Major League Soccer is still considered a young league, despite a twenty-year history that has included a lifetime’s worth of ups and downs for San Francisco Bay Area fans. Two major rebrands, two periods of wild success, and two years entirely without a club have punctuated the roller-coaster ride of one Phillip Luna’s San Jose Earthquakes’ fandom.

Luna joined the myriad of fledgling MLS fans when the former North American Soccer League club became a founding member of the new league. From the outset, he was made to endure five years of doldrums near the bottom of the Western Conference. Landon Donovan and Bruce Arena then led a highly successful golden era for the club, but the party was cut short when the club relocated to Houston in 2005 with nary a replacement in sight. To make it worse, this move came just on the back of an MLS Cup win.

It was after two years in the cold and the formation of a new Earthquakes team that Phillip became a hard-core supporter and avid member of the tight-knit Earthquakes community. A few years later, success returned to San Jose, with USMNT forward Chris Wondolowski bringing back regular-season success to the club in 2012. They even qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League, where an away match against Toluca became Phillip’s favorite moment as a Quakes fan. Now, Avaya Stadium is set to herald a new era of stability for the Quakes.

Phillip says that ever since MLS recommitted to the San Jose market and especially after plans for Avaya Stadium were announced in 2009, he’s harbored no worries over the future of the club. Groundbreaking day for the new stadium passed in 2012, and although the Quakes struggled on the pitch the following season, Phillip no longer had to fret over another relocation. Then finally, at last month’s “soft” opener, Quakes fans were given their first taste of the stadium.

This Sunday, he’ll attend the regular season opener against Chicago Fire in full voice. The Quakes have always been known for their intense support, and the Quakes old home at Buck Shaw Stadium had atmosphere, it is lacking in almost every other respect. With just ten thousand seats, it was the smallest stadium in MLS, and the facilities reflected a modest college stadium (rented from Santa Clara University) rather than a major league venue in a major league market.

Avaya Stadium, however, finally gives the Quakes not just a stadium to play in, but an emotional home, as well — the heart of the club that can prove worthy of its supporters. Center-back Clarence Goodson touched on this when saying: “it finally feels like we have a home.” Before, they’d been very nomadic and played in nine stadiums over twenty years (minus the two when they didn’t even exist). Relocating their front offices inside the stadium, the Quakes are nicely settled in already and plan on opening six community fields around the corner. They’ve stamped their permanence once and for all.

For now, the facilities have even become the best part: Phillip can’t think of any improvements he would make. Picturesque stands open up to a bar at the East end, the longest outdoor bar in North America. Fans with the worst ticket in the house — mind, there are none, as the stadium is home to the steepest stands in the league to provide good views top to bottom — could simply plop down at the bar and watch the game only a few yards behind the goal. Alternatively, they could join hardcore fans in the pitch-side standing section at the opposite end.

The dressing rooms rival those of European clubs, although the away changing room is, as expected, comparatively bare-boned. Still, LA Galaxy players marveled over the stadium after their preseason friendly with the Quakes — even Robbie Keane begrudgingly agreed after a loss.

“I have a lot of good relationships with guys still with the Quakes, lifelong relationships. Those things are always going to be off-the-field things. On the field, I’m wearing gold and blue now, so my loyalties are with the Galaxy. It’s easy to separate it when you are on the pitch, but I am happy for these guys that are here and are finally getting their stadium that were with the team a long time and this is a good moment for this organization.” — former Quakes forward and current LA Galaxy star Alan Gordon

On their way onto the pitch, players will pass a wall with the motto bearing “Eleven playing as one.” The exact opposite was true when big-names such as Eric Wynalda dominated the headlines with locker-room bust-ups when the club first joined MLS. The club have come a long way both off the pitch and on it, and Phillip is excited for Dominic Kinnear’s exciting young team that recently beat champions Galaxy in preseason and more recently completed an impressive away win at Seattle. Just as Avaya Stadium has potential to grow — the open exterior potentially allows for future growth where the bar currently stands — the Earthquakes are brimming with growth potential on the pitch as well.

“The atmosphere was amazing.. the ultras did a great job. The sound was amazing, the top really locks that sound in and gives us home field advantage. I think they did a really good job; I’m really impressed and happy.” — Quakes fanatic Phillip Luna

Much like with MLS’ growth, there will be hiccups along the way — Phillip for one still despises the lopsided fixture setup in which the Quakes could play the league leaders three times but another team just once. There will also be bad times — indeed, the memory of last season’s fifteen-match winless streak still haunts — but finally, Quakes fans can look forward to the journey. The ups and downs — knowing that when worst comes to worst, they can always look around and appreciate Avaya Stadium and remember a time when there wasn’t even a club in San Jose. Phillip can hardly picture what the next ten years holds for his club.