Snapdragon Stadium maiden match in September

Article posted by Coliseum, August 26^th, 2022

Image: Clark Construction

The Clark Construction Group joined the San Diego State University (SDSU) leaders, City officials and distinguished guests to cut the ribbon on the new state-of-the-art Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California (US).

The Snapdragon Stadium will make its official debut during the Aztec Football season opener against the University of Arizona Wildcats on September 3^rd.

‘Clark Construction’ stated that designed as a hub for sports and entertainment, the new 35,000-capacity venue provides a state-of-the-art home field for the SDSU Aztec Football, as well as for professional and collegiate soccer, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship games, concerts, and other cultural events.

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The 35,000-capacity (expandable up to 55,000) Snapdragon Stadium, known during its planning and early construction phases as the Aztec Stadium, is an American football stadium in San Diego, California (US), on the campus of the San Diego State University at the SDSU Mission Valley, a 166-acre non-contiguous expansion parcel of the university campus.

The San Diego State University is a public research university in San Diego, California (US). Founded in 1897 as the San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and Southernmost in the 23-member California State University system. The SDSU has a Fall 2020 student body of 35,578 and an alumni base of more than 300,000.

‘Clark Construction’ further stated that as the design-builder in charge of design and construction efforts on the multipurpose venue, Clark Construction led a high-performing team of more than 250 firms, including engineers and trade contractors. Gensler Sports is the lead designer.

The stadium’s signature design elements, including concourse level ‘neighborhoods’, and standing-room-only ‘piers’ that jut out over stadium seating to conjure a coastal vibe are designed to reflect the City’s diverse communities and combine to create a venue that is authentically San Diego.

The stadium is a part of the first phase of development at the SDSU Mission Valley, a mixed-use, medium-density, transit-oriented development that will expand the university’s educational, research, entrepreneurial, and technology programs.

An Innovation District is projected to provide educational opportunities for up to 15,000 additional students and, once complete, the SDSU Mission Valley will also include retail, housing and the development of community parks and open space. It is expected to bolster the university’s local economic impact by an estimated $3 billion annually.

Snapdragon Stadium’s construction has served as a boon to the San Diego economy. Local firms were awarded $250 million in construction contracts on the project. Throughout construction, Clark also helped lead training programs to ensure a local and diverse workforce had the opportunity to work on the project. In aggregate, a combined 4,000 workers logged 1.2 million hours to successfully deliver the Snapdragon Stadium.

Commented Albert Valdivia, Clark’s Vice- President in charge of Construction Operations for the project, “This project is a testament that construction is a team sport. With everyone working toward the goal of winning together, we were able to deliver a high-quality venue on time, on budget for SDSU and the greater San Diego community.”

San Diego’s newest landmark is a product of a two-year intensive construction effort. To make way for the new venue, Clark demolished the Qualcomm Stadium, the former home of the San Diego Chargers. Crews erected the structure using a combination of cast-in-place concrete, precast concrete and steel. To shape the stadium, crews raised the site nearly 30 feet and erected 2,500 steel beams.

The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the team had played the 1960 season. The team is now known as the Los Angeles Chargers (National Football League) and their home pitch is the splendid 70,000-capacity SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California (US).

Maintained J.D. Wicker, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at SDSU, “We appreciate all the hard work to get Snapdragon Stadium complete in time for our first game against Arizona Wildcats. We are looking forward to fans coming to a stadium that they can be proud of – a stadium that is authentic to San Diego. We feel we’ve created an unmatched experience in collegiate athletics, and in all events that come to the stadium.”

Famed musicians Jimmy Buffett (American singer-songwriter) and Jason Mraz (American guitarist) will perform the first concert at the arena on October 22^nd.

Clark Construction, also referred to as Clark Construction Group, LLC, is a construction firm headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland (US), and founded in 1906. The company had in 2018 annual revenue of more than $5 billion, and is one of the largest commercial and civil contractors in the United States.

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