Is San Diego becoming a sports city again?

Loyal San Diego fans prove the city still has so much to offer

Amara Brooks / Sports Editor / The USD Vista

Ever since The Chargers left San Diego in 2017, leaving only one professional sports team, the city’s received a reputation for no longer being a “sports city.” As The Chargers moved back 120 miles north to Los Angeles, The Padres remained as the city’s lone professional sports team. Now, with the introduction of The Gulls hockey team, The SD Loyals and San Diego Wave FC soccer teams, professional sports of all kinds are making their way to the city and reclaiming its status as a sports city again. 

For many living in San Diego, Jan. 12, 2017 was a hard day, especially for San Diego Chargers fans, as Dean Spanos announced he would be relocating the team to LA. The Chargers originally resided in San Diego for over 50 years, and many heartbroken fans shared their opinions on the move by clearing out and burning all of their affiliated merchandise in front of the Qualcomm Stadium.

USD senior Ashley Sutton grew up in San Diego, and she and her family would attend many Chargers games when they were still based in the city. 

“My family saw it coming, but we were still bummed,” Sutton explained. “It was always an exciting thing to do a couple times a season, and it was usually a fun night whether or not we won. We miss hearing ‘San Diego, Super Chargers.’ It has a much better ring than ‘Los Angeles Chargers.’

Just a year after the news, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that San Diego won the title for the ‘Worst Sports City in America.’ As the eighth largest city in the country with a population of 1.4 million, people may wonder why the city is so bad when it comes to pro sports. 

The truth lies in the fact that as the nation’s fourth best city for an active lifestyle, pro sports have a lot of competition. According to WalletHub, when cities are ranked on active lifestyles. they are rated on their relative number of sporting goods stores, basketball hoops, swimming pools, parks, public golf courses, fitness centers and hiking and bike trails. Many of these activities are relatively free, or at the very least cost less money than a sporting event. The wonderful weather that makes San Diego so special also makes it difficult for professional sports teams to attract fans.

When it comes to whether San Diego is a sports city, Sutton claimed it comes down to how one defines a sports city.

“San Diego has lots of pro teams that just are not in major national leagues,” Sutton stated. “We have baseball, lacrosse, hockey, rugby, indoor and outdoor soccer. So as far as the quantity of sports teams, I do not think we are lacking. Yet, usually this label is talking about the people. San Diego fans are “Big Game” fans. As we noticed last season with the Padres and San Diego State University, the whole city floods a major championship series.”

However, professional soccer teams made their way and found success in San Diego. 

The San Diego Loyals have called the Torero Stadium home for the past three years. Founded in 2019 by Warren Smith and Landon Donovan, the team relied on the ideal of placing the San Diego community at the forefront. The owners picked the name of the club to reflect the people of San Diego: loyal. On the club’s website they emphasize the importance of the club’s crest. The crest states that the club anchors itself as a San Diego team  “for now, for always.” The team’s most important priority is making sure to connect with the community at large. Through their program 18/86 The Loyals connect with San Diego’s 18 cities and 86 neighborhoods, with weekly activities and community events throughout the year. 

The Loyals often practice at community fields in the city and have a mission to protect and serve the LGBTQ+ and Latinx minority communities in San Diego. Through a partnership with San Diego Pride, the Loyals have Pride Night to celebrate the team’s “Loud and Proud” initiative. 20% of all tickets sold at the game will be donated to SD Pride. Alongside Pride Night the club and it’s players host weekly community events at local public schools and highlight small businesses in an effort to continuously give back to the community. 

It’s no surprise that every game held at Torero Stadium is filled with Loyals fans. As of their current contract with Torero Stadium, many wonder if The Loyals will extend their stay on the USD campus. Currently, The Torero stadium can hold up to 8,000 attendees, and with the building of the new SnapDragon Stadium at SDSU, The Loyals could potentially find a new home that would expand themselves to a 35,000-person capacity arena. 

San Diego Wave FC made headlines in 2022, when it was announced that a National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) was coming to San Diego. The team is San Diego’s first women’s professional soccer team since 2002 when the San Diego Spirit team was forced to disband. Similarly to The Loyals, Wave played their first season at The Torero stadium before promptly moving to SnapDragon Stadium before their season finished. Their opening game at the new location drew a sellout crowd of 32,000 attendees, setting a new NWSL single-game attendance record. 

The soccer team started their inaugural season with one of the most high-profile deals in NWSL history when they signed world-renowned forward Alex Morgan. Morgan is most notably known for winning two Women’s FIFA World Cups with the Women’s National Team, a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games. In their first season they advanced to the playoffs semi-finals round before falling to the Portland Thorns FC. Morgan spoke to The Associated Press and stated that she sees San Diego as home for many years to come. 

“I think something I’m very excited about is that I’ve made a long-term commitment to this club,” Morgan explained. “I see myself being in San Diego through my playing career. I see myself settling down in San Diego.”

While professional soccer teams are changing the narrative of professional sports teams in San Diego with consistent sell-out games, The San Diego Gulls prove that San Dieagans also love the ice. 

Sutton explained that Gulls games are fun to attend not just for the game play, but the media entertainment throughout. 

“Gulls games are a lot of fun. The media team does a great job of providing entertaining and hilarious graphics on the video board while playing great music throughout the night. Hockey is one of those sports that moves fast and is very exciting to watch live because of the contact, consistent game-play, fighting, and crazy fans.”

The San Diego Gulls are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that started its first season in 2015. The Gulls are an affiliate team to the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Anaheim Ducks. The Gulls play at Pechanga Arena San Diego and average just under 9,000 attendees at every home match. The Gulls have College Nights to encourage college students to enjoy a game and take a break from studying. With a student ID college students can get home game tickets for $15. The team prove each season that they’re a strong contender in the division finals as they stand in the top four best teams each season. 

While San Diego is always in conversations for not having a NBA or NFL team, the city still has so many professional sports teams that offer amazing game day experiences. Many San Diego fans flooded the city’s sports bars to watch San Diego State University compete in the final round of March Madness. 

“At the end of the day we are very loyal to our city and our teams,” Sutton shared. 

 From the drums of The Loyals support groups, to the fans cheering on fights on ice San Diego sports isn’t just defined by the Padres.