During the winter and spring of 2009, the stadium's natural grass playing field was removed and replaced with FieldTurf, a new generation of artificial turf with a crumb rubber and sand infill.[3] This improvement resulted in significant savings to the university in water use, fertilizer, seed and labor. The FieldTurf playing surface was later replaced with AstroTurf Rhino Blend in 2017.[4] The playing field is aligned north-northwest to south-southeast, at an approximate elevation of 100 feet (30 m) above sea level.
The stadium also received significant upgrades to the scoreboard and sound system in 2011 and 2020.[5] This included installation of an HD videoscreen by Daktronics at the south end of the stadium in 2011, and a new, much larger video board at the north end in 2020.[6][7]
Stadium history
Spartan Stadium, 1950s
CEFCU stadium officially opened in 1933 as a 4,000-seat facility. The stadium featured large berms on the east, west, north and south sides of the field, which gave the stadium a "sunken bowl" appearance. The stadium's seating capacity was increased to 8,500 in 1936, and later expanded incrementally to a total seating capacity of just over 18,000 by 1948. The most recent additions came in the 1980s when the capacity of the stadium was expanded from approximately 18,000 to just over 31,000 by adding end zone bleachers, an upper deck and boxes on the west side.
In 1998, the field was widened and other renovations were carried out for the San Jose Earthquakes soccer team in accordance with official FIFA regulations.[8] As a result of these renovations, parts of the stands closest to the playing field were removed, thus lowering available seating for all sports to 30,456.
Seating capacity remained at 30,456 until 2019, when it was temporarily reduced to 21,520 as part of a massive east-side stadium renovation project that included construction of the $70 million Spartan Athletic Center.
In August 2016, Citizens Equity First Credit Union purchased sole naming rights to Spartan Stadium for $8.7 million. The deal between CEFCU and San José State University will last for 15 years. SJSU was the first university in the California State University system and second university in the state of California to strike such a deal.[9] The CEFCU sponsorship deal marked the third such arrangement among the 12 Mountain West Conference football members.[10] The $8.7 million payout will primarily be used for athletic scholarships, athletics operations, and athletics facilities.[11]
Spartan Athletics Center and East-side Renovations
A CEFCU Stadium east-side building addition was completed in August 2023 at an approximate cost of $70 million.[12] Known as the Spartan Athletics Center, the 55,000 square-foot, multi-story facility houses a new football operations center, locker rooms, offices, meeting and training rooms and a sports medicine center.[13] The facility also includes soccer team offices and locker rooms, as well as dining and hospitality facilities, event spaces and premium viewing areas.[14]
The east-side stadium renovation has temporarily reduced seating capacity at CEFCU Stadium from just over 30,000 to 21,520.[15] Approximately 9,000 seats were removed from the stadium in 2019 to make way for the new building. This includes virtually all of the east-side stadium seating and some of the north end zone bleachers. The north end zone bleachers were removed to make way for construction of a new state-of-the-art video scoreboard and outdoor bar and lounge area. The new scoreboard was completed in 2020.
As of 2023, a second phase of the east-side building and renovation project remains in the planning stages. The second phase is aimed at replacing spectator seating that was removed to make way for the SAC.
Tamien
