Snapdragon Stadium

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For the stadium temporarily renamed in December 2011, see San Diego Stadium.
Snapdragon Stadium
SnapDragon Stadium logo.png
Aztec Stadium as of 11-13-21.jpg
Snapdragon Stadium is located in San Diego
Snapdragon Stadium
Snapdragon Stadium
Location in San Diego
Former namesAztec Stadium (planning/construction)
Address9449 Friars Road
LocationSan Diego, California
Coordinates32°47′04.0″N 117°7′22.2″W / 32.784444°N 117.122833°W / 32.784444; -117.122833Coordinates: 32°47′04.0″N 117°7′22.2″W / 32.784444°N 117.122833°W / 32.784444; -117.122833
Public transitMTS Trolley icon.svg San Diego Trolley
San Diego Trolley Green Line.svg Green Line
at Stadium station
OwnerSan Diego State University
OperatorSan Diego State University
Capacity35,000 (expandable up to 55,000)
Construction
Broke groundAugust 17, 2020
Built2020-2022
OpenedSeptember 3, 2022 (2022-09-03) (planned)
Construction cost$310 million
ArchitectGensler
General contractorClark Construction
Tenants
San Diego State Aztecs (NCAA) (2022–present)
San Diego Wave FC (NWSL) (2022–present)
San Diego Legion (MLR) (2023–present)
Website
https://snapdragonstadium.com/

Snapdragon Stadium, known during its planning and early construction phases as Aztec Stadium, is an under-construction American football stadium in San Diego, California on the campus of San Diego State University at SDSU Mission Valley, a 166-acre (67 ha) non-contiguous expansion parcel of the university campus. The 35,000-seat stadium will serve as the home of the San Diego State Aztecs football team, which represents San Diego State University in collegiate football (NCAA). It will also be the home of the San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), and the San Diego Legion of Major League Rugby (MLR). Snapdragon Stadium broke ground on August 17, 2020 and is scheduled to open on September 3, 2022 for the Aztecs' season opener versus the Arizona Wildcats.

Snapdragon Stadium is being built at the site of San Diego Stadium, which had been the home of the school's football program since the stadium opened in 1967.[1][2] San Diego Stadium, also known as Jack Murphy Stadium, Qualcomm Stadium and SDCCU Stadium during its existence, also served as the home of the former San Diego Chargers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1967 through 2016, the San Diego Fleet of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) for four home games during the canceled 2019 season, and the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1969 through 2003.

History[]

Following the announced departure of the NFL's Chargers from what was then SDCCU Stadium to the Los Angeles area in January of 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 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.[3]

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 at Snapdragon Stadium.[4]

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.[5] San Diego State bought the entire 135 acres, including the existing stadium, from the city for $88 million. Groundbreaking on the new stadium took place on August 17, 2020, 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 acres (32 ha) of parks and open space, including a 34 acres (14 ha) acre river park along the San Diego River on adjacent city property, and will be developed in phases over 10-15 years.[6] 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.[7][8] 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.[9]

On December 6, 2021, San Diego State announced a naming rights agreement with Qualcomm, who also owned the naming rights to the original stadium. The stadium will be known as Snapdragon Stadium, named after the Snapdragon brand of mobile device processors.[10]

On December 15, 2021, San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) announced they would move to Snapdragon Stadium starting in September 2022 following the stadium's completion; the club, which begins play in 2022, will kick off their inaugural season at Torero Stadium at the University of San Diego.[11]

In January 2022, it was announced that San Diego would be home to the 2023 World Lacrosse Championship, with Snapdragon Stadium to be the primary venue.[12]

On February 2, 2022, the San Diego Legion of Major League Rugby (MLR) announced Snapdragon Stadium to be their new home beginning in 2023.[13]

Snapdragon Stadium is scheduled to open September 3, 2022.[14]

See also[]

  • List of NCAA Division I FBS football stadiums

References[]

  1. ^ "San Diego State chooses Clark to deliver new stadium". The Stadium Business. 2019-03-01. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  2. ^ Sklar, Debbie L. (2019-04-19). "SDSU Picks Architects to Design Future Mission Valley Stadium". Times of San Diego. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  3. ^ Van Grove, Jennifer (October 4, 2018). "The Mission Valley stadium ballot measures explained". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  4. ^ "San Diego State announces multi-million dollar donation to help fund Mission Valley stadium". The Daily Aztec. 5 December 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  5. ^ "City Approves Agreement for SDSU to Purchase Mission Valley Stadium Site". Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  6. ^ Huard, Ray (May 31, 2020). "City Approves Deal to Sell Stadium Site to SDSU". San Diego Business Journal. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  7. ^ Adamek, Steve (February 28, 2019). "SDSU Selects Clark Construction to Build $250M Mission Valley Stadium". San Diego Business Journal. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  8. ^ Van Grove, Jennifer (October 10, 2019). "SDSU is about to make an offer to buy the city's Mission Valley stadium site". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  9. ^ "San Diego State details how NFL could fit with stadium proposal". San Diego Union-Tribune. 2018-04-27. Retrieved 2021-02-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ "Qualcomm Snags Naming Rights to New SDSU Venue with 'Snapdragon Stadium'". timesofsandiego.com. December 6, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  11. ^ "NWSL expansion team San Diego Wave FC unveil official crest". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
  12. ^ Bloom, Barry M. (2022-01-10). "San Diego to Host 2023 Men's Lacrosse Championship at New Stadium". Sportico.com. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
  13. ^ Tripp, Darnay. "Legion to Play at Snapdragon Stadium Beginning in 2023". NBC 7 San Diego. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  14. ^ Kenney, Kirk (2020-08-17). "SDSU officially breaks ground on new Mission Valley stadium". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2020-09-15.

External links[]


Events and tenants
Preceded by
SDCCU Stadium
 Home of the
Holiday Bowl
2022 – future 		Succeeded by
none
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