San Diego Stadium Construction Collection

Collection

Identifier: MS-0215

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of materials relating to the construction of San Diego Stadium, dating from 1965-67. It includes legal documents, contracts, progress reports, and photographs.

Dates

Creation: 1965-1968

Creator

San Diego Stadium (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The copyright interests in some or all of these materials have not been transferred to San Diego State University. Copyright resides with the creator(s) of materials contained in the collection or their heirs. The nature of archival collections is such that multiple creators are often applicable and copyright status may be difficult or even impossible to determine. In any case, the user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, obtaining publication rights and copyright infringement. When requesting images from Special Collections & University Archives for publication, we require a signed agreement waiving San Diego State University of any liability in the event of a copyright violation.

Historical Note

In the early 1960s, local sportswriter Jack Murphy, the brother of New York Mets broadcaster Bob Murphy, began working to build support for a stadium for San Diego. Construction began in December 1965, after a $27 million bond was passed in November of that year to fund the project. When completed, the facility was named San Diego Stadium.

The San Diego Chargers played the first game in the new stadium, which had a capacity of approximately 50,000, on August 20, 1967. The pro-football team was the main tenant of the stadium until 1969, when Major League Baseball's National League expanded to add the San Diego Padres.

After Jack Murphy's passing in 1980, San Diego Stadium was renamed the San Diego-Jack Murphy Stadium or simply Jack Murphy Stadium. The facility went by that name until 1997, when it was renamed Qualcomm Stadium after the Qualcomm Corporation paid $18 million for naming rights. In order to continue honoring Murphy, the city named the stadium site Jack Murphy Field.