Buck Shaw Stadium - Santa Clara, CA
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member saopaulo1
N 37° 21.034 W 121° 56.132
10S E 594277 N 4134294
Buck Shaw Stadium is a 10,300 seat soccer stadium at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California. The stadium is also the current home of the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer.
Waymark Code: WM5P9P
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 01/29/2009
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member SUp3rFM & Cruella
Views: 6

Buck Shaw opened its gates for the first time on September 22, 1962 when it hosted a football game between UC Davis and Santa Clara. The stadium was named for Lawrence T. "Buck" Shaw, a former football coach of the SCU Broncos.


Buck Shaw Stadium in 2003 from above.Buck Shaw Stadium holds the current record for highest attendance at a women's outdoor collegiate sporting event. In 1996 the NCAA Women's College Cup (Division I soccer finals) was played at Buck Shaw, which had its capacity temporarily expanded to 8,800 seats and sold out both days of the tournament.

The stadium had the distinction of being the official practice field of the Brazil soccer team for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. The Brazilians won the World Cup that year. It also played host to the Romanian national team for their practice prior to that year's quarterfinal match.


In 2006, Buck Shaw hosted three pool matches in the Churchill Cup rugby union competition, becoming the first U.S. venue to host matches in the four-year history of the event (all matches in the 2003-2005 editions had been in Canada). Buck Shaw is the current location of the commencement ceremonies for Santa Clara University. It was first used for the undergraduate commencement on Saturday, June 9, 2001.

In 2005 Buck Shaw Stadium was converted from multipurpose to a soccer only facility when the dugouts, baseball infield, and baseball backstop were permanently removed from the stadium. On October 26, 2007, the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer announced that they will play a majority of their home games during the 2008 season at the stadium. Upgrades such as additional seating and bathrooms were added to the stadium in order for it to comply with MLS standards and funded by the Earthquakes organization over the winter of 2008. The capacity was originally to be increased to 12,500 seats from 6,800 permanent seats. Later the expansion was revised down to 10,300 seats. In addition the field was moved closer to the existing grandstand with a small section removed from section 107 to accommodate the shift. Additionally the Santa Clara practice field between the Leavey Center and Buck Shaw was replaced with an "Italgrass" artificial turf surface.

Drainage improvements were also be made to the stadium's field in concert with the field crown being removed to produce a flat pitch. A new video scoreboard was added along with additional concession and merchandising stands. General facilities were also modernized or improved including the addition of new lighting, a TV press box, new sound system, and an additional grandstand on the stadium's west side. The new grandstand included all of the seating additions made to the stadium. About half of the new grandstand included tip up seating. Overall the enhancements cost around 4 million USD. (visit link)

It's the home of which team(s)?: San Jose Earthquakes

Which professional sports are played here?: Soccer

Capacity (number of seats): 10,300

Opening Date: 09/22/1962

Venue's Website or Team's Website: [Web Link]

Guided Tours: Not Listed

Visit Instructions:
1) Tell how was your visit. Were you at a game, which one? Have you just visited it by the outside, on a guided tour maybe? Are you a fan?

2) Pictures:
- They should be taken by YOU.
- No internet pictures are allowed.
- Upload one photo, at least. It would be great if you'd upload one of the venue and one with you on the photo.
- No need of photos with the GPSr.
- Extra credits for photos inside, with the teams playing.
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Recent Visits/Logs:
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shadow101 visited Buck Shaw Stadium - Santa Clara, CA 05/03/2009 shadow101 visited it
saopaulo1 visited Buck Shaw Stadium - Santa Clara, CA 02/04/2009 saopaulo1 visited it

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