SAN DIEGO — Nearly two years and $310 million dollars later, San Diego State University held it’s ribbon cutting for the new Spapdragon Stadium.
The state of the art facility will host SDSU Aztecs, the San Diego Wave FC, concerts and a long list of other gatherings, according to university officials as they readied the Snapdragon Stadium for action.
Friday afternoon’s ribbon cutting featured representatives of the Kumeyaay Tribe, elected officials, former players, SDSU's The Marching Aztecs, spirit squads and SDSU supporters all beaming with pride as they got their first look at the new stadium.
Before the ribbon cutting festivities got underway, SDSU’s Athletic Department hosted a sneak peak with CBS 8.
SDSU Athletic Director, John David Wicker said of the new Snapdragon Stadium, "We're excited. It's our building but we didn't build it just for us, we built it for the community of San Diego."
The stadium is named for the Snapdragon platforms attached to the stadium.
"This is probably one of the more energetic spaces because if you're down here the team is going to run out and you're going to be a part of the team celebrating as they head out to the field whether it's pregame or half time," said Wicker. "And really the intimacy of the seating bowl - you are on top of the action."
Derek Grice, Executive Associate Director of Athletics for Mission Valley Development said, "Gone are the days where people just want to sit for two and a half to three hours for a football game. I think people want to see what the building has to experience. One of the things that came back and a lot of our research said that the people of San Diego wanted chair back seats. Every seat here is chair back and you don't see that in the college model."
SDSU will host a scrimmage inside the new Snapdragon stadium on Saturday, August 20. The first home game is scheduled for September 3.
WATCH RELATED: The 35,000-seat San Diego stadium previously known as Aztec Stadium is now Snapdragon Stadium (Dec. 2021).