Community at heart of Quakes-PayPal deal

Article posted by Coliseum, April 8^th, 2021

Image: San Jose Earthquakes

The American professional soccer team San Jose Earthquakes and the online payments system company PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL) announced on April 5^th, 2021 a multiyear sponsorship agreement that includes naming rights for the Major League Soccer (MLS) team’s stadium located in San Jose, California (US), which will be called PayPal Park. The 10-year partnership is built to celebrate Quakes 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.

‘San Jose Earthquakes’ quoted Dan Schulman, President-cum-CEO, PayPal, as stating, “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.”

The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as one of the charter clubs of the League.

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The 18,000-capacity PayPal Park is a soccer stadium in San Jose, California, United States, and is the home of Major League Soccer’s (MLS’s) San Jose Earthquakes. The stadium is located on the Airport West site that is located to the West of San Jose International Airport. The European-inspired building is the first cloud-enabled venue in MLS and is among the most technologically advanced stadia in the world. The stadium features a canopy roof and the
steepest-raked seating in MLS to provide the best possible fan experience.

San Jose (California, US)-headquartered 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.

Earthquakes Chief Operating Officer (COO) Jared Shawlee exulted, “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.”

‘San Jose Earthquakes’ further stated that PayPal and the Earthquakes’ commitment to the San Jose community will be an integral part of the gameday 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 organizations 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.

New York (US)-headquartered Venmo is a mobile payment service owned by PayPal. Venmo account holders can transfer funds to others via a mobile phone app, but both the sender and receiver have to reside in the United States.

Remarked San José Mayor Sam Liccardo, “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.”

The community-first partnership will offer San Jose and Bay Area small businesses opportunities to reach new audiences and partake of 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 facility 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 maximize how fans experience live events. With the coronavirus scourge on, touchless has become the buzzword and the above facility will come as a boon for fans.

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 noted, “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.”

Best-in-class sports and entertainment consulting firm Elevate Sports Ventures helped the Earthquakes to reach the deal with PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL).

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