PayPal Park can host concerts after San Jose denies neighbors’ appeal

Despite complaints from nearby residents about potentially disruptive noise coming from the stadium, San Jose city leaders have denied their appeal of PayPal Park’s concert permit, allowing the venue it to host up to 15 concerts per year.

At a Planning Director’s meeting in November, the city greenlit an application from the San Jose Earthquakes to host music events. Residents challenged the decision, arguing that the city’s environmental process was flawed and failed to incorporate stricter monitor requirements like those required in Santa Clara.

While San Jose has asked for more frequent noise reports, the City Council on Tuesday unanimously sided with the city’s planning staff who concluded the permit changes would not result in significant impacts than what was previously allowed when the stadium plans were approved more than a decade ago.

“I recognize that this is an impact to our neighbors in the Newhall Neighborhood, but we have to recognize that this has also been subject to a process,” District 6 Councilmember Michael Mulcahy said. “There’s no question this is going to have an economic impact on our city in a very positive way. Concerts will add a whole other element to our ability to create an experience economy, which many of us are working hard to do.”

While PayPal Park — formerly known as Avaya Stadium — is known as a sports venue, the Earthquakes’ ownership always intended for the 14.5-acre site to host other entertainment options.

However, residents raised concerns from the start. Many noted that they were not opposed to an entertainment venue at the site but rather questioned whether the Earthquakes were being asked to do enough to limit the impacts.

“We are already disproportionately impacted by cumulative noise generated by San Jose airport, Union Pacific freight trains, BART construction and Interstate 880,” resident Matthew Bright said on behalf of the Newhall Neighborhood. “I’m also a fan of live music, and I get it. Many of you are hungry, maybe even hangry, for big beefy concerts in San Jose, but every one of us knows the truth. Eating raw or undercooked meat is a great way to get sick, so let’s discuss why you can and should send this proposal back to the kitchen.”

Bright and other Newhall Neighborhood residents also called the noise study flawed and noted that for as much as San Jose officials talk about making decisions based on data, Santa Clara’s real-time noise monitoring requirements for Levi’s Stadium were significantly more strenuous.

Land-use consultant Erik Schoennauer, who represents the Earthquakes, defended the noise testing completed at the stadium last April. He noted that the tests evaluated different genres and songs, including Banda, pop star Mariah Carey’s track “Emotions” and rapper Travis Scott’s song “FE!N.” He also said noise sensors were placed throughout the neighborhood to accurately measure sound from different vantage points.

Following the review, speaker volume levels were restricted to what was approved in an environmental impact report from 2010.

Schoennauer also touted the stadium’s economic benefits that have surpassed some estimates even without live music.

In 2008, seven years before the stadium opened, the city estimated that it would yield $62 million per year in benefits, factoring in spending at hotels and local eateries.

During the 2024 calendar year, Schoennauer said the venue hosted 60 events, resulting in $76 million in direct spending and $111 million in economic impact, while supporting the equivalent of 950 full-time jobs.

In addition to live entertainment events generating tens of billions of dollars statewide, a study by Oxford Economics also showed that for every $100 spent on concert tickets, it would lead to an additional $334.92 in spending.

“This is a competitive region,” San Jose Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Leah Toeniskoetter said in support. “If we’re not hosting these events, they’re going elsewhere. PayPal Park is already a community gathering space. Allowing 15 concerts enables us to really activate this asset in our backyard.”

Although Silicon Valley is fresh off hosting the Super Bowl, the area could be ripe for opportunity as the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and FIFA World Cup are still coming to the area this year.

Schoennauer said now that Major League Soccer has planned to switch its scheduling to align with the international soccer calendar, the prime summer months will be available for events.

“It’s a perfect opportunity to take advantage of our weather and have outdoor concerts at a time when the stadium will not be used and realize economic benefit throughout the summer,” he said.