Differences between Qualcomm & Petco Park

Two of the largest sporting venues in San Diego are Qualcomm Stadium and Petco Park. San Diego sports fans flock to these stadiums every year to see their favorite hometown sports teams. Both of these stadiums also host concerts, conventions and rallies throughout the year. As much as the two venues have in common, Qualcomm and Petco also have their differences, including the type of games they facilitate, seating capacities and locations.

  1. Athletics

    • Qualcomm Stadium is a football stadium, while Petco Park is primarily used for baseball. Teams with home games in Qualcomm includes the San Diego Chargers (chargers.com) -- a franchise in the National Football League -- and the San Diego State University Aztecs (sdsu.edu). Qualcomm also hosts college football bowl games in late December, such as the Holiday Bowl and the Poinsettia Bowl. Petco Park hosts Major League Baseball games for the San Diego Padres (sandiego.padres.mlb.com). Unlike Qualcomm, Petco Park is not the home field for any collegiate teams. Also, Qualcomm has the capacity to accommodate baseball and soccer games, while Petco does not have the capability to be a multisport stadium.

    Seating Capacity

    • The larger of the two venues, Qualcomm Stadium, has a seating capacity of approximately 71,000 for football and soccer games; baseball games at Qualcomm can accommodate over 67,500 fans. The seating capacity at Petco Park is close to 42,500l with standing room sections, Petco accommodates over 45,000 fans. Qualcomm also has an adjacent concert venue, while Petco does not have this feature. The adjacent concert venue at Qualcomm, Concerts on the Green, was once the practice field for the San Diego Chargers and has a concert capacity of 12,500 concertgoers; this attendance capacity makes Qualcomm one of the largest outdoor concert venues in San Diego.

    Location

    • Qualcomm Stadium is in eastern San Diego in the heart of the city's Mission Valley region. The stadium is accessible from the Jacob Dekema Freeway (Interstate 805), Kumeyaay Freeway (Interstate 8) and the Escondido Freeway (Interstate 10). Mission Valley surrounds the stadium with its condominium residences, shopping centers and universities, including San Diego State University (sdsu.edu).

      Located in downtown San Diego, Petco Park's surroundings consist of high-rise office buildings and San Diego Bay, which is a 10-minute walk from Petco. The baseball park is also a short walk from downtown San Diego's historic Gaslamp District. Petco Park's nearest freeways are the Martin Luther King, Jr. Freeway (State Highway 94), Cabrillo Freeway (State Highway 163) and Interstate 8.

    History

    • Petco Park is one of the newest stadiums in Southern California, completed in 2003, whereas Qualcomm Stadium is much older than Petco; Qualcomm's first sporting event was in 1967. Before Petco was built, the Padres played all their home games at Qualcomm since the franchise's inception in the late 1960s. Qualcomm has been home to the San Diego Chargers since the '60s. Also, Petco Park is the only name the Padres' stadium has ever had, as of 2011, while Qualcomm Stadium has had several previous names, including San Diego Stadium from 1967-80 and Jack Murphy Stadium from 1980-97.