Balboa Stadium Balboa Stadium is a football and soccer stadium located in San Diego , California . The original stadium was built in 1914 as part of the many buildings erected for the 1915 Panama - California Exposition located in Balboa Park . Originally called City Stadium , and designed by the Quayle Brothers architectural firm , it is located to the East of San Diego High School . Auto racing took place on a 1 / 4 mile dirt track in Balboa Stadium from about 1937 through July 4 , 1961 when the racing stopped so the facility could be used for pro football . The Stadium was the home of the American Football League ' s San Diego Chargers ' from 1961 - 66 . The stadium originally had a seating capacity of approximately 15 , 000 and was expanded in 1961 to 34 , 000 to accommodate the Chargers when they moved from Los Angeles . The stadium was used for popular music concerts and other public gatherings though the 1970s . Balboa Stadium witnessed the Chargers ' glory years , which featured such players as John Hadl , Lance Alworth , Jack Kemp , and Ernie Ladd , and hosted the 1961 , 1963 , and 1965 American Football League championship games , as well as the 1961 , 1962 , and 1963 AFL All - Star games . In their six seasons here , head coach Sid Gillman ' s club finished with a combined record of 28 - 12 - 2 , winning four Western Division titles and one league crown . In 1967 , the team left Balboa for new San Diego Stadium ( now Qualcomm Stadium ) in Mission Valley , where the club ' s glory slowed and the titles stopped ( although they did win several American Football Conference Western Division titles ) until they won the AFC championship after the 1994 season . The stadium also hosted local amateur and professional baseball contests in the period prior to the establishment of the Pacific Coast League Padres in 1936 . Balboa Stadium was one of the hotbeds of midget racing starting in about 1937 until the early 1950s ( except for the war years ) . When interest in midget racing started waning , jalopies became popular . The San Diego Racing Association was formed in 1953 and started sanctioning the racing . By 1958 the San Diego Racing Assn had transformed from a jalopy association to more sleek modified sportsman ( the forerunners of today ' s super modifieds ) . Jalopy champions of the SDRA at Balboa included Glen Hoagland ( 1953 ) , Jim Wood ( 1954 ) , Jack Krogh ( 1955 ) , Harris Mills ( 1956 ) , Don Ray ( 1957 ) , and Mondo Iavelli ( 1958 ) . Don Thomas ( 1957 ) was the inaugural modified champion with Art Pratt being a three time titlest ( 1958 - 1959 - 1960 ) . Rip Erikson took the honors in the 1961 season that was split between Balboa Stadium and Cajon Speedway . Also holding events at Balboa Stadium during the 1950s were occasional visits by the URA midgets and the NASCAR Pacific Coast Late Models . During the 1950s it was not unusual for more than 10 , 000 fans to attend a weekly show at Balboa . On September 19 , 1919 , President Woodrow Wilson spoke in front of over 50 , 000 people in Balboa Stadium in support of the creation of the League of Nations . This was the first presidential speech to use an electronic voice amplification system . This system was invented by Edwin S . Pridham and Peter L . Jensen . They called their invention the " Magnavox " ( " Great Voice " ) moving coil device . The two would go on to found the Magnavox company . On September 21 , 1927 , Charles Lindbergh visited San Diego , where the Spirit of St . Louis was built by Ryan Aeronautical , and was greeted with a hero ' s welcome at the stadium . With over 60 , 000 in attendance ( 10 , 000 more than President Wilson ) he performed a low - level fly over at 100 feet , dipping his aircraft ' s wings and circling the stadium 8 times . He landed and was then paraded through the city to the stadium where the crowd had to be held back by 650 U . S . Marines . The NCAA football Harbor Bowl was held there from 1947 to 1949 . The San Diego East - West Christmas Classic was held here in 1921 and 1922 . The track at Balboa Stadium has been the site of famous races . In 1965 at Balboa Stadium , high - schooler Jim Ryun from Kansas beat world - record holder and reigning Olympic champion Peter Snell from New Zealand in a mile race in 3 : 55 . 3 , an American high school record that stood for 42 years . A year later , Tim Danielson from San Diego area Chula Vista High School ran 3 : 59 . 4 in the same stadium to become only the second high school runner to run a sub - 4 : 00 mile . Only three high school runners have managed to break that barrier since ( Marty Liquori in 1967 , Alan Webb in 2001 , and Lukas Verzbicas in 2011 ) . On August 28 , 1965 , The Beatles performed at the stadium . The first two major meets of the developing age division of Masters athletics were held in Balboa Stadium , July 19 – 20 , 1968 and July 3 – 6 , 1969 . Also , Babe Ruth , Lou Gehrig , Ty Cobb & Satchel Paige have played in this stadium . Modern stadium . The original stadium was demolished , and was rebuilt in 1978 with a much smaller seating capacity than at the time it housed the Chargers . Most of its distinguishing architectural features were removed . The remaining seating is made up of simple concrete bleachers , which also form the walls of the canyon the field is built in . The stadium is currently home to San Diego Boca FC , one of San Diego ' s professional outdoor soccer teams . For promotional purposes Boca FC refer to the stadium as " Boca Stadium " . San Diego ' s largest and oldest running club , the San Diego Track Club also calls Balboa Stadium its home . It is also used by San Diego High School for local high school sporting and other events . During the 1990s and the 2000s , it was also used as the home field ( for football only ) by St . Augustine High School and San Diego City College . The stadium is owned by the City of San Diego and leased to the San Diego Unified School District , which is responsible for its maintenance . An article in the San Diego Union - Tribune from November 27 , 2006 , highlighted the stadium ' s state of disrepair . The field was covered in artificial turf installed in 2001 that was torn and rippling , and the track surrounding the field had some dangerous depressions thought to be able to cause injury . However , both the turf and the track have since been completely renovated and the information about the stadium ' s state provided in the article is now obsolete .