Take the Green Line. That is the short version of this guide, and for a stadium show it is the right one. The Trolley stops at Stadium station, a short walk from the gates, and MTS runs trains every 15 minutes or better around most events, with extra service for the biggest ones.
Riding the Trolley
The Green Line reaches the stadium directly from downtown, Old Town, SDSU, La Mesa and El Cajon. Riders on other lines change trains once.
| Coming from | Transfer to the Green Line at |
|---|---|
| UC San Diego Blue Line | Old Town |
| Orange Line | Grossmont |
| Copper Line | El Cajon Transit Center |
| Rapid 215 bus | SDSU |
If you want to drive part of the way, MTS suggests parking at a Green Line station with a lot, such as Old Town Transit Center, Union Grantville, Grossmont Transit Center, Amaya Drive or El Cajon Transit Center, then riding in. Union Grantville is the closest of those, a few minutes up the line.
If you drive
Parking on site is limited, and the stadium recommends buying a parking pass as early as you can. Drive up spots are scarce and can cost more. The lots and the stadium are cashless.
- Rideshare drops off and picks up on Mission Village Drive, just north of Jacaranda Street.
- Tailgating is allowed only at select events, so do not plan on it for a concert unless the event page says so.
- Bike racks sit at the northwest and northeast gates and along the east side. Bring your own lock.
- It is a clear bag stadium. Check the size rules on your ticket before you leave home.
A stadium on an old stadium
For more than fifty years this patch of Mission Valley held San Diego Stadium, the concrete bowl that opened in 1967 and later went by Jack Murphy Stadium, Qualcomm Stadium and SDCCU Stadium. It came down in 2020 and 2021. San Diego State bought the land from the city and opened Snapdragon Stadium on the same site in August 2022.
It seats 35,000 and can expand to 55,000. Aztecs football, San Diego Wave FC, San Diego FC and the Holiday Bowl all play here, and the same Trolley and parking advice holds on SDSU game days and match nights.
Big stadium tours land here. Coldplay became the first act to play it twice on a single tour, and Shakira was the first Latin artist to headline it. Most of these nights fall on our pop, Latin and rock pages.
For the other stadium in town, see Petco Park downtown. Up the Green Line on campus are Viejas Arena and the Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre, and the whole area is on our Mission Valley and SDSU page.