Major League Soccer Debuts in Santa Clara!

Professional sports has arrived in Santa Clara in the form of Major League Soccer (MLS). The expansion San Jose Earthquakes began their three year stay in Santa Clara on May 3rd as a sellout crowd of 10,515 fans packed Buck Shaw Stadium at Santa Clara University. The game between the Earthquakes and FC Dallas was the largest attended event ever at the historic field named after former San Francisco 49ers coach Buck Shaw.

Upcoming games in Santa Clara include Thursday, May 22nd vs. defending MLS champions the Houston Dynamo; July 12 vs. the Colorado Rapids; July 27 vs. the New York Red Bulls; August 16 vs. the New England Revolution; August 30 vs. the Kansas City Wizards; September 6 vs. D.C. United; September 13 vs. Houston Dynamo; September 27 vs. Real Salt Lake, and October 11 vs. Chivas USA. Have you been to any of the games yet? If so, please comment.

Japanese Restaurants

Santa Clara has many great tasting Japanese restaurants. Three of my favorites are Sushi O Sushi, Sushi California, and Hana Maki Sushi. Sushi O Sushi (2789 El Camino Real) has been a Santa Clara success story. The restaurant started in a corner space in a small shopping area along the El Camino Real. At lunch time, the lines were out the door, so the restaurant relocated a few doors down to a much bigger space. Sushi O Sushi is the higher priced of the three restaurants, but the sushi is fresh and delicious.
Sushi California (4477 Stevens Creek Blvd.) began when several of the employees at Sushi O Sushi left to begin their own restaurant. At first business was slow, but now Sushi California has a steady and loyal clientele. The food is moderately priced and the same quality as Sushi O Sushi. Both myself and several of my co-workers frequent this restaurant often.
Finally, for a low priced, what some may call “hole-in-the-wall” sushi restaurant, try Hana Maki Sushi. The restaurant is in the same shopping complex as Sushi O Sushi. It’s small with usually only one server for the entire restaurant. For $1.75, you get six California Rolls, and they are very tasty. For a quick and inexpensive lunch or dinner, there is no place better to go. Hana Maki Sushi is located at 2725 El Camino Real

City Approves 49ers Stadium Vote

If the City of Santa Clara can work out a deal with the San Francisco 49ers by July, there will be a non-binding vote for a proposed new stadium in November, 2008. The Santa Clara City Council voted unanimously to approve the measure, so city residents can have their say on the proposed stadium.

The City of Santa Clara is currently in negotiations with the team to offer up to $136 million in public money for the project. The team is committed to not impacting the city’s general fund or raising taxes. The 68,000 seat open-air stadium would be built near California’s Great America theme park and across the street from the Santa Clara Convention Center.

Included in the preliminary design is a special plaza outside the stadium that would connect it with the theme park and Convention Center, creating a central entertainment corridor for the City. The target date for completion is 2012. Stay tuned!

Intel Museum Has New Exhibits

“Arti,” an artificial intelligence robot, talks with museum guides to help tell the fascinating story about how Intel’s technology helps teachers and students in South Africa. That is just one of the new exhibits on display at the Intel Museum .Visitors to the museum can also catch a handful of “binary rain,” representing the data created by emails, cell phones, video, and more. In addition, you can “get digitized” as your digital photo is snapped and a digital postcard is created.

All this is FREE as there is no charge to visit the Intel Museum. The museum also provides maps in multiple languages that provide a quick review of each exhibit. The Intel Museum and Intel Museum Store is located at Intel’s headquarters at the Robert Noyce Building at 2200 Mission College Blvd. in Santa Clara.

"Live" Camera Allows You to Watch Ballroom Expansion as it Happens

The exciting 24,000 square foot Convention Center ballroom expansion is underway and you can watch it happen “live.” Construction has been ongoing since this past October, 2007 and is gaining steam. The new space is designed for multi-purpose use as ballroom, meeting, or exhibit space.

The current construction does not interrupt any of the current Convention Center operations. The Center is connected to the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara and next to the Santa Clara Golf & Tennis Club. Across the street and within short walking distance is California’s Great America theme park.

Just two years ago, the Convention Center celebrated its 20th anniversary. The state-of-the-art 262,000 square foot building has hosted many dignitaries including President George W. Bush, Prince Andrew, current Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Senator John Glenn, and many others.

Convention Center and Great America Hotels

A recent report by the Santa Clara Convention and Visitors Bureau indicates that the eight full service hotels surrounding the Santa Clara Convention Center and Great America theme park averaged 73% occupancy in 2007, the same average as 2006. The hotels included in the report included the Biltmore Hotel & Suites, Embassy Suites, Hilton, Holiday Inn, Hyatt Regency, Marriott, Plaza Suites, and Sierra Suites.

Given today's business and leisure travel climate, this is a substantially high occupancy rate. It's no surprise though because the hotels in the north of Bayshore "Entertainment District" of Santa Clara are very high quality. Almost all of them included in the above report spent millions on upgrades to their hotel in 2007 or are in the planning stages to do so. These are first class hotels in a safe, clean city. Pair that with the many business, convention, and leisure travelers who visit Santa Clara and you can see why the city's occupancy rate is as high as it is.

Santa Clara hotels remain the biggest bargain in the state on weekends. For example, once California's Great America theme park opens on March 16, hotel/theme park packages will be available with rates ranging from $119.00 - $159.00. That includes two admission tickets to the theme park! The mid-week rate per night alone is above the price of these outstanding hotel/theme park packages. You can book one of these packages starting in March at santaclara.org.

Year-round Farmer's Market

Every Saturday at Franklin Square near Santa Clara University (SCU) the Farmer’s Market is open from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. The market is over a block long and features not only the freshest food and vegetables, but also several arts and crafts booths, and often live music. It’s a fun way to spend the first half of your Saturday in Santa Clara.
The market is “certified," meaning the participants only sell food items they have produced themselves. You can find the Farmer’s Market near SCU on Jackson Street between Benton and Homestead. After visiting the market, take a walk over to Mission Santa Clara de Asis on the SCU campus. The Mission Church and Mission Gardens are definitely worth seeing