30th Major League Soccer Franchise Coming to SDSU's Snapdragon Stadium

In a historic announcement, many years in the making, several partners joined at Snapdragon Stadium to announce that a Major League Soccer team will begin playing at Snapdragon Stadium in two short years.

The 30th MLS team will begin playing at Snapdragon Stadium in 2025, league officials announced alongside San Diego State University leaders. The partnership involves the MLS league, Sycuan Band of Kumeyaay Nation, and majority owner Mohamed Mansour — with SDSU serving as host partner. A number of city and CSU leaders, including Mayor Todd Gloria, as well as Padres player Manny Machado, attended the announcement.

“This city has been a target for expansion since our early days,” said MLS Commissioner Don Garber, speaking Thursday during the event at Snapdragon Stadium. “We simply needed the right ownership group that believed in this city, believed in the sport and believed in our league — and we needed the perfect stadium.”

Soccer fans can reserve their place on the list for season tickets to San Diego's inaugural MLS season by paying $18 at SanDiegoFC.com.

The plans for bringing an expansion team in 2025 is the result of “the dedicated, respected and forward-thinking leadership you will hear from today,” Garber said during the event, also addressing and thanking both SDSU President Adela de la Torre and SDSU Athletic Director JD Wicker for their vision and leadership.

De la Torre said the confirmation of an MLS team coming to San Diego is one of the most important and exciting developments for the city, the state and the university.

“Some said an agreement and a facility that would bring internationally competitive soccer to San Diego would be forever impossible, but we never, ever had doubt that we would reach this moment and continue making progress in the benefit of SDSU and our regional community,” de la Torre said. “I have been waiting years for this exact moment. Now is our time, and this is our moment.”

U.S. cities that have MLS teams enjoy many social, cultural and economic benefits, “and San Diego will be no different,” de la Torre said.

“Snapdragon Stadium is ideal for soccer, which has a massive fan base and holds an incredible unifying power across cultures,” de la Torre also said. “It is only fitting that SDSU — a globally focused, deeply rooted university, at the U.S.-Mexico border — should be host to this partnership, especially in support of a sport played in nearly every country around the world.”

Located at SDSU Mission Valley, Snapdragon Stadium is part of a comprehensive, community-supported development plan to drive educational, economic, community and athletic development. SDSU has already successfully hosted the San Diego Wave, the San Diego Legion, Aztec football and dozens of other events — including major concerts with Jimmy Buffet and the Red Hot Chili Peppers — since the stadium opened less than one year ago.

“We look forward to Major League Soccer coming to San Diego and playing its home games at Snapdragon Stadium,” Wicker said. “We built this stadium for the San Diego community and this is another reason to come to San Diego State’s campus to enjoy an event at what is a spectacular stadium.”

Also through the partnership, the Sycuan Band of Kumeyaay Nation — which has had a long-standing relationship with SDSU — becomes the first Native American tribe with ownership in professional soccer in the United States.

“They say that good things come to those who wait. I cannot clearly state how proud and how fortunate we are here today,” said Cody Martinez, chairman of the Sycuan Band of Kumeyaay Nation.