San Jose Earthquakes to resume season at Earthquakes Stadium this month

The San Jose Earthquakes are back home after their MLS is Back Tournament experience in the Orlando bubble, and they won’t have to wait long for the next phase of the 2020 MLS regular season, as their next six games scheduled were announced Saturday.

The headline is that the Quakes will be able to play games at Earthquakes Stadium, and they’ll be allowed to train at home, something that wasn’t a given considering the team couldn’t hold full team training before leaving for Orlando, the only team in the league not cleared to do that before the tournament. But, Matias Almeyda’s squad won’t have to go to a neutral location to train or play, so that’s a positive.

Having said that, as part of the return to action in local venues, the Earthquakes confirmed fans will not be allowed into the stadium to watch games. Frankly, this isn’t a surprise, and I wouldn’t expect any team in California to have fans in attendance at games this year.

Now, for the games:

• Wednesday, Aug. 26: Quakes vs. Portland Timbers (at Earthquakes Stadium)
• Saturday, Aug. 29: LA Galaxy vs. Quakes (at Dignity Health Sports Park)
• Wednesday, Sept. 2: LAFC vs. Quakes (at Banc of California Stadium)
• Saturday, Sept. 5: Quakes vs. Colorado Rapids (at Earthquakes Stadium)
• Thursday, Sept. 10: Seattle Sounders vs. Quakes (at CenturyLink Field)
• Sunday, Sept. 13: Quakes vs. Galaxy (at Earthquakes Stadium)

Given this phase of the schedule is regionalized, teams will attempt to limit exposure with the outside world with travel plans: “Teams will take chartered flights, or buses, and for the majority of road trips will arrive in the host market on matchday and depart after the match later that evening,” according to the team’s release.

If teams can adequately get through this phase of the season, MLS plans to release the next batch of the schedule in September, with the plan to end the regular season on Decision Day on Nov. 8. Teams will only play in-conference for the rest of the regular season.

The next six games aren’t an easy slate, but the Quakes are flying high after their terrific MLS is Back Tournament showing and shouldn’t be especially worried about this schedule. Add to that two California Clasicos, which often bring out the best in San Jose, and it could be another promising phase of the season for the Earthquakes. Time will tell, but mark your calendars for the next phase of the season.

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