Jack Murphy Stadium
From SoSH
| Location: | San Diego, California |
| Opened: | 1967 |
| Owner: | City of San Diego |
| Surface: | Grass |
| Architect: | |
| Current Capacity: | 67,544 (baseball) |
| Build Cost: | $27,000,000 |
| Tenants: | San Diego Chargers (NFL) (1967-Present) San Diego State Aztecs (NCAA) (1967-Present) San Diego Padres (NL) (1969-2003) San Diego Sockers (NASL) (1978-1984) San Diego Jaws (NASL) (1976) |
Contents |
Stadium History
In the early 1960s, San Diego sportswriter Jack Murphy sought out support for a multipurpose stadium to be built in the city. In 1965, a $27 million bond was passed permitting the stadium to be built. Construction commenced one month later and the park was completed in 1967. The San Diego Chargers played the first game at the stadium -- then known as San Diego Stadium -- on August 20, 1967. The expansion San Diego Padres were added for the 1969 season, making the facility truly "multipurpose." The stadium was built in the "square circle" style, thought to be an improvement over the cookie-cutter stadiums of the time despite the fact that some seats were still not quite close enough to the field, particularly for baseball. The only other park built in this style was Veterans Stadium, which has since been destroyed.
The stadium was renamed Jack Murphy Stadium following Jack Murphy's death in 1980. It was renamed Qualcomm Stadium in 1997 after QUALCOMM paid for the stadium's naming rights.
The Padres played at Jack Murphy Stadium through the 2003 season before moving into the baseball-only Petco Park for the 2004 season. Even before the Padres left, there had been much talk about building a new football-only facility for the Chargers. The future of the stadium and the team remains up in the air.
Trivia
- Also known as San Diego Stadium (1967-1980) and Qualcomm Stadium (1997-present).
- Site of the 1978 and 1992 MLB All-Star Games.
- Only stadium ever to host a World Series and Super Bowl in the same year (1998).
- Rickey Henderson collected his 3,000th hit here on October 7, 2001, which was also the final game of lifelong Padre Tony Gwynn's career.
Field Dimensions
| Left Field | Left Center | Center Field | Right Center | Right Field |
| 327' | 370' | 405' | 370' | 330' |
Wall Height
| Left Field | Center Field | Right Field |
| 8.5' | 8.5' | 8.5' |
External Links
- Jack Murphy Stadium - Wikipedia
- Jack Murphy Stadium - Ballparks.com
