CONMEBOL Copa America 2024 - Ecuador, Venezuela, Brazil and Colombia to play at Levi’s Stadium next summer

Levi's Stadium is already going to be part of the World Cup in 2026, but there is another huge soccer event coming to Silicon Valley next year. Last week, the South American Football Confederation carried out the draw for the group stage of CONMEBOL Copa America 2024 which takes places in the US this year. Levi's Stadium is going to get two really big games.

On June 22nd, the national teams of Ecuador and Venezuela will face off. Then on July 2nd it will be Colombia versus the nine-time Copa America champions--Brazil. Brazil has also won the World Cup five times, more than any other country.

This will be a tremendous event that will bring a significant amount of tourism to the San Jose metro and is a great amenity for the many soccer fans all around the Bay Area. Tickets go on sale in January and you can learn more over here. The full press release is below.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - On Thursday December 7, the South American Football Confederation carried out the draw for the Group Stage of the CONMEBOL Copa América 2024™️, which will take place from June 20 to July 14 next year in the United States. Based on the results of the draw, Levi’s® Stadium will host Ecuador vs. Venezuela on Saturday, June 22 and Brazil vs. Colombia on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Brazil is a nine-time champion of CONMEBOL Copa América. 

 

This competition promises to be an unforgettable spectacle for football lovers around the world, with 16 participating teams divided into four groups and 32 exciting matches. 

 

The world’s oldest national teams tournament returns to the United States eight years after the Centenario edition. A great tournament that also featured six CONCACAF teams, as guests, and which this time has confirmed the participation of the home team, Mexico, Panama and Jamaica, with two slots yet to be decided.  

 

These two places will be decided by the play-off matches between Canada and Trinidad and Tobago and Costa Rica and Honduras on March 23, 2024. 

 

A total of 14 stadiums in the United States will host the exciting matches, four on the West Coast, five in the Central Region and five on the East Coast. The opening match will be played on June 20 in Atlanta. 

 

The Group Stage will be played from June 20 to July 2, the quarter-finals from July 4 to July 6, the semi-finals on July 9 and 10, the third-place match on July 13, and lastly, the Final on July 14 at the Hard Rock Stadium, with a capacity of 65,000 spectators. 

 

According to the dynamics of the competition, two groups will play in the west and central areas of the country, and two groups in the east and central areas. The competition will move eastwards, with the quarter-finals being played in the west and central regions, while the semi-final and final will take place in the east. 

 

In the history of champions of the CONMEBOL Copa América™️, Uruguay and Argentina, with 15 trophies each, dominate the ranking followed by Brazil with 9, Peru, Paraguay and Chile with 2 conquests, while Bolivia and Colombia have won once the tournament that began in 1916. 

 

Fans who want to experience the matches of the greatest edition of all time can register their interest at www.copaamerica.com. 

 

CONMEBOL Copa América 2024™️ 

The CONMEBOL Copa América 2024™️ will be played in the United States and includes 10 CONMEBOL teams and 6 CONCACAF guest teams. In this edition, this traditional tournament will be organized by both confederations. 

 

The 6 Concacaf teams qualify through the Concacaf Nations League 2023/24. The already known representative teams from North, Central America and the Caribbean are the United States, Jamaica, Mexico and Panama. The other two Concacaf participants will be confirmed after a Play-In between Canada vs Trinidad and Tobago, and Costa Rica vs Honduras. This Play-In will take place in March 2024. 

 

In the 48th edition of one of the continent’s most important competitions, this will be the second time in the tournament’s history that it will host 16 teams – having hosted the same number of teams in its 2016 edition, also held in the United States. Teams that have won 10 World Cup titles from FIFA™️ and the biggest stars in world football will take the field for 32 matches in this edition of the tournament in June and July 2024. 

 

Tickets for CONMEBOL Copa América USA 2024™️ will be made available starting in mid January. Signup at www.copaamerica.com to be part of an exclusive presale opportunity before the public on-sale. 

  

Rocking the Continent 

The CONMEBOL Copa América™️ has an incredible power, it can make everything move, emotions vibrate and hearts soar. 

 

It makes the flags fly, the nets tremble, the stands, and the stadiums shake. Its history makes the whole continent proud, and our football beats with a united force. 

 

This competition has the power to bring out the best version of who we are: football, history, joy and passion. 

 

#RockingtheContinent 

  

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About Levi's® Stadium 

Named Sports Facility of the Year for 2015 by Sports Business Journal, Levi's® Stadium is home to the San Francisco 49ers and serves as one of the world’s most technologically advanced and sustainable sports and entertainment venue. The $1.2 billion venue consists of 1.85 million square feet and 68,500 seats, including 175 luxury suites and 9,000 club seats, and was designed by HNTB and built by Turner/Devcon for the Santa Clara Stadium Authority. It is a multi-purpose facility with flexibility that has allowed it to host a wide range of events – including international soccer, college football, ice hockey, motorsports, concerts and various civic events – since opening in 2014. The venue is also expandable for major events such as 2026 FIFA World Cup, WrestleMania 31, Super Bowl 50 and the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship Game. Levi's® Stadium is owned by the Santa Clara Stadium Authority, a public joint powers authority established to provide for development and operation of Levi's® Stadium to ensure the stadium serves the goals of the City of Santa Clara. For more information, go to LevisStadium.com. 

Six projects changing the face of Downtown San Jose

The Merc has listed out six projects that are helping usher in the next era of Downtown San Jose. Below they are:

1.) Spartan Village on the Paseo - SJSU is buying the former Fairmont Annex and turning it into student housing for 700-800 students right on Plaza de Cesar Chavez.

2.) Home Eat - A new 11,000 SQFT restaurant with amazing reviews will take over the space formerly occupied by Flames that has been sitting empty for a year.

3.) Housing towers, Fourth & Santa Clara - Investors are switching a proposed office tower to 600-650 residential units. This tower will replace a Chevron gas station.

4.) Food Hall - A new food hall with 26 kitchens, a small dine-in restaurant, and coffee bar will finally reactivate the Hank Coca furniture store.

5.) Purple Lotus - a popular cannabis dispensary will take over a key corner on Santa Clara are draw up to 300 customers a day starting in February or March.

6.) Adobe pedestrian bridge - last month Adobe opened a shiny new bridge connecting its 4th tower with the original three. Included is a brand new museum and cafe open to the public and some new street art.

There are several other projects worth mentioning not included in this list: Urban Putt, Unofficial Logging, Eos & Nyx, Still OG, Alter Ego, the expanded Elyse, and many more.. I think 2024 is going to be a year to remember Downtown. 

Source: The Mercury News

New Taiwanese restaurant will replace Flames in Downtown San Jose

Another key corner will soon be revitalized in Downtown San Jose. Flames occupied a large space on the ground floor of one of the most used parking garages Downtown, located at the intersection of San Fernando and 4th Street This is across the street from the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library and a few blocks away from Plaza de Cesar Chavez, City Hall, and SJSU.

A restaurant called Home Eat just signed a 5-year lease for the 11,000 SQFT space. They already have a location in Cupertino with spectacular reviews. 4.5/5 stars on Yelp is pretty difficult to achieve. They specialize in Taiwanese-style small hot pots and a variety of fusion dishes. They plan to offer both lunch and dinner as well as catering.

While it was quite sad to see Flames shut their doors about a year ago, it just opened up an opportunity for what could be an even more exciting restaurant. If you miss the Flames signature brunch, I highly recommend The Club on Post for an elevated brunch and creative drinks. 

Another good omen for Downtown San Jose is that there were actually six different restaurants that wanted the Flames space and Home Eat will pay 89% higher rent to the City of San Jose than Flames did (the City of San Jose owns this garage).

Source: The Mercury News

Santa Clara approves plan to rebuild its former Downtown

63 years ago, Santa Clara had a Downtown area that was nearly completely destroyed. Eight blocks by Santa Clara University were leveled to make way for Franklin Mall and high-density housing that never materialized.

Now, the city of Santa Clara has approved a new plan that would restore Santa Clara's original street grid while creating three new public spaces and a retail shopping experience. The area was originally zoned to support 129,300 SQFT of new commercial space and 396 more residential units than it has today. The new plan would allow for 1,071 units and a whipping 729,620 SQFT of commercial space. Buildings would still be capped at seven stories.

If you look at the map below, the new plan would involve tearing down several existing buildings, including Park Central Apartments (which are quite old and in need of renovation anyway). I would not expect a brand new Downtown to materialize any time soon, the city is just setting the vision and up-zoning the area to encourage and support developers to create a future Downtown where the old one once existed. You can see see remnants and information related to the original Downtown in Franklin Mall.

Source: SVBJ

Spirit of the Row in San Jose

Every Tuesday leading up to Christmas, Santana Row is hosting free holiday performances featuring local community groups in Santana Row Park. There will also be photos with Santa in the Oak Tree Lounge by Blue Bottle and snow showerers in Park Valencia.

Below is the full lineup of performers:

Tuesday, December 12

The New Ballet performing The Nutcracker

Sarah Bylsma Soloist

Fantasy Dance

Presentation High School Choir & Dance

Santa Clara Elite Dance

Melissa Marielle Vocalist

Los Laurales performing Feliz Navidad

West Valley Dance Company

Tuesday, December 19

The New Ballet performing The Nutcracker

Sarah Bylsma Soloist

Nor Cal Dance Arts

PNC Music Management 

Joy of Dancing Competition Team

Castillero Middle School Choir

Almaden Spirit Athletics Cheer & Hip Hop

San Jose approves 913 apartments east of Downtown

San Jose has given the green light for a major housing project near Little Portugal and Roosevelt Park. The 913 apartment development will be one of the anchors of the Five Wounds Urban Village plan, centered around a future BART station and a historic 109-year-old church.

There will be a total of six buildings, and 407 of the units will be priced as below market-rate. Most of those "affordable" units will be priced for people earning up to 80% of the median income, which is $96,000 for a single person and $137,000 for a household of four.

235 of the apartment will be built on 1.5 acres at 1298 Tripp Avenue and will be called Residencias Arianna. It will replace 40 existing apartments and two single-family homes with a single six-story building.

The other five buildings will be on 3.3 acres of land at 1325 E. Julian St. Three buildings will rise to be 10 stories tall and the fourth will be six stories. This is respectable density for this neighborhood.

The project also includes 15,000 SQFT of commercial space on the ground floors and 267 parking spaces shared among all of the apartments. That's right, not everyone will get a space. However with multiple bus lines and eventually BART servicing the area, it might be one of those few neighborhoods in San Jose where you can get around without a car.

Groundbreaking is scheduled for 2024 and it will take around three years to complete.

Source: San Jose Spotlight

Luxurious 21-story residential high-rise proposed for Tasman with a surprise amenity on top

Tasman East by Levi's Stadium has been on a roll lately. Santa Clara's two tallest buildings are almost complete and already another high-rise is being proposed for the area right across the street from them.

Tasman East, Parcel 11 is a 21-story apartment complex that would have 198 homes, 310 automotive parking spaces, 110 spots for bike parking, and easy access to VTA Light Rail and the numerous amenities coming to the Levi's Stadium area this decade. The building is 218 feet tall with 3,000 SQFT of retail on the ground floor

There will be two amenity areas. On the 6th floor podium there will be an outdoor fitness space, yoga patio, and private patios. The second one will have something special. 

I was really hoping that San Jose would have the first swimming pool on top of a high-rise in the Bay Area (I'm looking at you Tribute Hotel next to the Four Points Downtown). However, if this moves forward it will not even be the first, but the second--in Santa Clara. The proposal has an epic penthouse amenity deck with a full pool, hot tub/spa, cabanas, and outdoor dining. Given our amazing South Bay weather and high cost of living, this is one luxury we should see a lot more of in proposed residential projects to help justify those big bucks. If you're wondering where the first high-rise pool is, it will be at the Tasman Senior Housing tower across the street.

As for the apartments themselves, there will be 28 studios, 87 one-bedrooms, 61 two-bedrooms, 15 three-bedrooms, and seven penthouse units. The average size of the units will be close to 1,000 SQFT.

Long-term, there could be up to 11 projects like this one with around 4,500 apartments total. This is just the beginning and the skyline is already surprisingly different around Tasman than it was just a few years ago.

Source: SF YIMBY

San Jose Christmas Poem

It's amazing what generative AI can do these days. Below is a ChatGPT4-generated poem about Christmas in San Jose that is spot on. Below the poem is a DALL-E 3-generated image of Christmas in San Jose. The system made up an entirely fictionalized version of Downtown San Jose, although it's worth noting that our City Hall was once in the center of Plaza de Cesar Chavez. 

🎄🎄🎄

San Jose is a city of lights and dreams

Where people come from near and far

To enjoy the festive spirit and the winter charms

The Christmas in the Park is a wonderland of joy

With trees and snowmen and a giant Ferris wheel

The ice skating rink is a place to glide and laugh

With friends and family and a cup of hot cocoa

The Tech Museum of Innovation is a gift for the curious

With exhibits and activities that spark the imagination

The Winchester Mystery House is a mystery to explore

With secret passages and stairways that lead nowhere

San Jose is a city of culture and diversity

Where people celebrate their traditions and their faith

The Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph is a masterpiece of art

With stained glass windows and a majestic dome

The Mexican Heritage Plaza is a hub of community

With music and dance and a vibrant mural

The San Jose Museum of Art is a showcase of creativity

With paintings and sculptures and a rotating collection

San Jose is a city of love and peace

Where people share their hopes and their gratitude

The Christmas tree lighting is a moment of magic

With fireworks and songs and a special guest

The holiday parade is a spectacle of fun

With floats and bands and a jolly Santa Claus

The food drive is a gesture of kindness

With donations and volunteers and a noble cause

San Jose is a city of Christmas cheer

Where people live in harmony and happiness

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!