Earthquakes and PayPal announce multi-year sponsorship agreement

The San Jose Earthquakes and PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL) have announced a multi-year sponsorship agreement that includes naming rights for the Major League Soccer team’s stadium located in San Jose, California, which will be called PayPal Park.

The 10-year partnership is built to celebrate the Earthquakes fans, the San Jose community and local small businesses, and will reimagine the future of live event experiences for sports fans by leveraging PayPal’s innovative payments technology.

Dan Schulman, PayPal President & CEO, said:

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. 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.

Earthquakes Chief Operating Officer, Jared Shawlee, said:

We couldn’t be more thrilled to find a stadium naming rights partner that aligns with our vision of uplifting the local community. 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 and the Earthquakes’ commitment to the San Jose community will be an integral part of the matchday experience.

PayPal Park will feature a 250-seat reserved section of the stadium that will host underserved members of the community and provide them with access to complimentary tickets and transportation to and from home matches. Local youth and nonprofit organisations will be invited to Earthquake’s training sessions and have opportunities to play games on the stadium field. Additionally, Quakes fans will be given special offers and discounts, giveaways, and surprise and delights from PayPal and Venmo.

San José Mayor Sam Liccardo, said:

We are thrilled to have San Jose’s stadium and great social gathering space bearing the name of a hometown employer, community partner and global industry leader in PayPal. PayPal’s partnership with the Quakes prominently positions two authentic, wildly popular San Jose brands at our city’s gateway, greeting millions of visitors traveling annually through our airport into Silicon Valley.

Community-first partnership

The community-first partnership will offer San Jose and Bay Area small businesses opportunities to reach new audiences and partake in events and programs that fuel their growth. 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. PayPal Park will also explore expanding the utility of the stadium to facilitate other events that bring together the local community and small businesses.

PayPal Park will be outfitted with PayPal’s digital payments technology, including the ability to pay touch-free with QR codes at point-of-sale (POS) systems around the stadium and feature benefits like fast lanes that provide fans paying with PayPal or Venmo a quicker checkout experience.

These advancements will help transform PayPal Park into a leading-edge, post COVID-19 venue that offers new and seamless ways to maximise how fans experience live events. In addition, the Quakes will further embed the brand’s payment solutions throughout its digital properties and feature PayPal at multiple touchpoints throughout the fan journey.

Earthquakes Vice President of Strategy, Ian Anderson, said:

This is a landmark partnership for our club. 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.

The Earthquakes were supported by Elevate Sports Ventures during negotiations for the partnership.

Shawn Doss, Founder & Executive Vice President Sales & Marketing, Elevate Sports Ventures, is one of 50+ leading industry experts confirmed to share insights during the next edition of ALSD International and also sits on the Advisory Board.  

About PayPal

PayPal has remained at the forefront of the digital payment revolution for more than 20 years. By leveraging technology to make financial services and commerce more convenient, affordable, and secure, the PayPal platform is empowering more than 375 million consumers and merchants in more than 200 markets to join and thrive in the global economy.

About PayPal Park

PayPal Park, home to Major League Soccer’s San Jose Earthquakes, is an 18,000-seat soccer-specific stadium located on Coleman Ave. adjacent to the San Jose International Airport. The European-inspired building is the first cloud-enabled venue in MLS and is among the most technologically advanced stadiums in the world. The stadium features a canopy roof and the steepest-raked seating in MLS to provide the best possible fan experience. Additionally, the north end zone houses the largest outdoor bar in North America, a two-acre fan zone and a double-sided video scoreboard. The suites and club seats are located at field level, giving fans a premium experience unlike any other in professional sports.

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 World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup, the 2016 Major League Soccer All-Star Game against Arsenal FC and a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier for the U.S. Men’s National Team. For more information about PayPal Park, visit sjearthquakes.com

Source & imagery, courtesy: Elevate Sports Ventures