{"id":154228,"date":"2026-01-29T01:55:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T01:55:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/154228\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T01:55:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T01:55:12","slug":"welcome-to-the-locker-room-downtown-san-joses-one-stop-concierge-the-mercury-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/154228\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome to the Locker Room, downtown San Jose\u2019s \u2018one-stop concierge\u2019 \u2013 The Mercury News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Like Johnny Cash, San Jose Sports Authority Executive Director John Poch has been everywhere. He used to travel every month to different cities to see their sports events, looking for San Jose\u2019s next potential opportunity.<\/p>\n

And just about every city he went to had some sort of visitor center. But San Jose didn\u2019t have one \u2014 until this week with the launch of the Locker Room \u2014 a visitor center and merchandise store \u2014 in downtown San Jose.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe intent of this visitor center is a one-stop concierge service,\u201d Poch said.<\/p>\n

\"San<\/p>\n

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, left, talks to San Jose Sports Authority Executive Director John Poch at the opening of the Locker Room, a new visitor center and merchandise store, in downtown San Jose on Monday, Jan. 27, 2026. (Sal Pizarro\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"San<\/p>\n

San Jose State President Cynthia Teniente-Matson, left, walks with San Jose City Manager Jennifer Maguire at the opening of the Locker Room, a new visitor center and merchandise store, in downtown San Jose on Monday, Jan. 27, 2026. (Sal Pizarro\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"San<\/p>\n

San Jose-branded apparel is for sale at the Locker Room, a new visitor center and merchandise store, in downtown San Jose, which opened on Monday, Jan. 27, 2026. (Sal Pizarro\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A kiosk with information on San Jose restaurants and venues is on display at the Locker Room, a new visitor center and merchandise store, in downtown San Jose on Monday, Jan. 27, 2026. (Sal Pizarro\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The entrance to the Locker Room, a new visitor center and merchandise store, in downtown San Jose on Monday, Jan. 27, 2026. (Sal Pizarro\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 5<\/p>\n

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, left, talks to San Jose Sports Authority Executive Director John Poch at the opening of the Locker Room, a new visitor center and merchandise store, in downtown San Jose on Monday, Jan. 27, 2026. (Sal Pizarro\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

The Locker Room name fits in with San Jose\u2019s emphasis on the big sports events coming to the San Jose area in 2026, starting with Super Bowl LX at Levi\u2019s stadium on Feb. 8, continuing with NCAA men\u2019s basketball tournament games at SAP Center in March and going big with six FIFA World Cup games at Levi\u2019s in June and July. There\u2019s shirts, hats and other items for sale from the city\u2019s sports teams \u2014 the Sharks, Barracuda, Earthquakes, BayFC and San Jose State \u2014 as well as San Jose-branded clothes and items.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s a lot more than just a place to shop. You can stop in and get information on restaurants, theaters and other venues, take a breather and catch up on your emails using free Wi-Fi or book one of its public spaces aimed at nonprofits \u2014 a conference room, a speaking area with chairs and a stage and a podcast studio. There\u2019s also an Earthquakes-BayFC branded foosball table if you\u2019re really looking to cut loose.<\/p>\n

The Locker Room won\u2019t close down when the big sporting events leave town, either, and is planned as a long-term resource for San Jose (which will also give real-world experience to hospitality management program students at San Jose State, Poch\u2019s alma mater). It\u2019s located at 93 E. San Fernando Street and is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with weekends \u2014 noon to 5 p.m. \u2014 expected to be added starting March 1.<\/p>\n

COSTUME GEM CLOSING: If you ever had an invite to a costume party and needed a knock \u2019em dead outfit or a dance student who needed new shoes, Natasha\u2019s Attic<\/a> has been the place to go for decades. But nothing lasts forever, not even Natasha\u2019s Attic, which announced it\u2019ll be closing its doors in the next few weeks.<\/p>\n

There was an announcement on Facebook last weekend that the store\u2019s building on Race Street had been sold to a new owner \u2014 and Natasha\u2019s Attic was given its 30-day notice. That combined with a recently diagnosed health situation for owner Kathy Bell signaled to her it was time to retire, the post said.<\/p>\n

Until the closing \u2014 and there\u2019s not an exact date yet \u2014 customers are invited to come by 376 Race Street for a closeout sale. It\u2019s all first come, first served, and cash is preferred.<\/p>\n

KICKING OFF LUNAR NEW YEAR: The valley\u2019s first big Lunar New Year celebration takes place in Santa Clara this weekend, and there should be more than 30,000 in attendance as it brings together several of the South Bay\u2019s Asian communities to welcome the Year of the Horse.<\/p>\n

The fifth annual event, co-sponsored by Diana Ding\u2019s Silicon Valley Community Media and OMG Entertainment, opens at 3 p.m. Saturday with a ceremony and lion dance and continues Sunday, starting at noon. Festivities will include music and dance performances, art exhibits and food vendors with Lunar New Year bites from different cultures. It all takes place at 900 Lafayette Street in Santa Clara, and admission is free.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Like Johnny Cash, San Jose Sports Authority Executive Director John Poch has been everywhere. He used to travel…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":154229,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[417,184,7,1533,181,23,419,182,88,90,89,198,200,420],"class_list":{"0":"post-154228","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-jose","8":"tag-around-town","9":"tag-bay-area","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-keywee","12":"tag-latest-headlines","13":"tag-local-news","14":"tag-news-columnists","15":"tag-pm-report","16":"tag-san-jose","17":"tag-san-jose-headlines","18":"tag-san-jose-news","19":"tag-santa-clara-county","20":"tag-south-bay","21":"tag-things-to-do"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=154228"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154228\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/154229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}