By Richard Ivanhoe, HANC Board Member (Based on a report to the HANC Board from Calvin Welch, sitting member of the Kezar Stadium Advisory Committee)
The Kezar Stadium Advisory Committee met on February 15 to discuss the opening season of the pro soccer team at Kezar. The team, SF Deltas (www.sfdeltas.com), gave a presentation to the committee.
The committee was surprised to learn that the Kezar Triangle will be used for a “beer garden” (beer and wine) starting two hours before each game. The area will be open to the public—no game ticket required. The area will be approximately 5,000 square feet, with no seating, just “standing tables.” Alcohol will not be allowed to be taken out or brought into the area. It is unclear when the “beer garden” will close—presumably when the game starts.
The schedule on the Delta’s website shows 36 matches scheduled, with 17 of them at Kezar between March 18 and October 28. There could be additional matches if the team makes the playoffs. Most of the games at Kezar are scheduled for Saturdays at 7 pm, with one Friday and one Wednesday night game beginning at 7:30 pm and one Sunday game beginning at 5:30 pm.
For a 7 pm match, the stadium will be closed to the public beginning at noon. Loading and set up will take place from noon to 5 pm, gates will open at 6 pm, and the matches will start at 7 pm. The matches will be over by 9 pm, and the lights will stay on during cleanup. It is not clear when cleanup is scheduled to end.
There are three ticket levels – 1) VIP seating at $124 per game (with access to full bar; some of these seats are on the running track) 2) Candlestick at $34-$58 per game (seats from Candlestick Park which replaced the old bench seating in the center sections, and 3) the old bench seating at $17-$26 per game.
Entrance to the stadium will be through either the west gate, across from the Triangle, or through the Frederick Street gate. The intent is to funnel people to the Triangle, so that they will enter through the west gate (and build sales in the beer garden), and keep the use of the Frederick gate to a minimum.
The Deltas are still working on an Uber drop-off location, as they recognize the Kezar Stadium Advisory Committee’s concerns with drop-offs on Frederick Street.