Editor’s note: San Diego State aims to build its new 35,000-capacity stadium in time for the football team’s season opener against Arizona — Sept. 3, 2022 — which is now 123 days away. The Union-Tribune is doing monthly updates tracking the stadium’s progress.
“They paved paradise, put up a parking lot.” — Joni Mitchell, “Big Yellow Taxi”
Mitchell penned those lyrics in 1970, three years after San Diego Stadium opened in Mission Valley.
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The inspiration came, she said, during a visit to Hawaii. Looking out from her hotel room window, Mitchell said she “saw these beautiful green mountains in the distance. Then, I looked down and there was a parking lot as far as the eye could see.”
Mitchell just as easily could have been looking out from one of the upper levels of the stadium.
Vacant land was still so plentiful in Mission Valley six decades ago, when cows grazing outnumbered people shopping or living in the area, that the entire acreage around San Diego Stadium was taken up by one of the largest parking lots in North America.
The official count: 18,870 spaces.
Builders wouldn’t dream about leaving so much “wasted” space these days.
In fact, the trend in recent years for new construction has been to eliminate requirements for parking spaces altogether.
That is not the case for Snapdragon Stadium. Fans still need someplace to park — and tailgate — when they attend events.
John David Wicker, SDSU director of athletics, said the parking footprint likely will change each year as construction progresses throughout the site.
The shaded areas north, east and south of Snapdragon Stadium indicate surface parking that will transition to other uses.
(SDSU Mission Valley, final EIR)
The final Environmental Impact Report for SDSU Mission Valley indicates 6,205 parking spaces are proposed for the stadium.
That number includes 1,141 spaces west of the stadium in the Tailgate Park, a grass area reserved for season ticket holders who paid a premium for the privilege.
About 5,000 more spaces will be in parking structures located in the Innovation District.
Note that this is at buildout in 2037, for a plan in which the stadium is but a small part of the $3 billion-plus project.
The 166-acre property includes plans for 4,600 residential units, a 400-room hotel, 95,000 square feet of retail space and 1.6 million square feet of innovation/research areas. There also will be 80 acres of parks and open space.
There are 5,663 spaces of residential parking planned. Those, of course, would be reserved for residents and retail customers.
Parking will be fluid — and plentiful — in the short term but at a premium in the long run.
Season ticket holders should know their parking plans well in advance of games. According to the EIR, “parking for most events is expected to be pre-paid so that attendees will know if they have a space at the site.”
The parking situation began to take shape two weeks ago when asphalt was put down south of the stadium in the area that someday will be occupied by the Innovation District.
It is roughly three times the size of the Tailgate Park area, and it would provide parking for perhaps 4,000 vehicles.
There also will be asphalt lots east of the stadium, where two Innovation District buildings are planned, and north of the stadium, where the hotel is planned.
How much additional parking will be available remains to be seen. Actual parking estimates were not available from SDSU.
Tailgating rules also have not been revealed, though there should be enough parking in the short term to allow space for tailgating.
A school spokesman estimated parking and tailgating details could be forthcoming over the next 2-4 weeks.
EIR estimates for a sellout crowd of 35,000 people had this travel breakdown: 7,700 — transit (trolley), 2,800 — Uber/Lyft/taxi, 350 — Shuttle/bus, 700 — walk/bike, 23,450 — private auto.
According to the EIR, fewer than 5,000 spaces may be needed, or as many as 9,400 (3,200 more than planned).
The parking situation will hinge on what at this point are two unknowns — how many people carpool to games and how many arrive by trolley.
Seating for 5,000 students, who are entitled to free tickets through their student fees, will be set aside each game.
Do half of them ride the trolley down from campus? More? And will other fans gravitate toward public transportation in greater numbers than in the past?
The EIR indicated that the average vehicle occupancy (AVO) for sporting events is 2.5 to 3.5 people per vehicle.
The AVO was 2.29 for SDSU football games when a survey was made during the 2018 season.
Aztecs fans were not particularly motivated to carpool at the old stadium because everyone knew there would be plenty of parking.
Given fewer spaces — and perhaps a higher cost to park — the AVO is expected to increase at Snapdragon Stadium.
The sweet spot is an AVO of 3.78, which would equal the 6,205 parking spaces that will be available.
According to the EIR, “an additional off-site parking supply will likely need to be provided for events exceeding 25,000 attendees regardless of day of week.”
An estimated 1,000 to 2,500 off-site spaces, depending on the AVO, will be required for a sellout.
One suggestion for additional parking is on-campus parking lots off College Avenue. Fans could take the trolley from the SDSU station for the 2 1/2-mile ride down to the stadium.
Rendering of the trolley plaza scheduled to be completed in time for 2022 football season opener.
(SDSU)
The SDSU Mission Valley trolley station is located the equivalent of approximately 3-4 blocks from Snapdragon Stadium.
Trolleys have not stopped there ever since SDCCU Stadium officially closed two years ago.
The trolley station is scheduled to reopen and a new plaza area completed in time for the season opener, according to Gina Jacobs, SDSU’s associate vice president for Mission Valley development.
Some SDSU fans have inquired about shuttle service from the trolley station to the stadium entrance. SDSU has not revealed such plans, but they could forthcoming when parking information is announced.
Notable
◆ SDSU held a ceremony two weeks ago to celebrate groundbreaking for the river park that will be located along the property’s southern border. There also will be park areas located on the eastern edge. The first park areas could be open as soon as the 2023 season.
◆ Seating has been added in the north section of the stadium, where students will be located, which was the last area to be completed for the facility’s 33,000 seats.
◆ A layer of sand/gravel has been spread across the stadium field, though more prep work is needed before grass appears. Sod is not expected to go down until late May, at the earliest.
◆ Road surfacing of the property’s main north/south road is underway just east of the stadium.
◆ Landscaping is beginning to go in all around the stadium, most notably at the northwest entrance.
Construction of primary north/south road at SDSU Mission Valley is underway just east of Snapdragon Stadium.
(Kirk Kenney / San Diego Union-Tribune)
