# Snapdragon Stadium

Snapdragon Stadium is an outdoor multi-purpose stadium in San Diego, California, located on the campus of San Diego State University (SDSU). Opened in 2022, it is the home of the San Diego State Aztecs football team. The Aztecs compete in NCAA Division I (FBS) as a member of the Mountain West Conference (MW).
The stadium is owned and operated by SDSU. It is also the home of San Diego FC of Major League Soccer (MLS) and San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Additionally, it hosts the Holiday Bowl, an annual college football bowl game.
Snapdragon Stadium is located in the northwest corner of SDSU Mission Valley, a 166-acre (67 ha) noncontiguous campus expansion. The stadium is accessible from the main campus via the San Diego Trolley at SDSU Transit Center. It was built adjacent to the former San Diego Stadium, which hosted Aztecs football from 1967 to 2019.

## 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 acres (55 ha), 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 eighty acres (32 ha) of parks and open space, including a 34-acre (14 ha) 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. 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.
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.

### 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 (38 °C), 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

| Season | Head coach | Conference | Avg. crowd | Home record |
| 2022 | Brady Hoke | Mountain West Conference | 29,225 | 5–2 |
| 2023 | Brady Hoke | Mountain West Conference | 24,832 | 3–4 |
| 2024 | Sean Lewis | Mountain West Conference | 24,770 | 2–4 |

## 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.
| Date | Home team | Result | Away team | Tournament | Spectators |
| March 26, 2023 | Club Tijuana | 1–2 | Club América | Club Friendly | 22,000 |
| June 10, 2023 | Mexico | 2–2 | Cameroon | International Friendly | 30,543 |
| July 12, 2023 | United States | 1–1 (4–5 pen.) | Panama | 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup Semifinal | 31,690 |
| July 25, 2023 | Manchester United | 1–3 | Wrexham | Snapdragon Cup | 34,248 |
| July 27, 2023 | San Diego Loyal | 0–6 | Borussia Dortmund | Club Friendly | 12,207 |
| October 29, 2023 | United States | 3–0 | Colombia | Women's International Friendly | 16,202 |
| November 11, 2023 | OL Reign | 1–2 | NJ/NY Gotham FC | 2023 NWSL Championship | 25,011 |
| February 21, 2024 | Panama | 0–6 | Colombia | 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup Group B | 2,464 |
| February 21, 2024 | Brazil | 1–0 | Puerto Rico | 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup Group B | 2,464 |
| February 24, 2024 | Puerto Rico | 2–1 | Panama | 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup Group B | 6,248 |
| February 24, 2024 | Colombia | 0–1 | Brazil | 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup Group B | 6,248 |
| February 27, 2024 | Colombia | 2–0 | Puerto Rico | 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup Group B | 3,221 |
| February 27, 2024 | Brazil | 5–0 | Panama | 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup Group B | 3,221 |
| March 6, 2024 | Canada | 2–2 (1–3 pen.) | United States | 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup Semifinals | 15,245 |
| March 6, 2024 | Brazil | 3–0 | Mexico | 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup Semifinals | 15,245 |
| March 10, 2024 | United States | 1–0 | Brazil | 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup Final | 31,528 |
| July 31, 2024 | Manchester United | 3–2 | Real Betis | Snapdragon Cup | 26,248 |
| August 9, 2024 | Club América | 2–1 | Atlas F.C. | 2024 Leagues Cup Round of 32 | 21,311 |
| February 26, 2025 | Australia | 1–2 | Colombia | 2025 SheBelieves Cup | 10,072 |
| February 26, 2025 | United States | 1–2 | Japan | 2025 SheBelieves Cup | 17,188 |
| June 21, 2025 | San Diego FC | – | Club América | Club Friendly | |
| September 16, 2025 | San Diego FC | – | Club Tijuana | Club Friendly | |

#### 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.
| Date | Home team | Result | Away team | Spectators | Notes |
| March 4, 2023 | San Diego Seals | 15–12 | Las Vegas Desert Dogs | 8,443 | NLL Stadium Showdown |
| June 21, 2023 | United States | 7–5 | Canada | 14,000 | 2023 World Lacrosse Championship Opening Game |
| June 29, 2023 | Canada | 12–7 | Haudenosaunee | 10,000 | 2023 World Lacrosse Championship Semifinal |
| June 29, 2023 | United States | 11–2 | Australia | 10,000 | 2023 World Lacrosse Championship Semifinal |
| July 1, 2023 | Haudenosaunee | 11–6 | Australia | 15,112 | 2023 World Lacrosse Championship Bronze Medal Game |
| July 1, 2023 | United States | 10–7 | Canada | 15,112 | 2023 World Lacrosse Championship Gold Medal Game |

#### Rugby union

| Date | Home team | Result | Away team | Spectators | Notes | Ref. |
| July 19, 2024 | New Zealand | 47–5 | Fiji | 33,217 | 2024 Steinlager Ultra Low Carb Series | |
| August 4, 2024 | New England Free Jacks | 20–11 | Seattle Seawolves | 12,085 | 2024 Major League Rugby final | |

##### 2031 and 2033 Rugby World Cup

San Diego is among the cities being considered for hosting matches during the 2031 (men's) 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.
| Date | Home team | Result | Away team | Attendance | Notes |
| December 27, 2024 | #22 Syracuse | 52–35 | Washington State | 23,920 | notes |

### 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.
| Date | Artist | Opening act(s) | Tour | Attendance | Notes |
| May 6, 2023 | Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band | Jason Mraz Mac McAnally | Life on the Flip Side Redux Tour | 25,000 | Originally scheduled for October 22, 2022. Last public performance by Buffett before his death on September 1, 2023. |
| May 12, 2023 | Red Hot Chili Peppers | The Mars Volta Thundercat | Global Stadium Tour | 25,682 | |
| September 27, 2023 | Coldplay | H.E.R. 070 Shake | Music of the Spheres World Tour | 64,130 | First act to perform two shows on a single tour |
| September 28, 2023 | Coldplay | H.E.R. 070 Shake | Music of the Spheres World Tour | 64,130 | First act to perform two shows on a single tour |
| October 1, 2023 | Guns N' Roses | Alice in Chains | Guns N' Roses 2023 Tour | 26,500 | |
| October 3, 2023 | P!nk | Brandi Carlile Grouplove DJ Kid Cut Up | Summer Carnival | 32,600 | |
| June 26, 2025 | Shakira | | Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour | | |

## Gallery

* Snapdragon Stadium at night
* The stadium's façade at night
* View of field during a game
* An interior lounge