Snapdragon Stadium

History

Following the announced departure of the NFL's Chargers from what was then SDCCU Stadium to the Greater Los Angeles area in January 2017, focus began on building a new stadium for the Aztecs that was modern and the right size for the program. Over the course of the next nearly two years, the plan for what would become Snapdragon Stadium (known during its planning and early construction phases as Aztec Stadium) and the rest of the SDSU Mission Valley development (initially known as SDSU West) took shape. A competing redevelopment proposal surfaced, known as SoccerCity, which envisioned the SDCCU Stadium site being leased from the city and redeveloped with private funding if San Diego was awarded a Major League Soccer (MLS) team. Under this proposal, SDSU football would have the option of sharing the proposed smaller-capacity soccer stadium with the new MLS team. The SoccerCity proposal was placed on the November 2018 ballot in competition with the SDSU Mission Valley proposal, where the SDSU Mission Valley plan emerged victorious.

On December 5, 2019, the school announced that it had received a $15 million gift from Dianne L. Bashor to help finance the new stadium, which led to its playing surface being named Bashor Field.

On June 30, 2020, the City of San Diego approved the sale of the SDCCU Stadium site to San Diego State University and on August 10, 2020, the university officially took control of the property. San Diego State bought the entire 135 acre, including the existing stadium, from the city for $88 million. Groundbreaking on the new stadium took place on August 17, just one week after SDSU took control of the site.

The entire $3.5 billion SDSU Mission Valley project includes housing, office and retail space, hotels, and 80 acre of parks and open space, including a 34 acre river park along the San Diego River on adjacent city property, and will be developed in phases over 10–15 years. The stadium will seat 35,000 fans and is being built to support college football, non-football NCAA championship games, professional soccer, rugby, lacrosse, and special events such as concerts. The stadium was designed to be expandable to a capacity of 55,000 (complete with a plan and renderings for such an expansion) or more to accommodate a prospective NFL return to San Diego and/or future needs of the Aztecs football team.

On December 6, 2021, San Diego State announced a naming rights agreement with San Diego–based telecommunications company Qualcomm, who also owned the naming rights to the original stadium from 1997 to 2017. The stadium became known as Snapdragon Stadium, named after Qualcomm's Snapdragon brand of systems on a chip (the original stadium had also been briefly renamed to Snapdragon Stadium in 2011).

The stadium opened in 2022 for an Aztecs scrimmage on August 20. The Aztecs' first game was two weeks later on September 3, a 38–20 loss to the Arizona Wildcats.

On December 15, 2021, San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) announced it would move to Snapdragon Stadium starting in September 2022 following the stadium's completion; the club began its inaugural 2022 season at Torero Stadium at the University of San Diego.

San Diego Wave FC set a new NWSL attendance record when it debuted in the new stadium on September 17, 2022 against Angel City FC. By August 28, about three weeks before the game, over 27,000 tickets had been sold. This total was comparable to the then-current league record of 27,278, set on August 29, 2021 when OL Reign played Portland Thorns FC at Lumen Field in Seattle as part of a doubleheader that also featured an MLS match between rivals Seattle Sounders FC and the Portland Timbers. The pre-sales for the Wave's stadium debut had already surpassed the record for a standalone game of 25,218, set on August 11, 2019 when Thorns FC hosted the North Carolina Courage at Providence Park in Portland, Oregon. On September 1, the team announced the game had sold out, based on a soccer capacity of 32,000, and the official attendance for the game was announced as that number.

On February 2, 2022, the San Diego Legion of Major League Rugby (MLR) announced Snapdragon Stadium to be their new home beginning in 2023.

On May 18, 2023, MLS announced that San Diego had been awarded the league's 30th team (later named San Diego FC) and that the team would be playing at Snapdragon Stadium starting in 2025. The club signed a 20-year lease with the stadium.

On November 19, 2024, the San Diego Legion announced plans to leave Snapdragon Stadium for Torero Stadium on the campus of the University of San Diego. Playoff games may be hosted at Snapdragon Stadium depending on demand.

San Diego FC played its first game at the stadium on March 1, 2025 against St. Louis City SC, a 0–0 tie in front of 34,506 fans. This marked the largest crowd for a sporting event in the stadium's history. San Diego FC played its first playoff game at the stadium on October 26, 2025 against the Portland Timbers, winning 2−1 in front of 32,500 fans.

Opening

Snapdragon Stadium opened for a SDSU scrimmage on August 20, 2022. The first game in the stadium was played on September 3, ending with the Aztecs being defeated 38–20 by the Arizona Wildcats. The game occurred during a heat wave, resulting in heat illnesses among attendees that required the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department to send five ambulances and three fire engines to treat around 200 people, 20 of whom were hospitalized. By kickoff, the game started when the temperature reached 100 F, with attendees retreating from the seating area and into shade. On social media, the stadium design was called into question by fans because of the lack of shade.

On September 8, San Diego Fire-Rescue stated that the department did not receive a heat injury and illness plan from the university, having only received the medical plan two days before the game, and wrote that "it was evident that the sheer number of patients at the game quickly overwhelmed the EMS resources on site and required assistance from SDFD." Around 12:30 pm PDT (UTC−7), SDFD and EMS deputy chiefs considered asking the university to cancel the game but decided that doing so would not resolve the situation.

Year by year

Events

Sports

Soccer

Snapdragon Stadium has hosted San Diego State Aztecs women's soccer and men's soccer matches.

On November 7, 2023, CONCACAF announced that inaugural final of the CONCACAF W Gold Cup would be held at Snapdragon Stadium on March 10, 2024.

Lacrosse

Snapdragon Stadium has hosted San Diego State Aztecs women's lacrosse matches in 2023 and 2024.

2023 NLL Stadium Showdown

On December 6, 2022, the National Lacrosse League (NLL) announced that the San Diego Seals would host the NLL's first-ever box lacrosse game held outdoors on March 4, 2023. The game, which became known as the NLL Stadium Showdown, saw the Seals beat the Las Vegas Desert Dogs 15–12.

2023 World Lacrosse Championship

In January 2022, World Lacrosse announced that San Diego would host the 2023 World Lacrosse Championship, with Snapdragon Stadium to be the primary venue. The opening ceremonies and opening game with Steve Aoki as the halftime performer, semifinals, bronze medal game, and gold medal game were held at Snapdragon. All other games were held at Torero Stadium on the campus of the University of San Diego and three additional fields at the SDSU Sports Deck.

Rugby union

2031 and 2033 Rugby World Cup

San Diego is among the cities being considered for hosting matches during the 2031 Men's Rugby World Cup and 2033 Women's Rugby World Cup.

Motorsports

Since 2023, Snapdragon Stadium has hosted rounds of Monster Jam and AMA Supercross Championship. In January 2023, the stadium hosted Monster Jam for the first time on January 7–8 and 14–15. SDSU has been in talks with NASCAR about hosting a race in Snapdragon Stadium, according to insiders at SDSU. On January 21, 2023, the stadium hosted its first AMA Supercross Championship event.

Holiday Bowl

On June 11, 2024, it was announced that the Holiday Bowl would be moving from Petco Park to Snapdragon Stadium.

Concerts

On June 2-4, 2023, the Re:SET Concert Series was held at Thrive Park, located outside of Snapdragon Stadium. The outdoor concert series was headlined by LCD Soundsystem, boygenius, and Steve Lacy. On July 13 and 14, 2024, Thrive Park hosted the Holo Holo Music Festival. It was headlined by J Boog and Maoli, respectively. EDM hometown artists ISOxo and Knock2 headlined ISOKnock, a two-day festival, on December 7 and 8, 2024 at Thrive Park, that featured support from Madeon, RL Grime, Peekaboo, Brutalismus 3000, and more.

Gallery

File:Snapdragon Stadium exterior-Night stadium.jpg|Snapdragon Stadium at night File:Snapdragon Stadium exterior-Night facade.jpg|The stadium's façade at night File:Snapdragon Stadium interior-Night end zone 1.jpg|View of field during a game File:Snapdragon Stadium interior-Night Club area 1.jpg|An interior lounge

References

References

1. Kenney, Kirk. (June 2, 2022). "Word is that with Latitude 36 variety, the grass is always greener". San Diego Union Tribune.
2. mlssoccer. "San Diego history! Record crowd attends Snapdragon Stadium home opener {{!}} MLSSoccer.com".
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5. (July 1, 2023). "2023 World Lacrosse Mens Championship Concludes After 11 Days".
6. Hernandez, Cesar. (May 18, 2023). "San Diego awarded 30th MLS team, will debut in 2025". ESPN.
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11. (December 5, 2019). "San Diego State announces multi-million dollar donation to help fund Mission Valley stadium".
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16. (April 27, 2018). "San Diego State details how NFL could fit with stadium proposal".
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32. (September 3, 2022). "Arizona Wildcats vs San Diego State Aztecs". [[Fox Sports]].
33. (September 3, 2022). "San Diego Fire Department sees wave of heat-related injuries at Snapdragon Stadium". [[KGTV]].
34. (September 6, 2022). "Dozens of fans escorted out of Snapdragon stadium due to heat related illnesses". [[KUSI-TV]].
35. (September 3, 2022). "Scorching heat at Snapdragon Stadium forces fans out of seats and into shade, some in need of medical aid". [[KFMB-TV]].
36. (September 8, 2022). "San Diego Fire-Rescue says 'our input was not solicited' prior to Snapdragon opener". [[KFMB-TV]].
37. (February 26, 2023). "Snapdragon Stadium to host Manchester United, Gold Cup semi in July". San Diego Union-Tribune.
38. Kenney, Kirk. (July 25, 2023). "Scene & Heard at Snapdragon Stadium: Fans flock to see Man U vs. Wrexham". San Diego Union-Tribune.
39. City News Service. (December 6, 2022). "Snapdragon Stadium to host lacrosse showdown in March with SD Seals".
40. (March 4, 2023). "Desert Dogs Falter Late in Stadium Showdown".
41. (December 6, 2022). "SEALS TO HOST FIRST-EVER NLL OUTDOOR GAME".
42. Bloom, Barry M.. (January 10, 2022). "San Diego to Host 2023 Men's Lacrosse Championship at New Stadium".
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44. (June 21, 2024). "DJ MARSHMELLO TO ROCK THE STAGE AT 2024 MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP".
45. "Free Jacks beat Seawolves to claim second straight MLR title".
46. "United States named host nation for 2031 and 2033 Rugby World Cup - USA Rugby".
47. (January 5, 2023). "Snapdragon Stadium getting prepared for Monster Jam".
48. Schmiedeberg • •, Renee. (January 4, 2023). "26 Million Pounds of Dirt Poured Into Snapdragon Stadium for Monster Jam, Supercross".
49. (2024-06-11). "DirecTV Holiday Bowl moving from Petco Park to Snapdragon Stadium".