SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Earthquakes will begin demolition today on the Food Machinery Corporation building at the site of San Jose's proposed new stadium.
Local dignitaries, the Earthquakes Front Office, players and Season Ticket Holders will be on hand to witness the ceremonial first blow to the steel factory building standing just outside the team's Nutrilite Training Facility. The demolition process is expected to take 12 weeks.
Currently, the Earthquakes play their home matches at Buck Shaw Stadium on the campus of Santa Clara University. The most recent development for the Quakes on the site of the proposed new stadium was the grand opening of the Nutrilite Training Facility on April 30, 2010. The one-million dollar project features a world-class surface and is a quick five-minute drive from team headquarters.
ABOUT THE FMC BUILDING
Originally a factory for orchard supplies, the Food Machinery Corporation building changed gears at the outset of World War II and began producing amphibious vehicles, including the "Water Buffalo" and the "Roebling Alligator," for the United States military. In 1951, the M-75 tracked vehicle was added to the list of machines being made at the plant. During this time, FMC continued its chemical, petroleum, canning, freezing, packing and processing equipment production divisions, and substantially expanded the Coleman property throughout the 1960s. The original office/engineering building was almost doubled in size, while the original food machinery factory, armored vehicles factory and research lab were joined by a number of shop and warehouse buildings, with the final office complex being constructed in 1982. The building officially closed in 1993.
