The MLS Earthquakes will begin selling luxury suites to season-ticket holders tomorrow for the team's proposed $60M soccer-specific stadium that officials hope will be ready for the '13 season. The team is asking for five-year commitments for the 12 suites, which will cost $70,000 a year and will include all events at the stadium. The team has no suite seating at Santa Clara Univ.’s 10,300-seat Buck Shaw Stadium, which has hosted the Earthquakes since the '08 season. The proposed suites are located on the field level adjacent to the player benches. “The genesis of (the suites) was actually Buck Shaw, because we have field-side seating there and people are always telling us that they’ve never sat that close to the action,” said Earthquakes President David Kaval. “It’s an intimate feeling being that close to the action and we felt a field suite would be a great way to capture that.” The team worked with K.C.-based 360 Architecture to design the stadium; California-based Devcon Construction will build the facility. Kaval said the plans for the stadium also call for additional luxury boxes at the press-box level, though the team has not finalized the number of suites or the price. The field-side suites are 350 square feet and will accommodate 23 people and feature 17 seats, a private bar, couches and flat screen monitors. Food and beverage are available at an added cost. The team has submitted its plans to the San Jose City Council for the stadium and are waiting on approval for a development permit, which will be decided on at a Dec. 14 public meeting. The permit is the final barrier the team faces in approving the planned stadium, according to Kaval.
