With all of the construction going on along and adjacent to Benton Street, there was very little on-street parking available last year. I haven't been down there lately - I might check this weekend to scope out the situation. I get a parking pass, but it's in the unimproved lot, and I'm mightily tired of having my car coated with dust and debris, so would just as soon park in SC and walk...
Btw, season parking passes are now for sale. I think it was $660 for the near parking garage, and $340 for the further one. Both passes allow you to park in the "tailgate" lot if you wish.
For anybody who cares about public transit to the stadium, there is at least one relevant change to VTA service. VTA implemented a major overhaul of its entire route/schedule system over the winter, and one of the changes is that the old #10 route that went by the stadium has been subsumed into a new Route 60. https://www.vta.org/go/routes/60 The 60 bus still serves exactly the same places that the 10 did, from Santa Clara Caltrain to Coleman to the airport terminals to the Metro/Airport light rail station on First Street, but the difference is that it continues on in both directions, toward Valley Fair/Santana Row in the southbound direction, and to the Milpitas BART station in the northbound direction Once BART train service actually begins on the Milpitas/Berryessa extension, which might happen one of these years, this will be a single-transfer connection that can get you to the stadium. One service improvement that comes along with this is that the 60 runs on a 20-minute frequency during the day on weekends, as opposed to the 30-minute schedule that the 10 had. It still slows down to 30 minutes on weekend evenings for the runs that would be used after night games. A less welcome change is that unlike the old 10 bus, the 60 is not free. It requires regular fare. I assume that the private free shuttle buses from downtown arranged by the FO will still be there this season.
did not attend a game last season so I'm not up to speed on the parking situation...the old silver lot is now a construction area?....looks like there are 2 parking garages (1 of which is only for those with a parking pass)....is the "tailgate lot" still just a dirt parking area....?
tailgate lot is paved. I guess we can't park in the old platinum lot anymore and have to go to the garage. I'm hoping the spaces are able to fit a full size truck.
Per my ticket rep. Part of the "tail gate" area is paved, the rest will be crushed gravel. Anyone buying a parking garage pass can park in the tailgate lots if they wish.
I arrived early today before the STH event and took a long walk around to see what has changed regarding construction, parking, etc. The old unpaved Silver Lot is completely gone, turned over to construction. The off-airport parking business that was in that area is also gone, as it became part of the construction zone. All of the old trees that lined Coleman in that area between Aviation and Brokaw have been removed, but the old sidewalk with lots of rough patches is still there. The sidewalk between Aviation and Earthquakes Way in front of the Roku buildings is new and wide and pleasant. The opposite side of Coleman still has construction barriers as the road improvements on that side must still be ongoing. There is one retail business operating in the storefronts directly across from the main stadium entrance--Specialty's Cafe. It has Monday-Friday hours. The parking structures look ready to go. Parking Structure 2, the larger and lower-cost structure, has a big ramp going up to the higher levels. I think that is for smoother egress so that cars from higher levels don't have congestion with the cars on lower levels. The tailgate lot is just past the practice field and looked fully paved to me, but maybe there is unpaved space for overflow closer to the railroad tracks. It looked like construction workers were using that lot for their personal vehicles. The space that was the Platinum Lot is completely torn up, and the signs on the fence indicate that a five-story Westin hotel is being built there. One of the signs proclaimed the hotel's address on Champions Drive, which looks like it will end up being an address on Wondo Way.
After the event I drove into parking structure 1 and up to the top and down again. It looks like Parking structure 2 has an exit which merges with the two Parking 1 exits onto the one lane road towards EQ Way. So I'm thinking there may be a slow traffic jam here postgame. I hope I am misreading the situation.
Wow I had no idea the platinum lot would be torn up for a Westin hotel. That sounds like an awful location for a hotel. Does that mean all the solar panels were removed? Is the handicapped parking still there? Did you notice if the charging stations are still there, or did they get moved to the parking structure?
lol ps1 cost almost 2x of ps2. there better not be any congestion due to ps2 exiting towards the stadium.
The Platinum lot was removed, not the VIP lot. The Platinum lot was across Earthquakes Way from the stadium. The VIP lot with the solar panels and charging stations is unchanged. That lot is the only parking area that is completely controlled by the Earthquakes and unaffected by the Coleman Highline construction.
This was outstanding 3A's! Personally wish there was a bar/pub across the way from the Quakes Stadium entrance, but a M-F cafe probably works best for the Roku folks. Maybe the ground floor of the future Westin will have a pub/restaurant establishment. I've always stated that Quakes Stadium was built in the "ass end" of San Jose, with no "there" there. Barring an unexpected/unlikely future development that gives us a new SSS in a more amenity-filled part of town, I hope the Coleman Highline develops into a destination for Quakes fans pre, post-match. Is it Saturday yet?!...
It'll be interesting to see if The Fairmont in downtown San José will remain "The Official Hotel of the San Jose Earthquakes" once the new Westin hotel opens right next to the stadium. GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
FWIW, did a little Google Maps "research." 3A's can correct me on this if need be: it appears Specialty's Cafe has the smaller "amenities" building at 501 Earthquakes Way (closest to Coleman). The larger space closer to Champions Drive looks to remain vacant and is perhaps more conducive to a full service restaurant/brew pub. Maybe..
Considering Qatar bribed FIFA silly to obtain the World Cup and Beckham schmoozed his way into MLS without a stadium in hand and fistfuls of cash to wave around I'd say those two are a perfect fit.
I've already forgotten which unit Specialty's is in. There's a 2-unit building,closest to Coleman, and I think it's in the second unit away from Coleman. Then there's another 3-unit building. I think all five units are roughly the same size, but I suppose it's possible they could combine two units for a larger operation.
Oh, sorry for my dementia and confusing platinum with VIP lot. But I’m still confused. I had platinum lot last year, but except for one game, I came super early to park in the platinum section directly across Earthquakes Way from the stadium. I only parked in the platinum dirt lot NW of the practice field one time. Does this mean the Westin hotel is going in next to the 2 practice fields, i.e. where the platinum dirt lot was? So it’s backing up to the railroad tracks and northwest of the practice field? Or is it going to front on Coleman?