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| Former names | City Stadium |
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| Address | 1405 Park Boulevard |
| Location | San Diego, California, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 32°43′15″N117°9′2″W / 32.72083°N 117.15056°W /32.72083; -117.15056 |
| Owner | City of San Diego |
| Operator | San Diego Unified School District |
| Capacity | 3,000 (1978–present) 34,000 (1961–1966)[1] 23,000 (1960) 15,000 (1914) |
| Surface | Artificial turf originally natural grass |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1914 |
| Renovated | 1978 |
| Architect | Quayle Brothers |
| Tenants | |
| San Diego High School Cavers (1915–present) San Diego East-West Christmas Classic (NCAA) (1921–1922) San Diego State Aztecs (NCAA) (1921–1935) Harbor Bowl (NCAA) (1947–1949) Poinsettia Bowl (military) (1952–1955) San Diego Chargers (AFL) (1961–1966) San Diego Toros (NASL) (1968) San Diego Pumitas (NPSL) (1999–2007) San Diego Flash (2010) (NPSL; charity events) San Diego Boca FC (NPSL) (2011–2014) San Diego Growlers (AUDL) (2015–2017) | |
Balboa Stadium is an outdoorstadium inSan Diego, California, adjacent toSan Diego High School andBalboa Park. Owned by the City of San Diego, it is leased toSan Diego Unified School District. The stadium is used for local athletics and high school events. It has been the home of the San Diego High School Cavers athletic teams since it opened in 1915.
The original stadium was built in 1914 as part of the 1915Panama–California Exposition with a capacity of 15,000. The stadium expanded in the 1960s to a capacity of 34,000. Due toseismic safety concerns, it was demolished in the 1970s and a smaller venue with a 3,000-seat capacity was built, opening in 1978. Most of the original stadium's distinguishing architectural features were removed.
The stadium hosted theSan Diego State Aztecs football team from 1921 to 1935. It also hosted theSan Diego Chargers of theNational Football League (NFL) from 1961 to 1966. Additionally, the stadium hosted variousbowl games, including theSan Diego East-West Christmas Classic from 1921 to 1922, theHarbor Bowl from 1947 to 1949, and thePoinsettia Bowl from 1952 to 1955.
The original stadium was built in 1914 as part of the 1915Panama–California Exposition, also inBalboa Park, with a capacity of 15,000. A horseshoe design that opened to the south, it was designed by the Quayle Brothers architectural firm and originally calledCity Stadium. On May 31, 1915, the stadium was dedicated and around 20,000 people came to watch track and field events.[2] Since 1915, it has been the home field of theSan Diego High School Cavers athletic teams.
Auto racing took place on a quarter-mile dirt track in Balboa Stadium from about 1937 through July 4, 1961, when the racing stopped so the facility could be used for pro football. Balboa Stadium was one of the hotbeds of midget racing starting in about 1937 until the early 1950s (except for the war years). When interest in midget racing started waning, jalopies became popular. The San Diego Racing Association was formed in 1953 and started sanctioning the racing. By 1958, the San Diego Racing Assn had transformed from a jalopy association to a sleeker modified sportsman (the forerunners of today's super modifieds). Jalopy champions of the SDRA at Balboa included Glen Hoagland (1953), Jim Wood (1954), Jack Krogh (1955), Harris Mills (1956), Don Ray (1957), and Mondo Iavelli (1958). Don Thomas (1957) was the inaugural modified champion with Art Pratt being a three time titlest (1958 - 1959 - 1960). Rip Erikson took the honors in the 1961 season that was split between Balboa Stadium and Cajon Speedway. Also holding events at Balboa Stadium during the 1950s were occasional visits by the URA midgets and the NASCAR Pacific Coast Late Models. During the 1950s it was not unusual for more than 10,000 fans to attend a weekly show at Balboa.
The stadium also hosted local amateur and professionalbaseball contests in the period prior to the establishment of thePacific Coast League Padres in 1936.Babe Ruth,Lou Gehrig,Ty Cobb, andSatchel Paige played in Balboa Stadium.
College football'sHarbor Bowl was held there from 1947 to 1949. TheSan Diego East-West Christmas Classic was held there in 1921 and 1922. From 1952 through 1955, the stadium hosted thePoinsettia Bowl, contested between armed services football teams. From 1958 to 1964, it hosted theLeatherneck Bowl, a charity game betweenMarine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego and another military service team.
The stadium has been the site of famous races intrack and field. In 1965, high-schoolerJim Ryun from Kansas beat world-record holder and reigning1500 m Olympic championPeter Snell ofNew Zealand in a mile race in 3:55.3 on June 27,[3][4] an American high school record that stood for 42 years. A year later,Tim Danielson from San Diego areaChula Vista High School ran 3:59.4 in the same stadium to become only the second high school runner to run a sub-4:00 mile. Only three high school runners have managed to break that barrier since (Marty Liquori in 1967,Alan Webb in 2001, andLukas Verzbicas in 2011). Fifty years after Ryun first broke the4 minute mile, the stadium hosted a "Festival of Miles" featuring a return of Ryun.[5]
The first two major meets of the developing age division ofMasters athletics were held in Balboa Stadium, July 19–20, 1968, and July 3–6, 1969.
During the mid to late 1950s, a huge musical production,The California Story, was put on in Balboa Stadium as part of theFiesta del Pacifico celebration. The extravaganza featured a cast of 1,300 people, including a symphony orchestra and a 150-voice choir.[6] Performances were directed byMeredith Willson, who also contributed music and lyrics.[7] The production followed the history of California from the arrival ofJuan Rodríguez Cabrillo in 1540 through the early 20th century.[8] It was billed as "the biggest non-movie spectacle ever produced anywhere."[9]
To accommodate theAmerican Football League'sChargers, which moved fromLos Angeles, the seating capacity was increased from 23,000 to 34,000 by adding an upper deck in May.[10] It was their home for six years, through the1966 season.
Balboa Stadium witnessed theChargers' glory years in theAmerican Football League, which featured such players asJohn Hadl,Lance Alworth,Jack Kemp,Keith Lincoln, andErnie Ladd, and hosted the1961,1963, and1965 AFL championship games (1W, 2L), as well as the 1961, 1962, and 1963AFL All-Star games. In their six seasons here, head coachSid Gillman's club had a home record of28–12–2 (.690), winning four Western Division titles and oneleague crown (1963).
In1967, the Chargers left Balboa for the newSan Diego Stadium (later known by multiple other names) inMission Valley, where the club's glory slowed and the titles stopped (although they did win severalAFC Western Division titles) until they won theAFC championship in1994; the Chargers returned to Los Angeles in 2017.
The stadium was used for popular music concerts and other public gatherings through the 1960s and 1970s.
On August 28, 1965,the Beatles performed at the stadium during theirsecond North American tour.[11]
On September 3, 1968,Jimi Hendrix performed at theBalboa Stadium with his bandThe Jimi Hendrix Experience.
The Doors' concert at Balboa withIke & Tina Turner on October 26, 1969 was canceled by thecity council due toJim Morrison's arrest forindecent exposure earlier that year.[12][13]
Notable musicians and signers who have performed at the stadium includeCrosby, Stills, Nash and Young,the Doobie Brothers,Linda Ronstadt, theEagles,Led Zeppelin,Peter Frampton,Yes,Jethro Tull,Robin Trower,Jimi Hendrix,Pink Floyd,Steely Dan,Chicago,Jefferson Airplane,Santana andFleetwood Mac.[14]
On September 19, 1919,PresidentWoodrow Wilson spoke in front of over 50,000 people in Balboa Stadium in support of the creation of theLeague of Nations.[15] This was the first presidential speech to use an electronic voice amplification system. This system was invented by Edwin S. Pridham and Peter L. Jensen. They called their invention the "Magnavox" ("Great Voice") moving coil device. The two would go on to found theMagnavox company.[16]
On September 21, 1927,Charles Lindbergh visited San Diego, where theSpirit of St. Louis was built byRyan Aeronautical, and was greeted with a hero's welcome at the stadium. With over 60,000 in attendance (10,000 more than President Wilson) he performed a low-level fly over at 100 feet, dipping his aircraft's wings and circling the stadium 8 times. He landed and was then paraded through the city to the stadium where the crowd had to be held back by 650U.S. Marines.[17]
On December 7, 1941, a Navy vs. Marines football game was interrupted at halftime by news of theattack on Pearl Harbor. The game was never finished.[18]
The stadium was also the site of the first match of theNASL Final 1968.
On March 24, 1976, theSan Diego Jaws played thePelé ledNew York Cosmos in front of 18,128 people to a 1–1 draw.[19]
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The original stadium was demolished in the 1970s due to concerns about its stability during an earthquake,[20] and was rebuilt in 1978 with a much smallerseating capacity than when it housed the Chargers. Most of its distinguishing architectural features were removed. The remaining seating is made up of simple concrete bleachers, which also form the walls of the canyon the field is built in.
San Diego's largest and oldest running club, theSan Diego Track Club also calls Balboa Stadium its home. It is used bySan Diego High School for local high school sporting and other events. During the 1990s and the 2000s, it was also used as the home field (for football only) bySt. Augustine High School andSan Diego City College.
Balboa Stadium is the site of the annual "Stand Down" program, an outreach to provide services to needy and homeless military veterans, sponsored by the Veterans Village of San Diego.[21]
An article in theSan Diego Union-Tribune on November 27, 2006, highlighted the stadium's state of disrepair.Artificial turf installed in 2001 was torn and rippling, and the track surrounding the field had dangerous depressions thought to be able to cause injury to runners.[22] Both the turf and the track have since been completely renovated.[citation needed]
| Preceded by | Home of the San Diego Chargers 1961 – 1966 | Succeeded by |
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| Franchise | |
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| Culture | |
| Lore | |
| Rivalries | |
| Wild card berths (5) | |
| Division championships (15) | |
| Conference championships (1) | |
| League championships (1) | |
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| Current league affiliations |
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| Former league affiliation |
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Former stadiums of the National Football League | |
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| Early era: 1920–1940 |
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| Post-war and pre-merger era: 1941–1969 |
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| Current era: 1970–present |
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| Stadiums used by NFL teams temporarily |
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†= Team's stadium under construction or refurbishment at time | |
