Mission Valley snaps up Holiday Bowl
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Workers clear the field after the 2021 Holiday Bowl was canceled. Photo: Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images
The Holiday Bowl is ending its brief, rocky stay at Petco Park and is heading back to Mission Valley.
Why it matters: Snapdragon Stadium, built by SDSU specifically for college football nearly two years ago, is now home to San Diego's biggest annual college football game.
Driving the news: The bowl game is moving to the new stadium on the former site of Qualcomm Stadium, the bowl's home for most of its 45-year history, San Diego Sports and the San Diego Padres announced Tuesday.
Catch-up quick: In 2021, the city council facilitated the bowl's downtown move by removing a ban on playing football games in Petco Park from the city's contract with the Padres.
- That vote also authorized $2.2 million in renovations to the ballpark — which the city owns and the Padres operate — to accommodate football and expand its capacity.
- The city agreed to cover $650,000 of those construction costs and received 30% of event proceeds.
State of play: The Holiday Bowl's first year at Petco Park was delayed until 2022, because the 2021 game was canceled after UCLA withdrew due to a last-minute COVID-19 outbreak.
- The game occurred downtown just twice, in 2022 and 2023.
Between the lines: The city estimated it would net nearly $1 million in revenue over the game's first five years in Petco Park, including its share of the upgrades.
- The Holiday Bowl received $435,000 last year from the Tourism and Marketing District, which is funded by hotel taxes to promote the region.
- The TMD projects Holiday Bowl hotel stays result in about $2.4 million in hotel spending, in its analysis supporting that subsidy.
Flashback: Voters in 2018 approved a ballot measure that directed the city to sell the former Qualcomm Stadium property to SDSU so they could build a new stadium, river park and campus expansion.
- It was sold to the university in 2020 for nearly $90 million.
The big picture: Snapdragon Stadium got off to a rocky start, making national news during its debut when more than 200 people were treated for heat-related medical issues.
- The stadium has since seen the San Diego Wave break attendance records, will be the home of the city's expansion MLS team next year, hosted the NWSL championship in November and has become a magnet for international soccer.