San Diego Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in San Diego, California.[3] The stadium opened in 1967 as San Diego Stadium and was known as Jack Murphy Stadium from 1981 to 1997. From 1997 to 2017, the stadium's naming rights were owned by Qualcomm, and the stadium was known as Qualcomm Stadium or simply The Q. The naming rights expired on June 14, 2017, and were purchased by San Diego County Credit Union, renaming the facility as SDCCU Stadium on September 19, 2017;[4] those naming rights expired in December 2020.[5] Demolition of San Diego Stadium began in December 2020, with the last freestanding section of the stadium's superstructure felled by March 22, 2021.[6]
Following the demolition of San Diego Stadium, San Diego State University purchased the land, with plans to develop the area into a west campus, now known as SDSU Mission Valley. Snapdragon Stadium opened in August 2022, anchoring its entertainment and education district. San Diego Stadium was the home of the Aztecs of San Diego State University from 1967 through 2019. One college football bowl game, the Holiday Bowl, was held in the stadium every December from 1978 through 2019. The stadium was also home to a second college bowl game, the Poinsettia Bowl, from 2005 until its discontinuation following the 2016 edition.
In the early 1960s, local sportswriterJack Murphy, the brother of New York Mets broadcaster Bob Murphy, began to build up support for a multi-purpose stadium for San Diego. In November 1965, a $27 million bond was passed allowing construction to begin on a stadium, which was designed in the Brutalist style.[8] Construction on the stadium began one month later. When completed, the facility was named San Diego Stadium.
The stadium was the first of the square-circle "octorad" style, which was thought to be an improvement over the other multi-purpose stadiums of the time for hosting both football and baseball (the second and last of this style was the since-imploded Veterans Stadium). Despite the theoretical improvements of this style, most of the seats were still very far away from the action on the field, especially during baseball games.
The Chargers (then a member of the American Football League) played the first game ever at the stadium on August 20, 1967. San Diego Stadium had a capacity of around 50,000; the three-tier grandstand was in the shape of a horseshoe, with the east end low (consisting of only one tier, partially topped by a large scoreboard). The Chargers were the main tenant of the stadium until 1968, when the AAA Pacific Coast LeagueSan Diego Padres baseball team played its last season in the stadium, following their move from the minor league-sized Westgate Park. Due to expansion of Major League Baseball, this team was replaced by the current San Diego Padres major-league team beginning in the 1969 season. (The Padres moved out of the stadium following the 2003 season.) The original scoreboard, a black-and-white scoreboard created by All American Scoreboards, was replaced in 1978 by one manufactured by American Sign and Indicator, which was the first full-color outdoor scoreboard ever built.[9] This was replaced in 1987 by a White Way Sign scoreboard, in which the video screen is surrounded almost entirely by three message boards. The original video board was replaced in 1996 by a SonyJumboTron, with a second JumboTron installed behind the opposite end zone (third base in the stadium's baseball configuration).
Exterior of then-San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium in 1984
After Jack Murphy's death in September 1980, San Diego Stadium was renamed San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium by a 6–2 vote of the San Diego City Council on January 6, 1981.[8][10] In 1983, over 9,000 bleachers were added to the lower deck on the open end of the stadium raising the capacity to 59,022.
The most substantial addition was completed in 1997, when the stadium was fully enclosed, with the exception of where the scoreboard is located. Nearly 11,000 seats were added in readiness for Super Bowl XXXII in 1998, bringing the capacity to 70,561. Also in 1997, the facility was renamed Qualcomm Stadium after Qualcomm Corporation paid $18 million for the naming rights.[8] The naming rights belonged to Qualcomm until 2017, after which the rights were purchased by San Diego County Credit Union. In order to continue to honor Murphy, the city named the stadium site Jack Murphy Field.[11] However, as part of the naming agreement Jack Murphy Field was not allowed to be used alongside Qualcomm Stadium.[12] Some San Diegans, however, still refer to the stadium as "Jack Murphy" or simply "The Murph". Before his death in 2004, Bob Murphy still referred to it as Jack Murphy Stadium during New York Mets broadcasts, even after it was renamed. However, this renovation relegated the Padres to second-class citizens within their own stadium, as the city gave the Chargers full financial control of the 113 luxury suites.[13][14] The stadium was temporarily renamed "Snapdragon Stadium" for 10 days in December 2011 as a marketing tie in for Qualcomm's Snapdragon brand.[15] The legality of the temporary name change was challenged at the time, since it was agreed to unilaterally by San Diego's mayor, without approval from the City Council and against the advice of the City Attorney.[16] The Aztecs' new stadium, built in 2022 after the demolition of SDCCU Stadium, has the permanent name of Snapdragon Stadium.
With the departure of the Padres to Petco Park following the 2003 season and even beforehand, there was much talk of replacing the increasingly obsolete (by NFL standards) stadium with a more modern, football-only one. Also, the NFL had demanded a new stadium if San Diego was to host another Super Bowl; however, the city struggled to fund such a new stadium.[17] On January 12, 2017, the Chargers announced they were moving to Los Angeles and now play at SoFi Stadium with the Los Angeles Rams. In 2018, San Diego State University announced the construction of a new Aztec Stadium (later renamed Snapdragon Stadium, which would be completed in 2022) on an expansion part of campus on the site of the stadium and parking lot.[18]
SDCCU Stadium logo (2017–2020)
On December 27, 2019, the stadium hosted the San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl, a college football bowl game between Iowa and USC (Iowa won the game), this was the final sporting event ever played at the stadium.[19] Demolition of the stadium commenced in December 2020.
Satellite view of then-Qualcomm Stadium in March 2003, with the trolley line at the bottom of the image.
In order to accommodate the dimensions of both football and baseball fields, the stadium was constructed with half of the lower (Field Level) level seating built of permanent concrete (in the southern quadrant of the stadium), and the other half of portable modular construction using aluminum or steel framing.
When the stadium was configured for baseball, the portable sections would be placed in the western quadrant of the stadium along the third base-left field side. Open bullpens were located along both foul lines just beyond the ends of the Field-level seats. In the Padres' final five seasons at the stadium from 1999 to 2003, the home plate area took on the shape of home plate itself (as opposed to the standard circle); this feature is seen in Detroit's Comerica Park today.[20]
In the football configuration, the portable seating sections were placed in the northern quadrant of the stadium (covering what is used as left field in the baseball configuration) to allow for the football field to be laid out east–west (along the first base/right field foul line, with the western end zone placed in the area occupied by the portable seating sections in the baseball configuration, and the eastern end zone along the right-center field wall).
Doorways were cut in the walls of the stadium in order to allow access to these seats from the tunnel below the Plaza level in both configurations (in baseball configuration, the football doors could be seen above the left field inner wall; in football configuration, the baseball doors were visible above the west end zone, opposite the scoreboard). These doors were rolling metal overhead doors, with the field side painted to match the surrounding walls facing the field.
A Padres game at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium in 1990, before upper deck expansion.
From their inception in 1969 until the end of 2003, when they moved into Petco Park in the downtown area, the National League's San Diego Padres called the stadium home.
The field dimensions varied slightly over the years. In 1969, the distance from home plate to the left and right field wall was 330 feet (100 m), the distance to the left- and right-center field power alleys was 375 feet (114 m), and the distance from home plate to center field was 420 feet (130 m). A 19-foot (5.8 m) wall, whose top was the rim of the Plaza level, surrounded the outfield, making home runs difficult to hit. Later, an eight-foot fence was erected, cutting the distances to 327, 368, and 405 feet (123 m), respectively. In 1996, a note of asymmetry was introduced when a 19-foot (5.8 m) high scoreboard displaying out-of-town scores was erected along the right-field wall near the foul pole and deemed to be in play, and so the distances to right field and right-center field were 330 feet (100 m) and 370 feet (110 m), respectively, while the remaining dimensions remained the same.
Orel Hershiser broke Don Drysdale's scoreless inning streak at Jack Murphy Stadium on September 28, 1988, as the Los Angeles Dodgers played the San Diego Padres. Rickey Henderson collected his 3000th major league base hit at Jack Murphy Stadium on October 7, 2001 as a Padre, in what was also the last major league game for Tony Gwynn, the eight-time National League batting champion and Hall of Famer who played his entire career with San Diego. It was also before a Padres game where comedian Roseanne Barr gave her infamous rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" in 1990.[34]
Since its inception, the stadium, which was approximately five miles from campus, had been the home of San Diego State UniversityAztecs football through the 2019 season, the final season before demolition of the stadium commenced.[35] Before the building of the stadium, they had played their games at Balboa Stadium and their small, on-campus stadium, the Aztec Bowl (which is now the site of Viejas Arena, the home of the university's basketball teams). Traditionally, the team, clad in all-black uniforms and red helmets, has played its home games at night, a tradition started during the days of former head coach Don Coryell before the stadium was even opened. There have been attempts in the past to change from "The Look", but all have been associated with subsequent poor play by the Aztecs and a return to the traditional look.
Other football games
Following the 1978 college football season, the stadium began hosting the Holiday Bowl, an annual bowl game held before New Year's Day. It originally hosted the Western Athletic Conference champion (at the time, the hometown Aztecs had just joined this conference) against a nationally ranked opponent. The game has traditionally been a high-scoring affair, and until the 2006 edition no team had ever been held to ten points or less. From 1995 through 2004, every losing team scored at least 20 points. The 1984 game is well known for being the culmination of BYU's championship season, the last Division I-A (now FBS) national championship not won by a member of a Power Five conference or a major independent program.
On December 22, 2005, a second bowl game came to San Diego when the inaugural Poinsettia Bowl was played at the stadium, with Navy beating Colorado State. The Poinsettia Bowl was organized by the same organizing committee as the Holiday Bowl. It was officially discontinued after the 2016 game, as the organizing committee announced (in January 2017) that it had decided to host only one game, beginning with the 2017 season.
On October 27, 2018, the Navy Midshipmen hosted the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the stadium for a regular season game.[36]
The stadium was the home field for the San Diego Fleet of the AAF. They played 4 home games at the then named SDCCU Stadium in February and March 2019, with a home record of 3–1, before the league folded following week 8 of the inaugural season.
CIFSan Diego Section Finals for high school football were held at the stadium. These usually took place on a Friday in early December, and four games were played (with eight teams representing four separate divisions, which are determined by the enrollment sizes of the individual schools).
Soccer
The stadium was a venue for many internationalsoccer matches. The stadium hosted FIFA tournaments, including the CONCACAF Gold Cup, and the U.S. Cup (an international invitational), as well as many international friendly matches involving the Mexico National Team.[37] The most recent international friendly at the stadium set an all-time attendance record for the sport in the region. The match between Mexico and Argentina which was held on June 4, 2008, drew 68,498 spectators.[38] In addition, the stadium was part of the 18-stadium United States 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bid, but the United States did not win either bid for the World Cup.
On January 29, 2017, the USMNT played a friendly (exhibition) match against Serbia, the first ever meeting between the two teams. The match finished as a 0–0 draw.[40]
In October 1967, just weeks after the stadium opened, it hosted a SCCA event organized by San Diego Region. The event was not held in the stadium itself, but on a temporary course mapped out through the stadium's parking lot. In July 1968, the Region organized a SCCA National for the car park, now called the San Diego Stadium International Raceway, but the combination of a very small crowd and complaints about the noise ensured that the experiment was not repeated.[42]
The stadium also hosted rugby matches. In October 1980, the USA played New Zealand in a rugby match televised on ESPN. With 14,000 fans in attendance, this game at the time was the largest crowd ever to watch an international rugby game in the US.[43]Old Mission Beach Athletic Club RFC play rugby union at the adjacent mini-stadium, so-called Little Q.
The stadium was home to a round of the AMA Supercross Championship each year, usually in early February, from 1980 to 2014.[44][45] The stadium also hosted a round of Monster Jam, also ran and operated by Feld Entertainment. In 2015, both events were moved to Petco Park.[44]
ESPN held their inaugural Moto X World Championships at the stadium in April 2008,[46] and has previously used the stadium parking lot and surrounding streets as a venue in the X Games Street Luge competition.
Concerts on the Green was a sports field converted into a music and entertainment venue, located on the southwest corner of the stadium parking lot. The field was originally used as a practice venue for the San Diego Chargers. After the team moved to Chargers Park about a mile north of the stadium, the area was used primarily for rugby. AEG leased the area and retrofit it into an open-air amphitheater for concerts and other entertainment shows. The venue had the capability to hold 12,500, making it the second biggest entertainment venue in the Greater San Diego area; only North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre seats more.
American Idol (season 7) held auditions there in July 2007; a total of 30 people who auditioned there made it to the next round.
In a January 30, 2009, episode of Monk, The stadium was known as Summit Stadium in the episode Mr. Monk Makes the Playoffs with the fictitious San Francisco Condors as the home team.
Big SoCal Euro was a gathering of European car enthusiasts. It attracts over 3,000 car lovers every year. Not only is Big SoCal Euro one of the largest all European car gatherings, but it is also one of the oldest events of its kind, established in 2002. It had been held at the stadium since 2007. The event was founded by Lon Mok of SoCalEuro.com
Other events
Billy Graham hosted a crusade at the stadium in early May 2003.
In the 1980s and early 1990s, the San Diego County Council of the Boy Scouts of America used the stadium's concourse areas (between the rear of the grandstands and the freestanding wall which contains the entrance gates) as well as portions of the parking lots as the site of its annual Scout Fair. The San Diego County Council has since merged with the council representing Imperial County to form the Desert Pacific Council.
The stadium under demolition December 10, 2020San Diego Stadium's demolition as of March 10, 2021
On June 30, 2020, the city of San Diego approved the sale of the stadium to San Diego State University and on August 10, 2020, the university officially took control.[50]A new stadium is under construction on the site and is anticipated to seat 35,000 and support events including SDSU football, non-football NCAA championship games, professional soccer, a future NFL team, and special events such as concerts.[51][52] Following failed efforts in 2010 and 2016 to build a new stadium in downtown San Diego's East Village,[53] San Diego State bought the entire 135 acres (55 ha), including the existing stadium, from the city for $88 million. A competing redevelopment proposal, known as SoccerCity, envisioned that stadium site could be leased from the city and redeveloped with private funding if San Diego was awarded a Major League Soccer team. The SoccerCity proposal was placed on the November 2018 ballot alongside the SDSU proposal but was defeated.[54] The entire $3.5 billion SDSU project includes housing, office, and retail space, hotels, and 80 acres of parks and open space including a 34-acre river park on city property and will be rolled out in phases over 8–10 years.[55]
The stadium was scheduled to be decommissioned following the end of the 2021 college football season while Snapdragon Stadium is constructed on the existing parking lot.[18] However, on September 15, 2020, San Diego State University announced that the stadium would be demolished in early 2021. The stadium was taken down in pieces starting in December 2020 rather than being imploded due to the California environmental law. The 2020 and 2021 seasons were played at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson until Snapdragon Stadium's planned completion for the Fall 2022 season.[56]
On March 22, 2021, the last freestanding section of San Diego Stadium visible from Interstates 8 and 15 was felled, leaving the plaza level to be demolished.[6]
†= Team's stadium under construction or refurbishment at time 1 = A team used the stadium when their permanent stadium was unable to be used as a result of damage.
San Diego Trolley
Green Line
