Alright Jackie, I gotta believe you
feel like a kid on Christmas Day.
You've opened the gift and now it's
time to share it with everybody.
Is that an appropriate
analogy or how you feeling? I
we're really excited.
We this has been a long time coming,
obviously in Mission Valley
for us about six years,
you know, when we really started
talking about it and you know,
we've built a phenomenal stadium
for the community of San Diego.
They're going to be so
many different you know,
pieces that people are going
to be able to look at and say,
hey yeah no that's really cool.
So yes we're we're very excited about what?
We've done and what we're
building for Aztec football as
well as the whole community.
Very cool. Tell us about the fan experience
and how will it be different from the
60 year old stadium that used to be
here. Well, one the stadium is
much more intimate over probably
80% of the seats sit inside.
What was the Plaza section and the old
stadium so that low level rise first level.
A lot of social areas where people can
go and hang out and still watch the game,
but they can grab a drink.
They can have some food they can
hang out with their friends.
A lot of different premium experiences for
people to check out great food partners.
I think we have 13 different
local food partners.
We've got great local craft
beer in the building as well,
so there's really going to be something
for everybody to to find in the building.
I'm a burger guy.
Understand there's a hodads.
There will be a hodads in the building
so we're really excited about that.
OK, you also mentioned there's
some remnants of the old stadium.
What are some of those highlights?
Yeah, so Jack Murphy statue is going
to be back for those that walked
off the trolley to the old stadium.
Mike Murphy and his dog yeah maybe
I saw the other night was his
name that will be at the stadium.
We've got a paver area in the
northeast corner of the building.
The pavers are actually chunks
of the old stadium.
We've got some stuff that for the Padres.
Some stuff that actually goes back
to the Chargers different little
we're calling them Easter eggs for
people to find that came out of the
old stadium is we pay homage to what
was you know a phenomenal building
for the for the city of San Diego
and now we're ready for Snapdragons
Stadium and bash your field.
All that it is to serve,
you know,
the next hopefully 100 years for
the city of San Diego,
and you talk about paying homage to some
of the people and events of the past.
You mentioned to Tony Gwynn
mural not just football related.
You'll go both baseball and others.
Yeah, I mean again,
this is a building that,
you know we want to do everything
we possibly can in this building.
Obviously we've got a great ballpark
for baseball, but, you know,
Tony Gwynn was a great Aztec.
But you know, with the wave and soccer,
the San Diego Legion, Jimmy Buffett,
Jason Mraz with that first concert,
there's going to be a lot of different.
Events in here, so and a lot of
different qualities of San Diego.
We pay homage to the military.
We're obviously a military town
you know the peers is going to be
awesome as you think about you
know our our coastal culture and
you know peers going out into the
ocean when we have a peer going
out into the the seating bowl so
you can watch the football game.
And yeah so a lot of different
areas where people can connect to.
I stood on that pier just a few minutes
ago and you're out there overlooking
not quite on top of the field,
but it's a different perspective.
It is definitely a different perspective.
I don't know it.
It sways a little bit too.
So that should be interesting.
We, we've done, we've double and
triple checked that the sway is OK.
But yeah, I mean that's going to
be a different, it's it's unique to
any stadium in the country for sure.
So that'll be a fun place
for people to experience.
Again, one of those social areas where
it gives people really the opportunity
to create their experience and
what they want out of the game. OK,
let me ask you how this helps
recruiting and I know it helps
recruiting for football.
That's obvious.
Does it also help recruiting?
For the other sports,
a women's volleyball player
or a lacrosse player,
well, it's a you know it's gonna be a
great atmosphere for people to attend.
It's definitely a revenue stream that our
athletic department has not seen before,
so that revenue won't just help football.
That revenue is going to go to the
bottom line of every one of our
sports and help us with the student
athlete experience for everyone.
So we're really excited about you
know what that's going to do.
And then again, the myriad of events
that are going to be here. You know,
whatever our student athletes might enjoy,
they'll probably be able to
find here and then our.
Both soccer teams and the lacrosse team
will also play matches here as well.
OK.
I can remember the day when the football
media guide would brag about playing
their games at an NFL stadium and I think
eventually that kind of became a downgrade
and was dropped from the media guide.
How much better is it now that you've got
this facility where you're the A resident?
Well, I mean this is, you know,
for the first time in 50 plus
years we're going to play a game on
campus and we are going to play a
game for the first time in 50 plus
years where we have a home field.
Change and I think that's
the that's the best part.
Our kids are going to be so excited
when they run out of the tunnel right
before kick and there's 35,000 people
in here and it's going to be loud.
I mean, this is a really intimate building.
It's very tight.
The fans are right on top of you,
so the experience is going to be amazing,
especially for our student athletes.
Very excited about what we're
doing for the community.
Again, you know, we talked about it.
It's great for Aztec football
and it's great for you.
Know our soccer teams.
Lacrosse and all of our student
athletes are our institution.
But I mean San Diego State is you know,
the city of San Diego.
There are so many of our
alumni that live here and this,
you know,
this is kind of that next step in you know,
really San Diego State just really
embedding itself further in our community.
Everybody in our community is
going to have a reason to come
to this stadium or to the River
Park or the Innovation district,
the residential that we're going to build,
the mixed-use retail, so.
This is something that you know,
everybody
in the community is going
to be able to benefit from,
and I'm excited that the stadium
is the first piece of it. Awesome.
Well, congratulations on this and we
look forward to seeing that first game.
I appreciate it very much. We're
we're excited to go ask ducks. Sweet.
OK, JD, we're deep in the
confines of Snapdragon Stadium.
The field is behind the cameraman,
which will show you in a second.
But tell us about this area and how
it will carry out during a given game
day. Yeah. So welcome to the field club.
This is where the team will run
out onto the field. So if you're.
A A ticket holder in the field club.
You get to hang out in the club, OK,
enjoy, you know, good food, good beverage.
And then right before kickoff
the team is going to come out
of the roll up door right here.
They'll come out of what's
called the hype tunnel.
Tunnel have, you know, neon lights,
music, all the things for them roll up,
door comes out and then they'll come out and
congregate in this area and get fired up.
Everybody will be cheering for them and
then they'll take off onto the field to,
you know.
Kickoff, and then we'll do the
same thing at halftime.
OK, very cool. Now this
room over here to the right.
What's obviously a lot of exposure.
What's this for?
Yeah, so again, another one of
the amenities of the field club,
the postgame press conference will
happen here. So soundproof glass,
so you know you can't yell questions,
but you'll be able to watch the the
post game press conference and we'll
pipe the sound out into the field club.
So again, just another opportunity
for fans to engage in in the game.
And in the experience.
So if I've got a real hardball question
Brady, the fans will get to see it and hear
it. They'll exactly.
That's that's the plan.
That's gonna be motivation.
That is motivation.
Alright, let's go ahead and meander outside.
Whose idea was this to have all this nice
close access to the team as they come out?
Well again, with all new stadiums today,
you're really looking to build the fan
experience and so the opportunity for
the team one to get the fans to see
the fans right there and so energetic.
But then also, for the fans that feel
like they're really part of it as well.
And you've seen a couple other.
Stadiums do this and then this
was very important.
We've said all along, we want soccer,
we want men's soccer, women's soccer,
we wanna, you know,
we want international matches here,
the national teams to play.
So being able to have that professional
that they have coming out,
so that was very important as well.
So we combined the two and it really
turned into something special.
Now I've noticed a sign here,
absolutely
no photography or will be
removed from the project.
Do you have enough authority to
keep us out here with the GoPro?
I think we'll be OK. So I think we'll be OK.
How sweet is this just to walk
out here and and see this?
You know it's again,
it's a beautiful building and it's so
intimate I think that's going to be one
of the things that is really going to.
You know, fans are going to
notice immediately is like wow,
I'm really on top of the field.
You can really see the different social
areas in the building and it's natural grass.
You can't beat.
Having natural grass is.
We look at the building our students are
going to be in this North End and we.
We've got a specially designed
section for them.
It's called safe standing,
so there's a rail that they
can actually lean against.
There's a seat there,
but that's also important.
As you think about supporter sections
for soccer, that's what you see in MLS.
That's what you see overseas.
So again, we've done something.
We've said all along we want to build a
stadium for the community of San Diego.
So we've got something that's
great for our students,
but then it's great for soccer as well,
you know,
to help encourage and bring those
types of games into the building.
The band is going to be in that corner.
I believe the band is going to be
in that NE corner of the stadium
and then obviously students will
fill that end of the building.
OK, so it'll be, you know,
bringing the energy.
Do you have any idea like these
seats that are right behind us here?
How much closer are they to the field
and say compared to Qualcomm Stadium,
so the entire stadium probably
80% of the stadium is.
Within what was the the Plaza seating so
that lowest level of seating so everyone is?
You know a lot closer to the building.
You know it is a regulation soccer field,
but you're still closer than
a lot of areas in Qualcomm.
Because I mean, let's be honest,
it was a baseball stadium.
1st and then it's also for those
folks that went up to Carson.
You're a little bit closer than
you were in Carson as well,
and much steeper and higher.
Let's touch on the peers again.
Is that what it's called? The Saquan
Sequan peers this was. This will be.
Really, the signature element of the
building will have palm trees behind it.
Again, it was one of those
things that we talked about.
The community of San Diego.
We wanted to hit, you know,
a coastal theme of the
North End of the stadium.
The landscaping is a little more arid.
So thank E County where I
live over on the east side,
there's a little more vegetation.
Think North Park and areas like that,
but the peers when we
challenge the architect,
we want you to build something
that's 60% stadium and 40% San Diego.
They looked at the coastline
and said you have peers.
Going into the water,
we're going to design A pier that goes
into the stadium towards the field.
And it's it will be the signature element of
our building and something no one else has.
Now,
I don't want to start generating ideas,
but I could see maybe Tony Hawk dropping
in off of that thing onto a ramp.
How about that? Is that a good
future skateboarding event?
Maybe we can have the X Games and they
can launch stuff off of the pier.
Sure, JD, we appreciate your time as always.
Thank you very much.
I appreciate y'all support and
go Aztecs, no doubt about it.