Qualcomm Stadium

Address:9449 Friars Road
San Diego, California

Having hosted three Super Bowls and two annual college bowl games, and with a college and NFL team playing there every week, it's hard to fathom that San Diego's Qualcomm (nee Jack Murphy) Stadium also used to host a baseball team. But once the Padres left in 2004, for a new stadium, the football remained the stadium's main attraction, possibly outdoing Los Angeles for west coast football venues.

The Chargers have been at the stadium since it opened in 1967, helped by the support of Jack Murphy, a local sportswriter. Although the 1970s and '80s Chargers teams, led by Dan Fouts and Kellen Winslow, were very successful, the franchise's lone Super Bowl appearance (a loss to San Francisco in Super Bowl XXIX) did not occur until 1995. In 1988, Qualcomm hosted its first Super Bowl, and in 1998 saw John Elway win his first Super Bowl after years of near misses. It was also the home of Super Bowl XXXVII in 2003.

In the college game, the San Diego State University Aztecs football team has played at 70,561-seat Qualcomm since it opened its doors. Furthermore, the stadium hosts two bowl games each year, the Poinsettia Bowl, which kicks off the season, and the relatively high-profile Holiday Bowl, played on the last Thursday night of the year, which is in the tier just below the BCS bowls. By winning 1984's Holiday Bowl, Brigham Young University capped off an undefeated season, and won a national championship.

Before the Padres left, they had their share of moments at Qualcomm as well. They reached two World Series here, in 1984 and 1998, although they lost both. However, in 1998 Qualcomm became the first stadium to host the Super Bowl and World Series in the same year. On the way to the 1984 Series, the Padres had a massive three-game rally to beat the Cubs in the National League playoffs, including a famous between-the-legs error by Cubs first baseman Leon Durham. Qualcomm saw all-time great Rickey Henderson pick up his 3,000th career hit, and was home to hall-of-fame outfielder Tony Gwynn and all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman for their entire careers. One negative baseball moment came on July 25, 1990, when actress Roseanne Barr preformed the national anthem before the Padres' game against the Cincinnati Reds. She tried to mock baseball players by spitting and grabbing herself, while screeching through the song. Her "joke" went over extremely poorly, and has rightfully gone down as one of the worst renditions of the anthem ever.

Qualcomm has also been used for assorted other events, and is available to rent for private events. The San Diego metro system's green line runs to the stadium.