San Jose Giants to Remain for Next 25 Years in Home Run for the City
Lease Extension passed today includes renovations to Excite Ballpark to keep the team in San Jose
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 4, 2025
Media Contact:
Seamus Gann, Communications Manager, Office of Mayor Matt Mahan
408.838.7664, [email protected]
Matt Alongi, General Manager, San Jose Giants
408.380.4507 [email protected]
SAN JOSÉ, CA - Today, Mayor Matt Mahan and the San José City Council approved an agreement to keep the San Jose Giants at Excite Ballpark through 2050. The team has called Excite Ballpark—formerly San Jose Municipal Stadium—home since 1988. As part of the lease extension, the San Jose Giants and their ownership group, Diamond Baseball Holdings (DBH), will begin renovations to bring the ballpark up to Major League Baseball’s player standards. Originally built in 1942, Excite Ballpark is one of the oldest professional baseball stadiums in the country.
“Our minor league team has delivered major league thrills at Excite Ballpark for decades at a price our working families can afford,” said Mayor Matt Mahan. “These renovations, which include new clubhouses and offices, will bring the park up to MLB’s latest standards and ensure this time-honored tradition will continue in San Jose for another 25 years.”
“For the San Jose Giants organization, and our ownership Diamond Baseball Holdings, today marks a watershed moment in our partnership with the City of San Jose,” said Ben Taylor, President of the San Jose Giants. “In the over 80 year history of Excite Ballpark, never before has a lease extension of this length and investment been agreed upon. This action not only ensures a better and safer place for baseball players of all ages to chase their Major League dreams, but most importantly solidifies the ballpark as a memory-making place for San Jose families for decades to come.”
“The San Jose Giants are an institution in our City and are a source of civic pride,” exclaimed City Manager Jennifer Maguire. “The partnership with DBH ensures Excite Ballpark continues to be a place for our residents and visitors to enjoy family time.”
Under the proposed agreement, DBH is expected to make a substantial investment to construct these improvements, with the financial and operational partnership of the City of San José. These partnership efforts will support essential upgrades to bring Excite Ballpark into compliance with Major League Baseball’s player standards.
“Excite Ballpark has an incredibly rich history, one that has served as the inspiration for many of the Giants’ most iconic promotions, so we’re thrilled to partner with the City of San Jose to reinforce our commitment to providing a fun, affordable entertainment option to this community,” said Pat Battle and Peter Freund, Executive Chairman and CEO of DBH, respectively. “This investment will ensure that baseball’s history in San Jose is preserved for future generations to embrace.”
This lease extension guarantees that professional baseball will remain in San José for at least the next 25 years. The renovations will enhance Excite Ballpark, which hosts not only San Jose Giants games but also San Jose Rotary’s Independence Day Fireworks Extravaganza, youth camps and clinics, concerts, nonprofit events, and high school and collegiate baseball games.
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About the City of San José
With nearly one million residents, San José is the largest city in the Bay Area and one of the nation's most diverse and creative. San José’s transformation into a global innovation center in the heart of Silicon Valley has resulted in the world's greatest concentration of technology talent and development.
About the San Jose Giants
The San Jose Giants are a Class A professional baseball team and have been an affiliate of the San Francisco Giants since 1988. San Jose has won seven California League Championships as a Giants affiliate and twelve overall. The San Jose Giants have graduated 243 Major League players, 177 of whom have played or currently play for the San Francisco Giants. Excite Ballpark, the home of the San Jose Giants, first opened in 1942 and has seen over 8 million fans enter through its gates.