Earthquakes Fans Set Guinness World Record

By Chris Glennon

On the morning of the Earthquakes game with MLS rival Los Angeles Galaxy, 6,256 fans of the team gathered to participate in the groundbreaking for their new stadium, which is scheduled for completion in 2014.
The previous record for a participatory groundbreaking was held in Jaipur, India, where 4,532 diggers took part.
"This is a landmark day for all Bay Area soccer fans," Club President Dave Kaval said to the crowd. "I couldn't be more proud to be a part of this organization. The support from our fans has been tremendous the entire way through this process, but today was something special."
The Earthquakes have never had a permanent stadium since their inception in 1974. A soccer-specific stadium is crucial to the league's success, commissioner Don Garber said.
The new stadium will have a capacity of 18,000, about three times the amount of people that showed up for the groundbreaking. In June, the Earthquakes and Galaxy played to a sell-out crowd of over 50,000 at Stanford Stadium. Filling those seats should be no problem.
Later that day the Earthquakes played to a 2-2 tie in front of a sold out Buck Shaw Stadium (10,744) on the campus of Santa Clara, their soon-to-be former home.
During the second-half of the game Sunday, approximately 100 Galaxy fans had to be escorted out after tensions rose between them and Earthquakes fans. Over 20 extra police offers were on hand and seven arrests were made.
The Earthquakes had already locked up first place in the Western Conference before the game, and have one more game on the road before playoffs begin. They will face the winner of the first round game between the Galaxy and the Vancouver Whitecaps in the knockout round.
Contact Chris Glennon at cglennon@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.