History
Voters approved the stadium in 1965, and it opened in 1967 for the Chargers and SDSU. The National League's expansion Padres moved in two years later. In 1981 it was renamed for Jack Murphy, the newspaper sports editor who had championed it.
It hosted three Super Bowls, two World Series and two All-Star Games. In 1998 it became the only stadium to host a Super Bowl and a World Series in the same year. Pete Rose's record-breaking 4,192nd hit also came there.
The Padres moved downtown in 2004 and the Chargers left for Los Angeles after 2016, which left SDSU as the main tenant. The university bought the site in 2020. After the 2019 Holiday Bowl, the stadium was taken apart in 2020–21 to make room for Snapdragon Stadium and a new campus district.
Why it matters: It was the shared home of San Diego's NFL and MLB teams for 35 years and hosted three Super Bowls and two World Series.
Timeline
- August 20, 1967
The first game was a Chargers preseason loss to the Detroit Lions.
- April 8, 1969Padres' first MLB home game[2]
The expansion Padres beat Houston 2–1.
- January 6, 1981
The City Council named the stadium for the late San Diego Union sports editor who had campaigned for it.
- 1998
The stadium hosted Super Bowl XXXII and the 1998 World Series, the only venue to host both in the same year.
- September 28, 2003Final Padres game[2]
The Padres played their last game there before moving to Petco Park.
- December 27, 2019Final game[1]
The 2019 Holiday Bowl, Iowa vs USC, was the last game at the stadium.
- March 22, 2021
The last big piece came down. The stadium was taken apart rather than imploded because of air-quality rules.
The site today
| Physical status | Site redeveloped[1,3] |
|---|---|
| Current use | SDSU Mission Valley campus, including Snapdragon Stadium (built next to the old footprint) and a planned innovation district, housing and river park[1,3] |
| Built on the site | Snapdragon Stadium (SDSU's stadium, built next to the former stadium on the same Mission Valley site, opened 2022) |
| Mapped location | Former venue site |
Street View near the former site · Satellite view (external, current imagery)
Teams & events
| San Diego Chargers | AFL/NFL · 1967–2016 |
|---|---|
| San Diego State Aztecs | NCAA · 1967–2019 |
| San Diego Padres | MLB · 1969–2003 |
| San Diego Sockers | NASL · 1978–1984 |
Listed here are organizations that used this physical venue. A franchise's history and a venue's history are tracked separately.
Venue facts
| Official name | SDCCU Stadium |
|---|---|
| Other names | Jack Murphy Stadium (1981–1997); Qualcomm Stadium (1997–2017); SDCCU Stadium (2017–2020); The Murph |
| Location | 9449 Friars Road, Mission Valley, San Diego, California[1] |
| Venue type | Stadium |
| Sports | Football, Baseball, Soccer |
| Level | AFL, NFL, MLB, NCAA, NASL |
| Opened | August 20, 1967[1,2] |
| Last used for sports | March 2020[1] |
| Demolished | 2020–2021[1,3] |
| Physical status | Site redeveloped |
| Final capacity | 70,561[1,2] |
| Capacity notes | Wikipedia gives 70,561 for Chargers football and 67,544 for baseball. SABR gives 47,634 at the 1967 opening. |
| Architect | Frank L. Hope and Associates[1] |
| Construction cost | $27.75 million |
| Surface | Bandera Bermuda grass |
| Owner / operator | City of San Diego; sold to San Diego State University in 2020 |
| Closure | The Padres and Chargers had left. SDSU bought the land, demolished the stadium and built a smaller replacement next to the old footprint. |
Documented details
Connected venues
- Now on the site: Snapdragon Stadium · SDSU's stadium, built next to the former stadium on the same Mission Valley site, opened 20222022–present
- Replaced by: Petco Park · Padres moved downtown in 20042004–present
- Replacement for: Balboa Stadium · Chargers moved in 19671915–1966
- Replacement for: Westgate Park · Padres moved in 19681958–1967
Sources
- San Diego Stadium, Wikipedia. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: address, architect, capacity, closed, coordinates, current land use, demolished, opened, teams
- Jack Murphy Stadium (San Diego), Society for American Baseball Research. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: capacity, opened, teams
- Last major piece of SDCCU Stadium comes down as construction continues on Aztec Stadium, ABC 10News San Diego. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: current land use, demolished
Research confidence
Some facts on this page rely on a single source or are still being corroborated. Treat specific dates and figures with care. Last reviewed 2026-10-19.
Where sources disagree (3)
- SABR says the Chargers played there 'through 2017'. Wikipedia lists 1967–2016, and the team's last season in San Diego was 2016.
- Wikipedia gives the NASL Sockers' tenure as both 1978–1984 and 1978–1983.
- The closing date (March 2020) and the final game (Dec 27, 2019 Holiday Bowl) come from Wikipedia only.
See something wrong or missing? Suggest a correction or submit a source.