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Qualcomm Stadium sits on a plain a few miles north of downtown San Diego. Built in 1967
this venue serves as home to college football?s San Diego State Aztecs, the NFL San
Diego Chargers, and MLB?s San Diego Padres. As things turned out, our evening here
became a special one as recently inducted Hall of Famer Dave Winfield had his #31 Padres
jersey retired before the game.
Outside the Venue
This facility is quite simple to get to from the many freeways that surround this facility.
Once you are on the stadium grounds there is ample room to find a spot to park, and at six
dollars we found the price to be not too shabby. We also heard something about free
parking on certain days for seniors and those who may be disabled but did not get
specifics. Then again if driving to the game isn?t your thing, there is also a light rail trolley
that will take you directly to the edge of the parking lot.
With the abundance of parking comes a setting for some great tailgating ? we assumed this
would be the case at a Chargers football game. So weren?t we pleasantly surprised to pull
into the lot and find the barbecues grilling, the picnic tables covered with great ballpark
spreads, and youngsters playing baseball or tossing the football around. Yep ? baseball
tailgating at its finest here at Qualcomm! Several media outlets had their booths and live
broadcasts set up in the lot, and stages were set up with live entertainment to keep fans in
a jovial mood. We met with some fans who were very excited at the prospect of Doug Flutie
and Marcellus Wiley leading their Chargers to post season glory this coming season - we
shall see!!!
The Concourses
Once past the ticket takers we entered into an area known as The Plaza. While being inside
the gates of Qualcomm, this area is still outside the structure itself and encircles the entire
facility. Here we found all kinds of concession stands and entertainment, generally a place
to hang out for fans. Behind the main scoreboard there was a painted mural of faces ? a
nice tribute to the common fan.
After you are done walking the plaza you can then get to your seats by taking some of the
many ramps and escalators that connect the plaza to all levels of the building. For those at
ground level simply walk through any of the walkways and stairways that take people to the
main and field seating levels.
The concourses inside are somewhat narrow and dark, reminiscent of what we saw at The
Astrodome and Three Rivers Stadium, yet congestion is avoided thanks to good use of
space in the Plaza concourses otherwise they would be very crowded. Being a larger than
average baseball facility with five levels, there is plenty of walking room to be found here.
We found the club concourse to be carpeted in many areas with a buffet but nothing
special.
Concessions
A large assortment of things to eat and drink here. Typical ballpark dreck mixed in with a
Mexican flair, what with its closeness to the border. A unique item to be found here as we
saw a stand that sold fish tacos - pretty unique to San Diego so it seems.
Seating Area
This is a fully enclosed 67,000 seat stadium split into five levels with seats in teams colors.
The main scoreboard sits above the right field power alley and above the right field fence
sits the out of town scoreboard, featuring not just scores but also the names of the
pitchers involved at the moment, or the winning and losing pitchers? names for games
completed. A nice touch here as palm trees ring the outfield fences and are spotlighted as
it gets dark.
Retired numbers/banners
Legendary broadcaster Jerry Coleman, Former owner Ray Kroc, along with players like
Randy Jones and as of April 14th Dave Winfield?s #31 hang from above the left field seats.
They might as well reserve space for Tony Gwynn right now, why wait for him to hang up his
spikes!!
Extra Points
Tip of the hat to former Buffalo Bisons Damian Jackson, starting shortstop in the Padres
lineup. For the Dodgers, Phil Hiatt came in as a pinch hitter. Gregg Olson pitched the ninth
for the Dodgers and ended up taking the loss.
Almost all signs here are in both English and Spanish and with good reason. San Diego is
home to a huge Mexican community and is a very short drive to Tijuana, Mexico. Fans
come in droves from the south of San Diego and the team markets heavily to that particular
demographic. The Padres days at Qualcomm are numbered as they plan on moving into a
downtown ballpark in 2004. It will be set in the Gaslamp District and not too far away from
beautiful Balboa Park and the world renowned San Diego Zoo. We shall return!
Summary
This is an older facility so we were not expecting Camden Yards. Yet the night we were
here was truly special ,and with 50,000 boisterous Padre fans cheering their team to a
fantastic win over the arch rival Dodgers it was a night to remember. A pleasant night with
great tailgating to be found here.
RATING (1-5 stars) 2 STARS
this venue serves as home to college football?s San Diego State Aztecs, the NFL San
Diego Chargers, and MLB?s San Diego Padres. As things turned out, our evening here
became a special one as recently inducted Hall of Famer Dave Winfield had his #31 Padres
jersey retired before the game.
Outside the Venue
This facility is quite simple to get to from the many freeways that surround this facility.
Once you are on the stadium grounds there is ample room to find a spot to park, and at six
dollars we found the price to be not too shabby. We also heard something about free
parking on certain days for seniors and those who may be disabled but did not get
specifics. Then again if driving to the game isn?t your thing, there is also a light rail trolley
that will take you directly to the edge of the parking lot.
With the abundance of parking comes a setting for some great tailgating ? we assumed this
would be the case at a Chargers football game. So weren?t we pleasantly surprised to pull
into the lot and find the barbecues grilling, the picnic tables covered with great ballpark
spreads, and youngsters playing baseball or tossing the football around. Yep ? baseball
tailgating at its finest here at Qualcomm! Several media outlets had their booths and live
broadcasts set up in the lot, and stages were set up with live entertainment to keep fans in
a jovial mood. We met with some fans who were very excited at the prospect of Doug Flutie
and Marcellus Wiley leading their Chargers to post season glory this coming season - we
shall see!!!
The Concourses
Once past the ticket takers we entered into an area known as The Plaza. While being inside
the gates of Qualcomm, this area is still outside the structure itself and encircles the entire
facility. Here we found all kinds of concession stands and entertainment, generally a place
to hang out for fans. Behind the main scoreboard there was a painted mural of faces ? a
nice tribute to the common fan.
After you are done walking the plaza you can then get to your seats by taking some of the
many ramps and escalators that connect the plaza to all levels of the building. For those at
ground level simply walk through any of the walkways and stairways that take people to the
main and field seating levels.
The concourses inside are somewhat narrow and dark, reminiscent of what we saw at The
Astrodome and Three Rivers Stadium, yet congestion is avoided thanks to good use of
space in the Plaza concourses otherwise they would be very crowded. Being a larger than
average baseball facility with five levels, there is plenty of walking room to be found here.
We found the club concourse to be carpeted in many areas with a buffet but nothing
special.
Concessions
A large assortment of things to eat and drink here. Typical ballpark dreck mixed in with a
Mexican flair, what with its closeness to the border. A unique item to be found here as we
saw a stand that sold fish tacos - pretty unique to San Diego so it seems.
Seating Area
This is a fully enclosed 67,000 seat stadium split into five levels with seats in teams colors.
The main scoreboard sits above the right field power alley and above the right field fence
sits the out of town scoreboard, featuring not just scores but also the names of the
pitchers involved at the moment, or the winning and losing pitchers? names for games
completed. A nice touch here as palm trees ring the outfield fences and are spotlighted as
it gets dark.
Retired numbers/banners
Legendary broadcaster Jerry Coleman, Former owner Ray Kroc, along with players like
Randy Jones and as of April 14th Dave Winfield?s #31 hang from above the left field seats.
They might as well reserve space for Tony Gwynn right now, why wait for him to hang up his
spikes!!
Extra Points
Tip of the hat to former Buffalo Bisons Damian Jackson, starting shortstop in the Padres
lineup. For the Dodgers, Phil Hiatt came in as a pinch hitter. Gregg Olson pitched the ninth
for the Dodgers and ended up taking the loss.
Almost all signs here are in both English and Spanish and with good reason. San Diego is
home to a huge Mexican community and is a very short drive to Tijuana, Mexico. Fans
come in droves from the south of San Diego and the team markets heavily to that particular
demographic. The Padres days at Qualcomm are numbered as they plan on moving into a
downtown ballpark in 2004. It will be set in the Gaslamp District and not too far away from
beautiful Balboa Park and the world renowned San Diego Zoo. We shall return!
Summary
This is an older facility so we were not expecting Camden Yards. Yet the night we were
here was truly special ,and with 50,000 boisterous Padre fans cheering their team to a
fantastic win over the arch rival Dodgers it was a night to remember. A pleasant night with
great tailgating to be found here.
RATING (1-5 stars) 2 STARS
| Qualcomm Stadium |
#79
Qualcomm
Stadium
San Diego,
California
April 14,
2001
Los
Angeles
Dodgers
at
San Diego
Padres
Qualcomm
Stadium
San Diego,
California
April 14,
2001
Los
Angeles
Dodgers
at
San Diego
Padres
