USA v Honduras: March 24, Avaya Stadium, San Jose CA

Dear U.S. Soccer Member,

Join us at the U.S. Men’s National Team’s FIFA World Cup Qualifying match against Honduras in San Jose, California on Friday, March 24, 2017 at 7:30 p.m. PT.

Due to anticipated high demand at this critical match, tickets will be available through a lottery only. As a benefit of your U.S. Soccer Membership you are eligible for priority access to take part in an early lottery phase ahead of the general public.

If you are also a San Jose Earthquakes season ticket holder or a member of another eligible group and receive an offer through one of these channels to participate in the USA vs. Honduras ticket lottery, please be aware that you may only apply for tickets once, regardless of eligibility method (requests are limited across the entire event to four (4) tickets and one (1) application per household or place of business). Those who apply for tickets more than once through multiple methods of eligibility will have all applications declined by U.S. Soccer, at its sole discretion.

Early Lottery Ticket Application Instructions:
Submit your application between Monday, Feb. 6 at 10 a.m. PT and Thursday, Feb. 9 at 10 a.m. PT by completing the on-line form linked below. Requests are limited to four (4) tickets and one (1) application per household or place of business. Your application must be complete and payment information must be valid and complete to be eligible for the lottery. U.S. Soccer will alert you within the coming weeks if your application has been selected.

Things to know:

• Lottery applications will be selected at random and odds depend on the number of applications received, tickets requested, and seats available.
• Only Visa, MasterCard and Discover with expirations dates of March 2017 or later will be accepted.
• All applications and any resulting sales are final. No refunds or returns will be allowed.
• Specific seat selections are not be allowed. If your application is chosen seats will be assigned based on your price level preference.
• Lottery winners will receive their tickets by email closer to the event. No paper tickets, pdf files or print-at-home tickets will be available. This event is mobile ticketing only.
• Chrome and Firefox are the best browsers to use when applying.

Want Better Odds?

• Ultimate Fan Ticket! This experience provides an exciting behind-the-scenes look into a U.S. Soccer event and a game-day for the U.S. National Team. Tickets will be available on a first-come first served basis.
• Match Day Hospitality Package, offered by U.S. Soccer in conjunction with PrimeSport. The Match Day Hospitality Package will include match tickets and in-stadium pregame hospitality.
• A link to the Ultimate Fan Ticket and Match Day Hospitality Package order pages will be sent to you Feb. 6 prior to the offers being made available for sale starting at 10 a.m. PT.
• Coaches and Presidents Circle members supporting the U.S. Soccer Development Fund also receive concierge ticketing as part of their benefits package and should contact circles@ussoccer.org to reserve their tickets. Click here to learn more.

U.S. Soccer Fan Hospitality

FANHQ HOTEL
Enjoy the excitement around USA v. Honduras even before the game! Book at the official FanHQ Hotel, the AC Hotel San Jose Downtown and enjoy the U.S. Soccer hotel bar takeover, merchandise sales and more.

To book a room at the FanHQ Hotel, click here.

GAME DAY TRANSPORTATION
For the convenience of fans, U.S. Soccer has partnered with the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, VTA, to provide a bus service to and from Avaya Stadium on match day. With limited parking at the stadium, VTA is highly recommended.

 

I received the USSSC email with links to the Ticket Application (not yet live) and Instructions.

Ticket prices are, to put it mildly, steep:



From the email:

"If you are also a San Jose Earthquakes season ticket holder or a member of another eligible group and receive an offer through one of these channels to participate in the USA vs. Honduras ticket lottery, please be aware that you may only apply for tickets once, regardless of eligibility method (requests are limited across the entire event to four (4) tickets and one (1) application per household or place of business). Those who apply for tickets more than once through multiple methods of eligibility will have all applications declined by U.S. Soccer, at its sole discretion."

I await my SJE STH offer for comparison and will try to communicate with US Soccer for guidance on which avenue gives me the better chance to get the number of tickets I want at the lowest price.

This lottery process is counterproductive. US Soccer is preventing new supporters from attending its most compelling matches, stifling the building of a larger passionate fan base that could fill larger stadiums for WCQ's without ceding home field advantage because of supporters of the opposing teams.

One step forward, three steps back.

 

My hope is that U.S. Soccer and the Earthquakes were just trying to drum up purchases of U.S. Soccer memberships and SJ season tickets by giving the impression early on that a lottery would be likely. It will be lame as hell if this thing sells out before us non members/season ticket holders get a chance.

 

Ticket prices in a more accessible format than the above image.

Endline Rows 1-29 - $86.00
Corner Rows 7-29 & Secondary Corner Rows 1-29 - $112.75
Sideline Rows 7-29 & Corner Rows 1-6 - $138.50
North Endline Row 1 - $166.75
Midfield Rows 7-29 & Sideline Rows 1-6 - $166.75
VIP Midfield Rows 7-29 & Midfield Rows 1-6 - $218.25
VIP Midfield Rows 1-6 - $269.75
Club Seat Sideline Rows 2-4 - $269.75
Club Seat Sideline Row 1 - $321.25
Club Seat Midfield Rows 2-4 - $372.50
Club Seat Midfield Row 1 - $424.00

The seating map is in the following image. Sorry for the relatively inaccessible format which is the best I can find now.

 

Thanks for posting updates guys. I didn't get the lottery application email from USSC even though they said they updated my email address...weeeeeee


And I don't understand why there isn't a website, portal, etc. where you can login with your membership info. I find it quite ridiculous that the only way to get to ticketing is through an email.

 

I have these telephone numbers for US Soccer Supporters/Fan Services:

312-528-1220
312-528-1255

Don't know how I got them nor remember ever calling them.

Any USSSC members able to click through the link on the email and get a functioning application? I get a message that says nothing available for sale.

I know the application period hasn't yet opened. However, I received a similar email because I am a SJ STH and the click through leads to a live application, even though that application period does not open until 12 PM PT today.

Awaiting instruction and clarification from US Soccer. The fun begins.

 

I don't see anything.

 

Thanks. US Soccer replied about the functioning lottery page timing. The USSSC membership application went live at 10 AM PT. It works for me now and should for everyone.

The SJ STH application link was live because "what could have happened was that the link was being tested on our end and you just opened the email at that time."

So eager Eddie got confused because US Soccer didn't finish testing before sending out a mass email to all San Jose STH's.

 

There is a more user friendly seating map on this linked page: http://www.ussoccer.com/usavhontickets

 

I am both a USSF Gold and a Quakes STH...and I seldom can find anyone at US Soccer who is available for questions like yours...

I did ask my Quakes rep this question earlier today, and his response (which I am paraphrasing here was interesting: "I am not sure, but I can tell you when I worked for the Crew that 90% of STH won the lottery for US/Mex."

If do you get US Soccer to answer then let us know.

 

I had an email exchange with US Soccer about this issue this morning. Here are the relevant parts:

ES: "I can only enter one of the lotteries. Which one will give the better chance of getting 4 of the lowest priced tickets? Does it matter? Am I drawn as a USSSC Gold member either way? Or am I drawn as a SJ STH member if I use that form (which I suspect has the option to be with the Ultras that the other application probably does not)?
What is the hierarchy of preferences among USSSC and SJ STH members? I get the Gold, Silver, Red, Blue order. Where do SJ STH's rate in that scale?"

USSF: "We recommend that you enter the lottery group that represents the section on tickets you wish to sit in. For example, if you with to sit with the American Outlaws, we recommend you enter their lottery. If you do not care which section you are in, we recommend you enter any of the other lotteries available to you."

ES: "Thanks for the reply. I remain unclear. Is my priority the same for both lotteries (USSSC and SJ STH)?

I am USSSC Gold. I believe that is the highest priority. So I figure I should get what I want, like I did for Columbus, if I have the greatest chance of getting drawn in the first group of the weighted lottery as outlined in the membership ticketing FAQ's.

If I apply as a SJ STH to get access to the Ultras section, does my priority drop into an equivalent one with all other SJ STH's, reducing my chance of getting my first choice tickets?

Without transparency about the lottery process, I'm just guessing."

USSF: "By being a USSF Gold member, you receive the highest priority in tickets."

I am still unclear. I think we are getting into the areas of computer programming and customer service accuracy.

As of now, I plan to use the USSF Membership form just to be safe that the lottery program rates my application as USSF Gold, even though that form does not have the option to stand with the Ultras, slightly limiting the ticket inventory available to me. Plus, I am likely to get my first choice as USSF Gold, so if I use the STH form and it accepts me at that level, I am taking tickets away from SJ STH's and other Ultras who are trying for that area should I choose that as top priority.

The applications are not due until Thursday, so more definitive information may emerge.

This is the email address responding to me: supporters@ussoccer.org.

I also send to: tickets@ussoccer.org.

I don't always get timely responses or any at all, although I got quick replies today.

I think San Jose has many more STH's than Columbus. Mapfre Stadium holds about 24,000, Avaya 18,000.

It would be nice to have a seating chart that indicates the areas set aside for SG's, so we have a more accurate idea of the inventory for which we are competing in the lottery.

US Soccer is so misguided here. They chose the smallest MLS stadium, forcing the most passionate US and SJ supporters into an opaque lottery process with outrageous ticket prices.

No way to build a fan base. I get that they want to have home field advantage. How can they ever hope to achieve that at properly sized (NFL) stadiums if they keep out new fans, who might catch the bug and look to travel to support the team?

Edit: A new response, this one from tickets@ussoccer.org:

"One lottery between the Member lottery and San Jose STH lottery does not get you a better chance at tickets than the other. Both of these lotteries are open right now. We would encourage you to pick one of those lotteries and apply within that one."

 

My email exchange prompted a staffer from US Soccer ticketing (tickets@ussoccer.org) to call me. Here is the scoop for people eligible for multiple lotteries.

"Neither lottery gives you a better chance than any other." I think they have to say that.

Each lottery is separate from the others. If one enters the SJ STH lottery, there is no ranked priority. All STH's compete equally for the tickets allocated for that lottery. Same for the SG's (AO and Sammers).

For the USSF Member lottery, the tiered priority (Gold, Silver, Red Blue) comes into play. Someone's USSF membership tier does not carry over into any other lottery he or she may choose to enter.

 

Thanks for the link. I could log into my account but there weren't any events listed when I clicked on the "buy tickets" link on the account manager.

I heard back from USSC via email and they sent me a different link that did work. I guess there is some kind of promo code or "flag" built into the link they sent that let me in. Hopefully I'll see you guys in San Jose!

 

Gotta go with USSC Gold to hopefully assure tix, but damn would like to sit with AO. Probably a beggars can't be choosers situation, right?

 

Good point

 

I'm starting to think that there will be weak demand for tickets through the lottery. This board and the Earthquakes board and Reddit US Soccer and Earthquakes are almost silent unlike during the Columbus lottery process.

I'm thinking that almost everyone who applies through one of the preferred lotteries will get tickets with plenty to spare for the general lottery.

The $86 tickets will be highly sought, so some people will get bumped up to higher priced ones if they picked that option.

I'm in for 3 or 4, depending on an out or town friend who was taken aback at the prices and is still deciding. Unlike for Columbus, we are adding the 2nd and 3rd lowest priced tickets to our preferences because we aren't traveling for this match. As an USSF Gold Member, I am confident I'll score the $86 tickets.

Good luck.

 

Ok, i went with 1 ticket, endline option only. Ussc gold. No secondary selection. Let's wait and see.

AO events: (for those that care)

Night Before
March 23, 2017
Jack's Bar & Lounge
167 Taylor St.
San Jose, CA 95112

Pre-Game
March 24, 2017
Silver Lot
San Jose, CA
2:30pm - 6:30pm