Snapdragon is a stadium San Diego has never seen

Rashad Griffin/EVT

The short URL of the present article is: https://www.eastvillagetimes.com/8q63
Spread the love
Credit: Rashad Griffin/EVT

Petco Park is among the crown jewels in the sports industry. Every stadium built since has used the Padres home as a learning tool. As a venue, it is nearly without equal, but it did not start that way.

When the park first opened in 2004, it had none of the local food and beer options that grace it today. The operators tested an idea that allowed local groups to fundraise by manning concession stands, which helped philanthropy in the city at the expense of efficiency and quality of service. Over time, the field dimensions, scoreboards, signage, unique group seating areas, and a host of other improvements were added to create what San Diego experienced when Juan Soto made his Padres debut.

Snapdragon Stadium opens in 22 days. Oak View Group (OVG 360), the company SDSU hired to operate its new home, has learned the lessons provided by the Padres over the last 18 years. What Petco has grown to become is where OVG 360 plans for Snapdragon to start. 

“First of all, it’s a fantastic stadium,” OVG 360 General Manager Adam Millar told the East Village Times in an exclusive interview when asked if Petco Park has served as an operational model for Snapdragon. “It is really a special place to watch a ballgame and San Diego is very fortunate to have it. … they have really done a great job. They do a lot of special events down there. We have a lot of respect for what they’ve done. So, yes. ….(the Padres) have provided a great model. They do a fabulous job. I have nothing but respect for them. We’re going to do some similar stuff. San Diego’s such a great place, everyone wants to come here, so there’s plenty of business for them, plenty of business for us.”

OVG 360 has witnessed firsthand Petco’s transformation from a baseball stadium to an entertainment center. The number and variety of events hosted at the park is nothing short of remarkable. The vision for Snapdragon is to be utilized in a similar way. Whether that is as a concert venue, a convention extension site, or hosting smaller, private gatherings at the unique areas incorporated into its design, Millar plans to host as many events as possible. 

Credit: Rashad Griffin/EVT

“This was really JD Wicker’s vision,” Millar said. “He wanted to create something that was 60% San Diego and 40% stadium. … it was really important to everybody as we went through this process to make sure that not only were we building an incredible college stadium, but one that the community would embrace, that when you walk in, you’re very, very comfortable. You’re seeing some familiar names. You’re going to see Best Pizza in here, Hodad’s and Crack Shack and Taco Stand, and Cali-BBQ. We’re going to roll out shortly a number of very familiar beer brands. You’re really going to feel that you’re in a San Diego venue. To walk through the venue, you’re going to feel different vibes – North Park vibes, Barrio Logan vibes – different vibes as you walk through the building. That was really important.”

Where Snapdragon looks to distinguish itself from its neighbor downtown is the Aztecs’ home was built from the ground up with events other than football in mind. Petco Park is a baseball stadium first, which makes for awkward vantage points, obstructed seating, and other peculiarities when the venue hosts non-baseball functions. In the competition for events, Snapdragon has another built-in advantage. From April through November its primary tenant does not command as many dates.

Technologically Forward

When the rest of SDSU Mission Valley is built, Snapdragon will be adjacent to the Innovation District. That proximity has already attracted multiple technology companies as partners to the site. The stadium is tech-forward.

“The Wifi coming into the building. (There’s been) a lot of focus on that for the fan experience,” Millar said. “We got 10 gigs that bursts up to 40 gigs. That’s some robust stuff, so people are going to be able to access what they want to access.“

Snapdragon will have its own app separate from the current one SDSU offers. Through it, some sections will be able to order food from their seats and purchase merchandise. Everyone will be able to enjoy watching replays, accessing and transferring tickets, and a host of other features. Down the road, the app could be used by Qualcomm to bring more innovations to the patrons of Snapdragon.

One major change from SDCCU Stadium is Snapdragon will be a cashless and ticketless venue. OVG 360 has operated numerous stadiums during the transition away from physical money and tickets. Their experience has taught them that the anxiety before such a move is high for some, but that people adapt relatively easily.

For fans who want paper tickets, the Aztec ticket office will print a season set of tickets and mail them for $25 per seat. The ticket office told EVT that many fans have requested this feature because they want a memento from the 100th season of Aztec Football.

On game days, any fan having trouble accessing their tickets can go to the “Snapdragon Stadium Box Office ticket resolution window” for assistance. Entry into the game on that day will be provided at no extra cost for patrons with or without a smartphone. 

The technological innovation goes way beyond a phone app. When entering the facility, fans will pass through a revolutionary weapons detection system called CEIA Opengate.

Gone are the days of patrons emptying their pockets to pass through a metal detector with security rummaging through their bags. Opengate is able to distinguish normal personal items from dangerous items. Snapdragon promises to be just as safe without the invasive searches performed at nearly every stadium.

Lines to get into Aztec games in the past could be very long especially as kickoff approached. At Petco Park, entry lines snake down Park Blvd at nearly every game. Without the normal stadium song and dance, entrance to Snapdragon promises to be a much shorter experience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeuwwyVFpQ0&ab_channel=CEIAUSA

Once inside, Aztec Nation will enjoy a huge concourse as they walk around the stadium. Televisions are “everywhere” according to Millar. They utilize IPTV instead of traditional television inputs giving Snapdragon’s operators more control over what is on each set throughout the venue.

Credit: Rashad Griffin/EVT

Two huge video boards will greet fans as they enter the main seating areas. Millar promises the resolution on them will be outstanding even in the brightest of sunlight. September 3 might be the first time instant replays of a football game have ever been seen in San Diego during the day. With the sun overhead, at the old stadium, the Jumbotron could have been turned off and provided the same viewing experiences as when it was functioning. 

Closer to the action

Another noticeable improvement will be the intimacy of the stadium. In the past, Aztec fans could buy a ticket and basically sit wherever they wanted. With half the number of seats as SDCCU, this unique feature of past games will be gone. More than just fewer seats, football and soccer fans will notice how close to the action they are compared to Jack Murphy Stadium, which was designed for two sports with widely different field dimensions. Offensive line coach Mike Goff said the seats are so close to the sidelines that he expects to hear some “choice words” from the fans if the line does not produce.

“Another thing I think is unique in the stadium is the sightlines are unbelievable,” Millar said. “You talk to every building manager in the country and they’re going to tell you, ‘Hey, our sightlines are amazing. There’s not a bad seat in the house.’ We all say that, but the funny thing is I can say it with confidence in this building. There is not a bad seat. The upper deck, corner, whatever. It’s a very vertical building, an intimate building.”

Credit: Rashad Griffin/EVT

Snapdragon’s architects produced these great vantage points by building the stadium higher than the old venue while limiting the section size compared to the old stadium. Field Level at Qualcomm Stadium had around forty rows with the iconic walking area between the end of the field and the beginning of the Plaza Level. SDSU’s new home has 28 rows on the field level and no walking area, meaning the second deck starts far closer to the field of play. A fair comparison of the worst seats in the house would be to the Loge Level at the old stadium or the Toyota Terrance at Petco making the nose bleed at Snapdragon premium seating anywhere else.  

On time, on budget

Following the Padres 1998 season, San Diego voters chose to build Petco Park. Scheduled to open in 2002, financial issues stopped construction in 2000. It took a $166 million bond in 2001 to get the project going again. The stadium opened in 2004 failing to meet its promise as a project that would pay for itself.

Many in good faith argued that Snapdragon was headed towards a similar fate with delays and budget issues making the project longer and more costly than the backers of SDSU Mission Valley promised in their pitch to the voters. Not only on time but on budget, the stadium has redefined what is possible in San Diego and California.

“I do think this is huge for the alumni of San Diego State, but I also think this is huge for the entire community of San Diego,” Millar, an SDSU class of 1987 alum, said. “The last new venue, an amazing venue, Petco Park, 2004. It’s been a minute. Between that stadium opening and this stadium opening, there’s been a lot of heartache in San Diego with the Chargers and that situation and them leaving the market and leaving their fans behind.” 

[wpedon id=”49075″ align=”right”]

“There was a lot of chatter, ‘San Diego State is never going to get this done. They’ll never get a building done in San Diego.’ Look what San Diego State has accomplished in 24 months. It’s incredible.” 

“I give a lot of credit to JD Wicker and Derek Grice and the San Diego State Athletic Department, (and) the CSU System for proving a lot of people wrong and building an unbelievable stadium. It’s exciting for San Diego State, but this is not just a venue for San Diego State. When people come to this venue, they are going to understand that this is a uniquely San Diego venue. …  I think there’s going to be a lot of pride in the community once they experience it.”

Millar said the construction is complete and only the finishing touches remain.  America’s Finest City is only eight days away from finally getting a look inside. On August 20th, the Aztecs are playing a scrimmage at the venue. The soft opening will allow OVG 360 to test all of the major systems.

Two weeks later, CBS will broadcast to the nation the Aztecs’ first home game since 2019. September 3, 2022, the Snapdragon Era begins.

8 thoughts on “Snapdragon is a stadium San Diego has never seen

  1. this tiny stadium and the city screwed San Diego out out of an NFL team and it seems that the parking lot rules and lack of coordination is screwing san diego fans and out of town college football traveling fans out of tailgating. the parking is a joke, cant pay for parking at a stadium entrance with cash or card? website is a joke. the “contact us” phone number is an old school busy signal and a hang up. no info on RV parking. Some games like the wildcats show that the parking event is cancelled for that game but the game is still going on? in fact, it seems that every home game the parking is cancelled but the game is going on.. but you can buy $70 parking tickets?? $70 for cancelled parking…OK! ground level teams are trying their best.. I feel bad for them as they cant help anyone because they don’t know anything because the decision makers clearly don’t care about anything but bringing in the $. its sad. the Murph was structurally in bad shape but it was run smoothly, everyone had a good time, and overall it was safe for family fun. hopefully it will get better but it seems that good decision making for the community has vanished to only good decision making for ROI and shareholders. No web support or contact info of any kind other then the dead #… I have some high school kids that can run a better website. Hey snapdragon mgmt, contact me for your website needs, I’ll hire some professionals for you.

  2. I don’t understand how anyone believed that this stadium was ever going to be used by the NFL for anything more than a temporary home. Can you name one NFL stadium owned by a university? Can you name one NFL stadium, built in the last 10 years that cost less than a billion dollars? Did you believe SDSU was going to build a billion-dollar stadium? The NFL will not come back to San Diego to play second fiddle to a college football team. Have you seen the stadiums being built for NFL teams today? C’mon guys, you gotta stop being delusional about the NFL. San Diego is not the 8th largest TV market, it is the 27th. With 32 teams in the league, I doubt we’re a priority for the NFL. If we do get another NFL team it will be because we do something crazy, like build a multibillion-dollar stadium with public funds specifically for an NFL team. Stop looking at SDSU to solve the city’s NFL issues lol.

  3. I live in Mission Valley and it has been an exciting blast to watch this new stadium going up, almost day by day. Watching it take shape it has been clear almost from the beginning that this was going to be something special. I can’t wait for opening day.

  4. So this High School size stadium has some bells and whistles…wow. It’s unfortunate that the city and Aztecs couldn’t work together and build a real stadium that may interest a NFL team. With this minor league stadium built it all but insured that the NFL will never come to SD.

  5. I’ve lived west of the stadium for 40 years and occasionally the decibel level was inappropriately high and I am 1.5 miles due west I hope that whoever is in charge of audio is respectful of the neighbors

  6. It is incredible that there is no mention of the San Diego Wave professional soccer team, Snapdragon Stadium is there permanent home field starting in September and they will definitely sell out their opening games. As an alumni of SDSU is beyond disappointed articles like this choose to avoid mentioning a women’s professional team.

    1. Thank you for reading the article and leaving a reply. It is unfair for you to paint to the Waves’ exclusion in the same cliche, broad, stroke that women’s professional teams are not worth mentioning in the media. The East Village Times provides the best coverage of the Wave anywhere. With unique photographs taken from the field, EVT has written 42 articles in the past eight months. My role with EVT is the SDSU Sports Editor. These are the teams I cover and the perspective I bring. Your line of logic would suggest I also have a bias against people in their 70s since Jimmy Buffett’s concert was not mentioned either.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *