outdoor bar in North America, a two-acre fan zone and a double-sided video scoreboard. The stadium has hosted numerous non-MLS regular season events since its inaugural season in 2015 including the International Champions Cup, numerous U.S. Women’s National Team friendlies, the 2016 Major League Soccer All-Star Game and a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier for the U.S. Men’s National Team.
“This is a landmark partnership for our club,” said Earthquakes Vice President of Strategy Ian Anderson. “It’s been great working with the team at PayPal to build a program that will positively impact many members of our community and bring world-class technology solutions to our venue. We look forward to hosting fans at PayPal Park for years to come.”