SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose Earthquakes announced that due to unforeseen conditions at the stadium site, the team is pushing back the opening date of their new stadium to the second half of the 2014 season. With the change in opening date, the team will play eight games at Buck Shaw Stadium, one game at Stanford Stadium and nine games at the new stadium next season.

“Due to the extraordinary conditions at the stadium site the opening date has been pushed back,” said Earthquakes President Dave Kaval. “Our ownership group and organization is committed to building a world-class venue for our fans and to creating the true epicenter of soccer in the Bay Area. We feel that a second-half opening ensures that we accomplish that goal, while giving our team a strong home schedule for the best situation competitively.”

Season ticket packages will now consist of 18 games, with 17 regular season games and one bonus game. For more information about season tickets for 2014, please contact the Earthquakes Front Office at 408-556-7700.

“We have encountered incredibly difficult unforeseen conditions at the stadium site,” said Devcon Construction Vice President Peter Copriviza. “With foundations over 10’ deep, drilled piers, unexpected underground chambers, complicated with a relatively high water table, we have been presented with a series of challenges during both the demolition and grading process.”

During the demolition phase, the construction team uncovered numerous concrete vaults deep in the ground, used munitions from the FMC factory, steel beams and hundreds of concrete pilings. Due to the high water table at the site, the excavated vaults also had to be drained of water, causing more delays during the grading process. To drain one of the holes, over 600 tons of rock had to be used.

“We would like to commend our construction partners for all their efforts despite facing numerous complex conditions at the site,” said Kaval. “They have navigated through some difficult situations and kept us on track for a 2014 opening.”

The Earthquakes new 18,000-seat stadium will be located on Coleman Ave next to San Jose International Airport. The stadium will feature a European-style roof design, 12 field-side suites along with the largest outdoor bar in North America in the Epicenter Fan Zone area.