Sports in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

include one men's major professional sports team, several teams from other highest-level professional leagues,

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

teams,

semi-pro ''Semi-Pro'' is a 2008 American sports comedy film. The film was directed by Kent Alterman in his directorial debut, written by Scot Armstrong, and produced by Jimmy Miller. It stars Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, André Benjamin and Maura Tier ...

and

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

teams, and

college athletics College athletics encompasses non-professional, collegiate and university-level competitive sports and games. World University Games The first World University Games were held in 1923. There were originally called the ''Union Nationale des ...

. The most popular team in San Diego is the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). Also popular locally are the college teams of the

San Diego State Aztecs The San Diego State Aztecs are the athletic teams that represent San Diego State University (SDSU). San Diego State currently sponsors six men's and eleven women's sports at the varsity level. The Aztecs compete in NCAA Division I ( FBS for foo ...

, which play in

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

( FBS).

The city is also home to the

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federatio ...

(NWSL)'s

San Diego Wave FC San Diego Wave FC is a National Women's Soccer League expansion team that began play in 2022. The team is based in San Diego, San Diego, California. The team is owned by Ron Burkle. The team is the San Diego area's first women's professional soc ...

, the

National Lacrosse League The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The NLL currently has fifteen teams: ten in the United Stat ...

(NLL)'s

San Diego Seals The San Diego Seals are a box lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League. They play their home games at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located ...

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR or USMLR) is a professional rugby union competition and the top-level championship for clubs in North America. In the 2022 season it was contested by thirteen teams: twelve from the United States and one from Canada. Off ...

(MLR)'s

San Diego Legion The San Diego Legion is an American professional rugby union team based in San Diego, California. The team was founded in 2017 and competes in Major League Rugby. Home field The team plays at Snapdragon Stadium, which is located on the campus o ...

, the

Major Arena Soccer League The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) is a North American professional indoor soccer league. The MASL features teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. MASL is the highest level of arena soccer in North America. MASL players ...

(MASL)'s

San Diego Sockers San Diego Sockers may refer to: *San Diego Sockers (1978–1996), a soccer team in the North American Soccer League *San Diego Sockers (2001–2004), a soccer team in the World Indoor Soccer League and second Major Indoor Soccer League *San Diego S ...

, the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league created in 2008 out of the merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams amon ...

(IFL)'s

San Diego Strike Force The San Diego Strike Force is a professional indoor football team based in San Diego, California. It is a member of the Indoor Football League and began play in 2019 at Pechanga Arena in the city's Midway district. It is the second professional ...

, and

World TeamTennis World TeamTennis (WTT) is a mixed-gender professional tennis league played with a team format in the United States, which was founded in 1973. The league's season normally takes place in the summer months. Players from the ATP and WTA take a ...

(WTT)'s

San Diego Aviators The San Diego Aviators are a World TeamTennis (WTT) team that plays at the Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California in the United States. The team is the successor to two WTT franchises. The first was created in 1995, as the New York O ...

, all teams in highest-level professional leagues. An aerial view of Snapdragon Stadium (2022-08-26)

San Diego is the largest American city not to have won a

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL),

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

(MLB),

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA), or

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). Currently, there is no NFL, NBA, or NHL team in the metropolitan San Diego area. The city does have one major league title to its name: the 1963 American Football League (AFL) Championship won by the former

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

, when the AFL was an independent entity prior to the

AFL–NFL merger The AFL–NFL merger was the merger of the two major professional American football leagues in the United States at the time: the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL). It paved the way for the combined league, w ...

in 1970. Due to its lackluster record on winning professional championships, and in some cases, retaining professional teams, some San Diego sports fans believe there is a

curse A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular, ...

on professional sports in the city. San Diego teams at the top professional levels of "non-major" sports have conversely seen much more success. San Diego teams have claimed titles at the highest level in sports such as

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer (known internationally as indoor football, fast football, or showball) is five-a-side version of minifootball, derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arena. Indoor socc ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...

, and

Australian football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modifie ...

. The

, for example, have won 16 titles at the highest level of indoor soccer. 20180303-073Crowd(5X8)

Professional teams

Of the four major professional sports leagues in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

(the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

, the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

, and the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

) San Diego has one professional team, the

of MLB. The city hosted the NFL's

from 1962 to 2017, but the team moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and is now the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

. Although the city does not have a major professional team in American football, it does have a team at the highest level of indoor football with the

of the

(IFL). The city also previously hosted three professional basketball teams (all between 1967 and 1984), although all were limited to short stints of existence due to arena complications and other issues: the NBA's

San Diego Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was established in 1967, and pl ...

from 1967 to 1971 (now the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

) and

San Diego Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

from 1978 to 1984 (now the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

), and the now-defunct

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

(ABA)'s San Diego Conquistadors/Sails from 1972 to 1975. The region has never had an NHL franchise, but has hosted multiple

teams, including the current

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL) franchise, the

San Diego Gulls The San Diego Gulls are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in San Diego, California, and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Anaheim Ducks, the Gulls play th ...

. In addition, San Diego has never hosted a

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

(MLS) team, but is home to the second division

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

(USLC)'s

San Diego Loyal SC San Diego Loyal Soccer Club is an American professional soccer team based in San Diego, California. The team was founded by Warren Smith and Landon Donovan. San Diego Loyal made its debut in 2020 as an expansion team in the USL Championship. ...

and the third division

National Independent Soccer Association The National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States. The league is in the third tier of American soccer and began play in 2019. NISA initially used a fall-to-spring season format with a ...

(NISA)'s

Albion San Diego Albion San Diego, formerly Albion SC Pros, is an American professional soccer team based in San Diego, California that currently plays in the National Independent Soccer Association, on the third tier of the United States soccer league system. ...

, as well as

(MASL)'s

, who represent San Diego at the top professional level of

. The

, representing the city at the highest level of women's professional soccer in the

(NWSL), began play in 2022.

Highest-level professional teams

The following teams compete at their sport's highest level of domestic competition Bold indicates major professional league team ''Italic'' indicates

or professional-level

team (highest competitive level leagues of sports with no fully-professional domestic competition)

Minor league professional teams

The following teams compete below their sport's highest level of domestic competition

Semi-pro and amateur club teams

College athletics

The

( MW), the

San Diego Toreros The San Diego Toreros are the 17 teams representing the University of San Diego of San Diego, California in intercollegiate athletics. The Toreros compete in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) of the National Collegiate At ...

( WCC), and the

UC San Diego Tritons The UC San Diego Tritons are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, San Diego. UC San Diego has 23 varsity sports teams and offers student participation in a wide range of sports. As of July 1, 2020, all UC San Diego tea ...

( BWC) are

teams. The

Cal State San Marcos Cougars The Cal State San Marcos Cougars are the athletic teams that represent California State University, San Marcos, located in San Marcos, California, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic ...

( CCAA) and Point Loma Sea Lions (

PacWest PacWest can refer to: *Pacific West Conference, an intercollegiate college athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division II *Pacific Western Athletic Association, an intercollegiate college athletic conference affiliated with the CCAA *PacWest ...

) are members of

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

, while the San Diego Christian Hawks ( GSAC) and Saint Katherine Firebirds ( CalPac) are members of the NAIA.

Teams sponsored by sport

NCAA Division I

NCAA Division II

NAIA

Events

Annual events

The annual

Farmers Insurance Open The Farmers Insurance Open is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played in the San Diego, California, area in the early part of the season known as the "West Coast Swing". The tournament was noted for having singer-actor Andy William ...

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

tournament (originally the San Diego Open and later the Buick Invitational) of the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

occurs annually at San Diego's municipally-owned

Torrey Pines Golf Course Torrey Pines Golf Course is a 36-hole municipal golf facility on the west coast of the United States, owned by the city of San Diego, California. It sits on the coastal cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean in the community of La Jolla, just south ...

, where it has taken place since 1968. The tournament was founded in 1952 and was played at a variety of venues in the San Diego area in its early years, beginning with San Diego Country Club in

Chula Vista Chula Vista (; ) is the second-largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the seventh largest city in Southern California, the fifteenth largest city in the state of California, and the 78th-largest city in the United States. The popul ...

for its first two years. The tournament was also played in

Rancho Santa Fe Rancho Santa Fe is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Diego County, California, United States, within the San Diego metropolitan area. The population was 3,156 at the 2020 census. The CDP is primarily residential with a few shopping block ...

and

El Cajon El Cajon ( , ; Spanish: El Cajón, meaning "the box") is a city in San Diego County, California, United States, east of downtown San Diego. The city takes its name from Rancho El Cajón, which was in turn named for the box-like shape of the va ...

, as well as locally in

Mission Valley Mission Valley is a wide river valley trending east–west in San Diego, California, United States, through which the San Diego River flows to the Pacific Ocean. For planning purposes the city of San Diego divides it into two neighborhoods: Missi ...

and

Rancho Bernardo Rancho Bernardo is a master-planned community in the northern hills of the city of San Diego, California. Geography The topography of Rancho Bernardo consists of canyons and rolling hills that have large bedrock outcroppings. The major floral bio ...

during these years. This course was also the site of the

2008 U.S. Open Golf Championship The 2008 United States Open Championship was the 108th U.S. Open, played June 12–16 at Torrey Pines in San Diego, California. Tiger Woods won his third U.S. Open and 14th major title, defeating Rocco Mediate on the first hole of sudden-deat ...

The

Holiday Bowl The Holiday Bowl is a post-season NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game that has been played in San Diego since 1978. San Diego County Credit Union has been the game's title sponsor since 2017, and the bowl has b ...

has been an annual college football

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

locally since its founding in 1978. The game was played at

San Diego Stadium San Diego Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium on the West Coast of the United States, west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. The stadium opened in 1967 as San Diego Stadium and was known as Jack Murphy Stadium from 1981 to 199 ...

from its implementation until the stadium's closure in 2020. The game is now played at

Petco Park Petco Park is a baseball stadium in Downtown San Diego, California. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres, and has also been used as a venue for concerts, soccer, golf, and rugby. The ballpark is located between Se ...

. In the past, San Diego has also played host to the Harbor Bowl from 1947 to 1949 at

Balboa Stadium Balboa Stadium is an American football and soccer stadium on the west coast of the United States, located in San Diego, California. Just east of San Diego High School, the original stadium was built in 1914 as part of the 1915 Panama–California ...

, and the

Poinsettia Bowl The Poinsettia Bowl was a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game played in San Diego, California, United States from 2005 to 2016. The game was originally played from 1952 to 1955 between military service ...

from 2005 to 2016 at

. The original Poinsettia Bowl was played from 1952 to 1955 at Balboa Stadium between military services teams, not colleges and universities. There have been two international

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

competitions at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista called the Thorpe Cup, which is an annual

decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in Athletics (sport), athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek language, Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ...

and

heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hept ...

meeting between the United States and Germany. There are several road races including the

Rock 'n' Roll Marathon The Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series is a collection of road running events owned and operated by the IRONMAN Group's Competitor Group, part of Advance Publications. The series is known for lining race routes with live bands, cheerleaders and themed ...

in June, the

America's Finest City Half Marathon America's Finest City Half Marathon is an annual road running event over the half marathon distance which is held in mid-August on the streets of San Diego, California. ("America's Finest City" is the official nickname of the city of San Diego.) ...

in August, the La Jolla Half Marathon in April, and several

triathlons A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the d ...

. The San Diego Crew Classic, held in Mission Bay every spring, features 100 or more college and amateur crews. The amateur beach sport

Over-the-line Over-the-line is a bat-and-ball sport, a game related to baseball and softball. Like those games, it involves a batter, pitcher, and fielders. Because a game requires only three people per team, it is considerably easier to get a good informal gam ...

was invented in San Diego, and the annual world Over-the-line championships are held at Mission Bay every year. San Diego is also host to the Bayfair Cup, a hydroplane boat race in the

H1 Unlimited H1 Unlimited is an American Unlimited Hydroplane racing league that is sanctioned by the American Power Boat Association (APBA). Until 2009, the series was known as ABRA Unlimited Hydroplane, in turn renamed from APBA Unlimited Hydroplane in 2004. ...

season. The race is typically held during the Bayfair Festival on Mission Bay in San Diego.

Historic events

* 1968

NASL Final 1968 Soccer Bowl, NASL Final 1968 was the North American Soccer League (1968–84), North American Soccer League's postseason championship final of the 1968 North American Soccer League season, 1968 season, and the first championship final for the NASL. ...

first leg * 1971 NBA All-Star Game (21st) * 1973

Muhammad Ali vs. Ken Norton Muhammad Ali fought three professional boxing matches against Ken Norton between 1973 and 1976. Ali won the series 2–1, though the final fight (judged a unanimous decision in Ali's favor) was highly controversial. First match Still rebuildin ...

first match * 1975

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

* 1978 MLB All-Star Game (49th) * 1982

Soccer Bowl '82 Soccer Bowl '82 was the championship final of the 1982 NASL season. The New York Cosmos advanced to the Soccer Bowl for the third consecutive year and took on the Seattle Sounders in a rematch of Soccer Bowl '77. The match was played on Septemb ...

* 1984 **

NLCS The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two National ...

games 3, 4 & 5 ** World Series (81st) games 1 & 2 * 1988 **

Super Bowl XXII Super Bowl XXII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins and American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for th ...

** America's Cup (27th) * 1992 ** America's Cup (28th) ** MLB All-Star Game (63rd) * 1995 ** America's Cup (29th) *1997 ** Summer X Games III * 1998 **

Super Bowl XXXII Super Bowl XXXII was an American football game played between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers (who were defending their Super Bowl XXXI championship) and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver B ...

** Summer X Games IV **

games 3, 4 & 5 ** World Series (94th) games 3 & 4 * 1999

MLS All-Star Game The Major League Soccer All-Star Game is an annual soccer game held by Major League Soccer featuring selected players from the league against an international club or selected players from Liga MX. MLS initially adopted a traditional all-star ga ...

* 2002

NCAA Division I women's volleyball tournament The NCAA Division I women's volleyball tournament is an annual event that leads to the championship in women's volleyball from teams in Division I contested by the NCAA each winter since 1981. Texas won the most recent tournament, defeating Louis ...

* 2003

Super Bowl XXXVII Super Bowl XXXVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Oakland Raiders and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers to decide the National Football League (NFL) cham ...

* 2006 World Baseball Classic (inaugural) championship * 2008 U.S. Open (108th) * 2009 World Baseball Classic (2nd) second round * 2016 MLB All-Star Game (87th) * 2017 ** World Baseball Classic (4th) second round **

Tournament of Nations The Tournament of Nations was a global invitational tournament for national teams in women's soccer in non-World Cup and non-Olympic years hosted by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) in several American cities. The inaugural tournament ...

* 2020 ** USA Cross Country Championships (130th) **

ALDS In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series (ALDS) determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring ea ...

ALCS The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the two winners of the American ...

2020 MLB playoffs The 2020 Major League Baseball season began on July 23 and ended on September 27 with only 60 games amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The full 162-game regular season was planned to begin on March 26, but the pandemic caused Major League Baseball (ML ...

(neutral site games, no fans due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

) * 2021 ** U.S. Open (121st) ** X Games Southern California 2021 ** San Diego Open (ATP Tour) * 2022 ** USA Cross Country Championships (131st) **

games 1 & 2

Anticipated event

2023 World Lacrosse Championship The 2023 World Lacrosse Championship will be the 14th edition of the international men's field lacrosse tournament for national teams organized by World Lacrosse. Initially scheduled for 2022, it was postponed to 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic ...

Venues

San Diego has several sports venues.

is home to the

Snapdragon Stadium Snapdragon Stadium, known during its planning and early construction phases as Aztec Stadium, is an outdoor college football stadium on the West Coast of the United States, west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. It is loc ...

, which opened shortly before the 2022 college football season, is home to the

of the

, and (from 2023) the

, as well as local

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

championships and the

, which currently features teams from the

Pac-12 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

and

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

Pechanga Arena Pechanga Arena (historically known as the San Diego Sports Arena) is an indoor arena built in 1966 and located in the Midway area of San Diego, California. The arena seats 12,000 for indoor football, 12,920 for ice hockey, indoor soccer and ...

is home to the

of the

, the

of the

and the

of the

. From 1967 until 2017, the

played at

(known at various times as Jack Murphy Stadium, Qualcomm Stadium, and SDCCU Stadium), which also housed the Aztecs, as well as local

championships.

International International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

games and

Supercross The AMA Supercross Championship (commercially known as Monster Energy AMA Supercross) is an American motorcycle racing series. Founded by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) in 1974, the AMA Supercross Championship races are held from ...

events also took place at Qualcomm where

was also once played. Three

championships were held there. From along with the Holiday Bowl. from 2005 through 2016, the stadium hosted a second bowl game, the

, but the organizer of both bowl games scrapped that game after its 2016 edition. The stadium was demolished in 2021.

was the city's first stadium, constructed in 1914, where the San Diego Chargers once played. Currently

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, and

are played in Balboa Stadium.

Sports

Baseball

The

(MLB) play at

, the team's home since it opened in 2004 in

Downtown San Diego Downtown San Diego is the city center of San Diego, California, the eighth largest city in the United States. In 2010, the Centre City area had a population of more than 28,000. Downtown San Diego serves as the cultural and financial center and ...

's East Village. Prior to the opening of Petco Park in 2004, the Padres played their home games at

(also known as Jack Murphy Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium) in

. The Padres joined MLB in 1969 as an

expansion team An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...

. The team originated as a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team in the Pacific Coast League (PCL), where they played from 1936 through 1968 before joining Major League Baseball. As a PCL team, the Padres were based at Lane Field (now the site of the

InterContinental Intercontinental is an adjective to describe something which relates to more than one continent. Intercontinental may also refer to: * Intercontinental ballistic missile, a long-range guided ballistic missile * InterContinental Hotels Group (IH ...

Hotel San Diego) in Downtown's Columbia neighborhood from 1936 through 1957, and

Westgate Park Westgate Park was a baseball stadium located in San Diego, California. The ballpark was home to the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League from 1958 to 1967. The ballpark was located in the largely undeveloped Mission Valley region of San Die ...

in Mission Valley (now the site of

Fashion Valley Mall Fashion Valley (also referred to Fashion Valley Mall) is an upscale, open-air shopping mall in Mission Valley in San Diego, California. The shopping center has of leasable floor area, making it the largest mall in San Diego and one of the larges ...

) from 1958 through 1967. Their final season as a minor league team, 1968, was also their first at San Diego Stadium. San Diego has hosted the

MLB All-Star Game The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National ...

three times:

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

and

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

at San Diego Stadium, and

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

at Petco Park. The 2016 edition was the final All-Star game to determine

home field advantage In team sports, the term home advantage – also called home ground, home field, home-field advantage, home court, home-court advantage, defender's advantage or home-ice advantage – describes the benefit that the home team is said to gai ...

in the World Series. Petco Park has additionally hosted the

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major Leagu ...

three times:

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, the inaugural tournament (for which San Diego hosted the championship),

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, and

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

. Additionally popular are the local college baseball teams, particularly

, and

. The Aztecs, Toreros, and Tritons each play home games at their own on-campus venues,

Tony Gwynn Stadium Tony Gwynn Stadium is the home field of the San Diego State University Aztecs college baseball team. In addition, the San Diego Surf Dawgs of the independent Golden Baseball League used the park as their home field. Stadium history The original s ...

Fowler Park Fowler Park and Cunningham Field is a baseball venue located on the campus of the University of San Diego in San Diego, California, United States. It is home to the San Diego Toreros baseball team, a member of the Division I West Coast Conferen ...

, and

Triton Ballpark Triton Ballpark is the home field of the University of California San Diego Tritons college baseball team. Stadium history Triton Ballpark is a 500-seat baseball park located on the eastern half of the UC San Diego campus in the San Diego neigh ...

, respectively.

All-Star Games

Football

The most popular

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

team in San Diego currently is the

San Diego State Aztecs football : ''For information on all San Diego State University sports, see San Diego State Aztecs'' The San Diego State Aztecs football team represents San Diego State University in the sport of American football. The Aztecs compete in the NCAA Division ...

team of

FBS. The Aztecs moved into their new

upon its completion in August 2022. The

San Diego Toreros football : ''For information on all University of San Diego sports, see San Diego Toreros'' The San Diego Toreros football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of San Diego located in the U.S. state of California. The t ...

team of NCAA Division I FCS also garners a local following. The Toreros are based at their on-campus stadium,

Torero Stadium Torero Stadium is a 6,000-seat multi-purpose stadium on the west coast of the United States, located on the campus of the University of San Diego in San Diego, California. Opened in 1961, it serves as the home of the school's football and soccer ...

. San Diego is also home to the

of the

(IFL), the highest level of professional

Indoor American football Indoor American football, or arena football, is a variation of gridiron football played at ice hockey-sized indoor arenas. While varying in details from league to league, the rules of indoor football are designed to allow for play in a smaller a ...

. The Strike Force began play in 2019. The city does not currently host a

(NFL) team, though it previously hosted the

, who were based in San Diego from 1961 through the 2016 season. The Chargers began play in 1960 as a charter member of the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

(AFL), and spent its first season in Los Angeles where it struggled to garner a following before moving to San Diego in 1961. The Chargers joined the NFL as result of the

in 1970, and played their home games initially at

, then at

from 1967 until relocating to

in 2017. The team moved to Los Angeles following a request by owner

Dean Spanos Dean Alexander Spanos (born May 26, 1950) is the chairman and owner of the National Football League (NFL)'s San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers franchise. He is the son of Alex Spanos, who purchased majority interest in the team in 1984. Spanos to ...

to relocate the team to

SoFi Stadium SoFi Stadium () is a 70,240-seat sports and entertainment indoor stadium in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, California, United States. SoFi occupies the former site of the Hollywood Park Racetrack, from Los Angeles International Airport an ...

, a new stadium constructed by

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

owner

Stan Kroenke Enos Stanley Kroenke (; born July 29, 1947) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the owner of Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, which is the holding company of Arsenal F.C. of the Premier League and Arsenal W.F.C. of the WSL, the Los ...

, where the Chargers would be a tenant and share the new stadium with the Rams. They are now known as the

. The Chargers' relocation left San Diego without a professional football team for the first time since 1961. San Diego hosted the

three times at

during the Chargers' tenure in the city. On May 29, 2018, the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan are ...

(AAF) announced they would start a franchise in San Diego, the

San Diego Fleet The San Diego Fleet was a professional American football franchise based in San Diego, California, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019, with the team playing its home game ...

. The team played their home games at SDCCU Stadium, while San Diego native and former

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arri ...

head coach

Mike Martz Michael Martz (born May 13, 1951) is an American football coach. Best known for his coaching tenure with the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League (NFL), he served as the offensive coordinator for the Rams' Greatest Show on Turf offens ...

was the head coach. The league suspended operations before it could complete its inaugural season. Super Bowls (

)

Basketball

The most popular

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

team in San Diego currently is the

, who play at their on-campus

Viejas Arena Viejas Arena (formerly Cox Arena) is the home stadium of the San Diego State Aztecs men's and women's basketball teams. It is located on the San Diego State University (SDSU) campus in San Diego, California. Viejas Arena opened in July 1997 an ...

. The

and

, also of NCAA Division I, likewise call the city home. The Toreros and Tritons teams play home games at their own on-campus arenas, the

Jenny Craig Pavilion Jenny Craig Pavilion (JCP) is a 5,100 seat, multi-purpose arena, built in 2000 in San Diego, California, on the campus of the University of San Diego. It was named for weight-loss entrepreneur Jenny Craig. The Pavilion is sometimes affectionatel ...

and

RIMAC Arena The Recreation, Intramural, and Athletic Complex (RIMAC, ) is a sports complex at the University of California San Diego comprising an arena, a weight room and various other event and athletic facilities. It is one of the largest college athleti ...

, respectively. San Diego has no current professional basketball representation, but the city has a significant history hosting professional basketball, nearly all encompassed within an 18-year period from 1967 to 1984. The

, a National Basketball Association (NBA)

, played from 1967 to 1971. The franchise was founded and owned by local sports booster Robert Breitbard, who also founded and owned the original

hockey franchise of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

and developed the

San Diego Sports Arena Pechanga Arena (historically known as the San Diego Sports Arena) is an indoor arena built in 1966 and located in the Midway area of San Diego, California. The arena seats 12,000 for indoor football, 12,920 for ice hockey, indoor soccer and ...

(initially known as the San Diego International Sports Center), where the Rockets played. In 1971, the Rockets were sold and relocated to

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

after Breitbard encountered financial distress due to tax-assessment issues surrounding the sports arena, which ultimately prevented sale of the team to another local owner. The tax issues also led to Breitbard relinquishing control of the arena to Canadian millionaire Peter Graham, whose alleged mismanagement of the arena hampered future sports tenants. The franchise is now known as the

. The

1971 NBA All-Star Game The 1971 NBA All-Star Game was played at the San Diego Sports Arena, in San Diego, on January 12, 1971. The coach for the East team was Red Holzman and the West team was coached by Larry Costello. Officials for the game were Mendy Rudolph and Ed ...

was held at the San Diego Sports Arena, hosted by the Rockets just months prior to the team's sale and relocation. During the

1971–72 NBA season The 1971–72 NBA season was the 26th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA Championship, beating the New York Knicks 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals. As the 25th anniversary o ...

, San Diego was the part-time home of the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

for six home games (one each month of the season). The Warriors notably changed their name from "

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

" to "Golden State" prior to the season as the team was searching for a new home arena and looked to make a play for the San Diego market (as well as

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

) following the departure of the Rockets to Houston. The team ultimately stayed in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

, settling full time in Oakland at

Oakland Arena Oakland Arena is an indoor arena located in Oakland, California, United States. From its opening in 1966 until 1996, it was known as the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena. After a major renovation completed in 1997, the arena was renamed T ...

the following season. From 1972 to 1975, San Diego was home to the

San Diego Conquistadors The San Diego Conquistadors (known as the San Diego Sails in their final, partial season), were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in San Diego. The "Q's", as they were popularly known, played from 1972 to 1975. As the Sails, the ...

of the American Basketball Association (ABA), the league's first (and ultimately only) expansion team. Known as the Conquistadors ( "The Q's") for its first three seasons, the team name was changed to the San Diego Sails following a change in ownership for the 1975–76 season. The franchise was folded 11 games into that season after ownership learned that the team was to be shut out of the upcoming

ABA–NBA merger The ABA-NBA merger was a major pro sports business maneuver in 1976 when the American Basketball Association (ABA) combined with the National Basketball Association (NBA), after multiple attempts over several years. The NBA and ABA had entered ...

, reportedly at the insistence of then-

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

owner

Jack Kent Cooke Jack Kent Cooke (October 25, 1912 – April 6, 1997) was a Canadian-American businessman in broadcasting and professional sports. Starting in sales, Cooke was very successful, eventually becoming a partner in a network of radio stations and news ...

. Cooke was upset that the San Diego franchise had signed former Lakers star

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain (; August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player who played as a Center (basketball), center. Standing at tall, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 yea ...

away from his franchise two years prior (Lakers ownership successfully sued Chamberlain over the contract, ultimately preventing Chamberlain from playing with the Conquistadors, relegating him to coaching duties) and also expressed unwillingness of allowing another team in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

. The Conquistadors/Sails played at

Peterson Gymnasium Peterson Gymnasium (or Peterson Gym) is a 3,668 seat multi-purpose arena in San Diego, California on the campus of San Diego State University (SDSU). The gym opened in 1961 and currently serves as the home of the San Diego State Aztecs women's vo ...

for the 1972–73 season and

Golden Hall The Golden Hall (''Jindian'' or ''Jinding''), situated at the top of Tianzhu Peak (1612m), is one of the most distinctive landmarks in Wudangshan. It was built in 1416 during the Ming dynasty. According to local histories, the hall was forged in ...

for the 1973–74 season before ownership was permitted to base the team at the San Diego Sports Arena, where it played the remainder of its games. Professional basketball returned from 1978 to 1984, in the form of the NBA's

, the relocated successor to the

Buffalo Braves The Buffalo Braves were an American professional basketball franchise based in Buffalo, New York. The Braves competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division from 1970 ...

franchise. The team was based at the San Diego Sports Arena. In 1981, the Clippers were bought by Los Angeles-area real estate developer

Donald Sterling Donald T. Sterling (born Donald Samuel Tokowitz; April 26, 1934) is an American attorney and businessman who was the owner of the San Diego / Los Angeles Clippers professional basketball franchise of the National Basketball Association (NBA) fro ...

. Sterling attempted to move the team the following year in 1982 to his home of Los Angeles, but his request was denied by the NBA, which investigated Sterling's alleged widespread mismanagement of the franchise the same year. The investigation report recommended the termination of Sterling's ownership of the Clippers on the basis that he had failed to pay creditors and players on time. Days before a scheduled vote to terminate his ownership, he announced he would sell the team, prompting the league to cancel the scheduled vote. Sterling ultimately remained owner, satisfying league officials by instead relinquishing operational duties of the franchise. In 1984, Sterling again applied to relocate the team to Los Angeles, and despite again being denied permission to do so from the NBA, moved the team to

Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena The Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena was a multi-purpose arena at Exposition Park (Los Angeles), Exposition Park, in the University Park, Los Angeles, University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. It was located next to the Los Angeles Memorial ...

. Lawsuits followed, but Sterling ultimately prevailed and was able to keep the team in Los Angeles, also in part due to his close personal friendship with then-Lakers owner

Jerry Buss Gerald Hatten Buss (January 27, 1933 – February 18, 2013) was an American businessman, investor, chemist, and philanthropist. He was the majority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning 10 l ...

, who welcomed sharing the Los Angeles market with Sterling's franchise. The franchise is now known as the

. San Diego has not hosted major professional basketball since.

All-Star Game

Ice hockey

Though San Diego has never hosted a

National Hockey League (NHL) The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

team, the city is represented by the

of the

, the highest level of

ice hockey. The current version of the Gulls, which began play in 2015 after relocating from

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

, plays at

and following a long lineage of professional ice hockey teams which have used the San Diego Gulls name. The original San Diego Gulls, which played from 1966 until 1974, were the first tenants at the

. San Diego has a long history of

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

teams, beginning with the San Diego Skyhawks that played in the

Pacific Coast Hockey League The Pacific Coast Hockey League was an ice hockey minor league with teams in the western United States and western Canada that existed in several incarnations: from 1928 to 1931, from 1936 to 1941, and from 1944 to 1952. PCHL 1928–1931 The firs ...

from 1948 to 1950. Hockey returned in 1966 with the original San Diego Gulls of the

, which were created by Robert Breitbard to have a tenant for his upcoming arena, the

. The Gulls soon grew a fanbase in San Diego, with averages of over 9,000 spectators. By 1971, the year Breitbard's

franchise relocated to Texas to become the

, the Gulls had attendances larger than both the Rockets and the Californian

(NHL) teams, the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

and

Oakland Seals The California Golden Seals were a professional ice hockey club that competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1967 to 1976. Based in Oakland, California, they played their home games at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena. The S ...

. The Gulls ceased operations in 1974 to give way for the relocated

San Diego Mariners The San Diego Mariners were an ice hockey team based in San Diego that played in the World Hockey Association from 1974 to 1977 at the San Diego Sports Arena. Previous to being in San Diego, the team was known as the New York Raiders, New York ...

of the upstart

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

(WHA), which at the time was the NHL's rival league. The WHA's financial instability caused the Mariners to fold in 1977, shortly before the

NHL-WHA merger The 1979 NHL expansion was the culmination of several years of negotiations between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the World Hockey Association (WHA) that resulted in the WHA and its six surviving franchises folding in return for the owners ...

of 1979 ended the league. Another Mariners team was one of the charter teams of the short-lived

Pacific Hockey League : ''For the 1990s semi-professional ice hockey league, see Pacific Hockey League (1994).'' The Pacific Hockey League was a low-level minor professional hockey league that existed for two seasons in 1977–78, and 1978–79. Its member teams from Ca ...

that began play the same year the previous Mariners team folded, being renamed

Hawks Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. This subfamily a ...

in the following and last PHL season. The arena remained without hockey until 1990, when another

team was founded in the International Hockey League (1990–95). After the IHL team moved to Los Angeles, another

Gulls Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, m ...

team played for over a decade in both the

West Coast Hockey League The West Coast Hockey League was a professional minor ice hockey league active in the western United States from 1995 to 2003. The number of teams ranged from six to nine. The teams were located in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nev ...

(1995–03) and

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

(2003–06). The current

, of the

, started playing in 2015, and are the top minor league affiliate of the NHL's

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division, and play their home games at Honda Center. ...

Soccer

San Diego has never hosted a Major League Soccer (MLS) team, though it is currently represented by

of the

(the highest level of minor league soccer) as well as Albion San Diego SC of the

(one of three leagues occupying the second-highest level of minor league soccer). Despite not hosting an MLS team, San Diego did host the 1999 MLS All-Star Game. In 2022, the city became the home to the

, a new

of the

(NWSL), slated to play its home games at

before moving to its permanent home of

upon that venue's completion in September 2022. Wave FC's first home game at Snapdragon Stadium, against regional rival and fellow 2022 NWSL entry

Angel City FC Angel City Football Club is a National Women's Soccer League expansion team that began play in 2022. The team is based in Los Angeles, California, and was announced on July 21, 2020. The team has many high-profile owners, including Becky G, Natal ...

, drew a league-record sellout crowd of 32,000. The city also hosts the

of the

(MASL), the highest level of professional

. The current version of the Sockers follows a lineage of other professional soccer teams which have used the San Diego Sockers name. The original North American Soccer League (NASL) included a San Diego franchise known as the original San Diego Sockers. The original Sockers indoor franchise also played in the NASL indoor league, Major Indoor Soccer League,

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice Pre ...

World Indoor Soccer League The World Indoor Soccer League (WISL) was a United States-based indoor soccer league that existed from 1998 to 2001 and consisted of nine teams. History After the demise of the Continental Indoor Soccer League, four of its teams decided to create ...

and second Major Indoor Soccer League. At the collegiate level, the city boasts both men's and women's varsity teams at each of the three

schools in the city. The San Diego State Aztecs men's and

women's soccer Women's association football, more commonly known simply as women's football or women's soccer, is a team sport of association football when played by women only. It is played at the women's professional sports, professional level in multiple c ...

teams play at the on-campus

SDSU Sports Deck The San Diego State Aztecs are the sport, athletic teams that represent San Diego State University (SDSU). San Diego State currently sponsors six men's and eleven women's sports at the varsity level. The Aztecs compete in NCAA Division I (NCAA D ...

, the San Diego Toreros men's and women's teams play at

, and the

men's and women's teams play at Triton Soccer Stadium. With the expansion of the minor professional league

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The NPSL is a semi-professional league, comprising some teams that have paid players and some that are entirely amateur. The league is officially ...

, the

San Diego Flash San Diego Flash was an American soccer team based in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1998, the team returned to competitive play in 2011 and most recently played in the Southern Conference of the West Division of the National P ...

saw the addition of the North County Battalion and Albion SC Pros. The San Diego SeaLions play in the

Women's Premier Soccer League The Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) is an amateur women's soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is the top amateur league for women's soccer in the United States soccer pyramid, below only National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). T ...

, and the

San Diego Zest San Diego Zest FC is an American soccer team in San Diego, California, United States. The club was founded in 2016 and is owned and operated by San Diego Sports Authority, a Japanese-owned sports management company. They compete as LA Galaxy SD Ze ...

play in the USL

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental association football, soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United Stat ...

with the

SoCal Surf SoCal Surf was an American soccer team from Carlsbad, California, that played in the Premier Development League. History North County Battalion was founded in 2015 and began their first season in the 2016 NPSL season at Del Norte High School St ...

. San Diego Internacional FC began playing in the

UPSL The United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) is an American soccer league that was founded in Santa Ana in Southern California, with teams in regionalized conferences throughout the United States, and recently Canada and Mexico. The league was foun ...

in 2019. On June 25, 2017, it was announced that

San Diego 1904 FC San Diego 1904 FC was an American professional soccer team based in San Diego, California, United States. In December 2021, the team was absorbed by Albion San Diego, which effectively took over 1904's membership in the National Independent Socce ...

would join the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

in 2018. The club's founders include professional soccer players

Demba Ba Demba Ba (born 25 May 1985) is a former professional footballer. He serves as the chairman of National Independent Soccer Association side ASC San Diego. He made his first-team debut with French team Rouen in 2005 before moving to Mouscron an ...

Eden Hazard Eden Michael Walter Hazard (born 7 January 1991) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for La Liga club Real Madrid. Known for his creativity, dribbling, passing and vision, Hazard is considered o ...

Yohan Cabaye Yohan Cabaye (; born 14 January 1986) is a French former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Cabaye began his football career playing for hometown club US Tourcoing at the age of six. After seven years developing in the club's ...

and

Moussa Sow Moussa Sow (born 19 January 1986) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward. Born in France, he represented Senegal at international level, scoring 18 goals in 50 appearances. He was known for his bicycle kick goals and emotional reac ...

. In 2021 the club was purchased and became Albion San Diego SC. On June 19, 2019, it was announced that

Landon Donovan Landon Timothy Donovan (born March 4, 1982) is an American former professional soccer player. Donovan is also the co-founder and vice-president of soccer operations for USL Championship side San Diego Loyal SC, and serves as strategic advisor fo ...

would be bringing a new

team to San Diego. The club,

, began play during the 2020 USL Championship season.

Golf

The

's annual

(originally the San Diego Open and later the Buick Invitational) golf tournament occurs at

, which has hosted the tournament since 1968. The event was founded in 1952 at San Diego Country Club in

. The tournament was founded in 1952 and was played at a variety of venues in the San Diego area in its early years, beginning with San Diego Country Club in

for its first two years. The tournament was also played in

and

, as well as locally in

and

during these years. The

LPGA Tour The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekl ...

JTBC Classic The JTBC Classic Presented by Barbasol, formerly the Kia Classic, is a women's professional golf tournament in Southern California on the LPGA Tour. It debuted in 2010 at the La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, then moved north for a year in ...

is held annually at the Aviara Golf Club in nearby Carlsbad, which has hosted the event since 2012 after the event's relocation from

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...

. At the college level, the city is home to the

San Diego State Aztecs men's and

women's golf Women's golf has a set of major championships which parallels that in men's golf, with the women's system newer and less stable than the men's. As of 2013, five tournaments are designated as majors in women's golf by the LPGA Tour. LPGA majors ...

teams, the

men's golf team, and the

men's and women's teams. The San Diego region is home to 72 golf courses in total.

Lacrosse

On August 30, 2017, the

(NLL), the world's top

box lacrosse Box lacrosse, also known as boxla, box, or indoor lacrosse, is an indoor version of lacrosse played mostly in North America. The game originated in Canada in the 1930s, where it is more popular than field lacrosse. Lacrosse is Canada's official ...

league, awarded an expansion franchise to the city of San Diego and owner

Joseph Tsai Joseph Tsai (; born January 1964) is a Hong Kong-Canadian billionaire businessman, lawyer, and philanthropist. He is a co-founder and executive vice chairman of the Chinese multinational technology company Alibaba Group and owns the Brooklyn Net ...

. On October 24, the NLL and San Diego owners unveiled the

identity. Also revealed were the colors, purple, gold, gray, and black, and the team logo. The team began play in December 2018 at

and earned the second overall playoff seed in the West Division after a successful 10–8 regular season. Home game attendance during the inaugural season averaged 7,769 fans per contest. In January 2022, it was announced San Diego would host the

. The newly-constructed

is slated to be the event's primary venue, with

and other fields at both

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

and the

University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Chartered in July 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University (comprising the College for Men and Schoo ...

to also be used for tournament play. The city is also currently home to the

San Diego State Aztecs women's lacrosse The San Diego State Aztecs women's lacrosse team is an NCAA Division I college lacrosse team representing San Diego State University as an independent. They team began play in 2012 and has been coached by Kylee White since its inception. The team ...

team.

Rugby Union

Rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

is played at professional and amateur level in San Diego. The

(MLR), the highest level of

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

in the United States, is based in the city at

and plans to move to the new

in 2023. The Legion began play in 2018 as one of the league's seven founding franchises. On the women's side, the

San Diego Surfers The San Diego Surfers Women's Rugby Club is a women's rugby union club based in San Diego, California. They were founded in 1975 as an amateur club and have been members of the Women's Premier League Rugby The USA Rugby Women's Premier League (W ...

have competed in the 10-team Women's Premier League (WPL), the highest level of domestic women's rugby union, since 2011. Initially founded in 1975 as an amateur team, the club has won the WPL national title twice, in 2016 and 2018, in addition to four national championships in

USA Rugby Club 7s The USA Rugby Club 7s National Championship is the top annual American rugby sevens competition organized by USA Rugby USA Rugby (officially the United States of America Rugby Football Union, Ltd.) is the national governing body for the spor ...

. An array of clubs, ranging from men's and women's clubs to collegiate and high school clubs, are part of the

Southern California Rugby Football Union The Southern California Rugby Football Union (SCRFU) is the Geographical Union (GU) governing body within USA Rugby that governs adult rugby union teams in Southern California, the Las Vegas metropolitan area, Arizona, and New Mexico. The SCRFU in ...

. The

United States national rugby sevens team The United States national rugby sevens team competes in international rugby sevens competitions. The national sevens team is organized by USA Rugby, and the team has been led by Head Coach Mike Friday since 2014. The main competition the team ...

train at the

United States Olympic Training Center The United States Olympic & Paralympic Training Centers (OPTCs) are two campuses created by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) as training facilities for its Olympic and Paralympic athletes. They are located in Colorado Sprin ...

. Additionally, the

USA Sevens The USA Sevens is a rugby sevens tournament held annually during March in the United States. The USA Sevens is the largest annual rugby competition in North America, drawing over 60,000 fans, and is broadcast live in the United States by ESPN. ...

, an event in the annual

World Rugby Sevens Series The World Rugby Men's Sevens Series is an annual series of international rugby sevens tournaments run by World Rugby featuring national sevens teams. Organised for the first time in the 1999–2000 season as the IRB World Sevens Series, the com ...

for international teams in rugby sevens, was held in

from 2007 through 2009 before moving to Las Vegas for 2010 and back to

more recently. The

San Diego Breakers The San Diego Breakers were an United States, American professional rugby union team that played in the short lived PRO Rugby competition. They were based in San Diego, California, and played their home games at Torero Stadium. History PRO Rugb ...

, who played in the only season of

PRO Rugby Pro is an abbreviation meaning "professional". Pro, PRO or variants thereof may also refer to: People * Miguel Pro (1891–1927), Mexican priest * Pro Hart (1928–2006), Australian painter * Mlungisi Mdluli (born 1980), South African retired ...

(

) before the league folded, likewise played at Torero Stadium. The

, a major international rugby event, was also held at the same stadium from 2007 through 2009. San Diego is also represented by

Old Mission Beach Athletic Club RFC Old Mission Beach Athletic Club Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team based in San Diego, California. OMBAC RFC is directly affiliated with the Old Mission Beach Athletic Club. The rugby team plays at The Little Q Rugby Field, adjacent to Qual ...

, the former home club of

USA Rugby USA Rugby (officially the United States of America Rugby Football Union, Ltd.) is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. Its role is to achieve and maintain “high levels of quality in all aspects of rugb ...

's former Captain

Todd Clever Todd Stanger Clever (born January 16, 1983) is an American retired rugby union player. He became the first American to play Super Rugby. At the international level, he was a member of the United States national team, served as captain, and is t ...

. San Diego participated in the Western American National Rugby League between 2011 and 2013. The following is a list of current rugby teams in San Diego; Professional clubs *

. *

of the Women's Premier League Amateur clubs *

(OMBAC) - Pacific Rugby Premiership (PRP) * San Diego Old Aztecs - D2 * Oceanside Chiefs - D2 & D3 ( Oceanside) * North County Gurkhas - D3 ( Escondido) * San Diego Armada - D4 Collegiate clubs *

Aztec rugby – women's and men's teams *

rugby team – women's and men's teams *

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...

Tritons rugby club – women's and men's teams

Tennis

The

(WTT) moved to San Diego from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

prior to the start of the 2014 season. They were founded in 1995 and formerly known as the

New York Sportimes The New York Sportimes were a professional tennis team competing in World TeamTennis (WTT). The team was originally based in eastern Long Island from 2000 to 2002, before moving to Westchester County, New York in 2003, and then to New York City in ...

. The Aviators played their

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

home matches at the indoor

Valley View Casino Center Pechanga Arena (historically known as the San Diego Sports Arena) is an indoor arena built in 1966 and located in the Midway area of San Diego, California. The arena seats 12,000 for indoor football, 12,920 for ice hockey, indoor soccer a ...

. In

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, they moved to

Omni La Costa Resort and Spa The Omni La Costa Resort & Spa is a luxury destination resort hotel opened in 1965, located in Carlsbad, California, and is owned by Omni Hotels & Resorts, based out of Dallas, Texas. The resort is located in the San Diego area hills and is known ...

in Carlsbad. In their first three seasons in San Diego, they finished with the league's top regular-season record twice (2014 and

), and won the King Trophy as

WTT champions. San Diego has had two previous WTT franchises. The San Diego Friars were a WTT expansion franchise that began play in 1975. They used the San Diego Sports Arena (now Valley View Casino Center) as their primary home venue but played some home matches at the

Anaheim Convention Center The Anaheim Convention Center is a major convention center in Anaheim, California and is the largest exhibition facility on the West Coast of the United States. It is located across from the Disneyland Resort on Katella Avenue. The original comp ...

between 1975 and 1977, before

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

got its own team in 1978. After missing the playoffs their first two seasons, the Friars qualified in 1977 and 1978, and were the 1978 Western Division champions, but lost in the quarterfinals. The team folded after the 1978 season.

International Tennis Hall of Fame The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors both players and other contributors to the sport of tennis. The complex, the former Newport Casino, includes a museum, grass tennis courts, an indo ...

Rod Laver Rodney George Laver (born 9 August 1938) is an Australian former tennis player. Laver was the world number 1 ranked professional in some sources in 1964, in all sources from 1965 to 1969 and in some sources in 1970, spanning four years befor ...

and

Dennis Ralston Richard Dennis Ralston (July 27, 1942 – December 6, 2020) was an American professional tennis player whose active career spanned the 1960s and 1970s. As a young player, he was coached by tennis pro Pancho Gonzales. He attended the University o ...

played for the Friars. In 1981, the Friars returned as an expansion franchise as WTT resumed operations rebranded as TeamTennis after a hiatus. After three seasons as the Friars, the team was renamed the San Diego Buds before the 1984 season. The Buds won both the 1984 and 1985 TeamTennis championships but folded following the 1985 season. Hall of Famer

Rosie Casals Rosemary "Rosie" Casals (born September 16, 1948) is an American former professional tennis player. Casals earned her reputation as a rebel in the tennis world when she began competing in the early 1960s. During a tennis career that spanned mor ...

was the Friars player-coach in 1983. At the collegiate level,

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

, and

UC San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...

each support both men's and women's

tennis teams.

Ultimate

Ultimate Ultimate or Ultimates may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Ultimate'' (Jolin Tsai album) * ''Ultimate'' (Pet Shop Boys album) *''Ultimate!'', an album by The Yardbirds *''The Ultimate (Bryan Adams Album)'', a compilatio ...

(also known as ultimate frisbee and ultimate disk) is a newer but quickly-growing sport in San Diego like many other US cities. San Diego is represented at the highest professional level of men's ultimate in the

American Ultimate Disc League American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

(AUDL) by the

San Diego Growlers The San Diego Growlers are a professional Ultimate team that plays in the West Division of the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL). They played their first season in 2015. History When the American Ultimate Disc League showed interest in expandin ...

, who began play in 2015. A women's highest-level team in the Western Ultimate League (WUL), the San Diego Super Bloom, was launched in 2020 as one of the league's founding franchises and initially known as the San Diego Wolfpack.

Professional teams

Highest-level professional teams

Minor league professional teams

Semi-pro and amateur club teams

College athletics

Teams sponsored by sport

NCAA Division I

NCAA Division II

NAIA

Events

Annual events

Historic events

Anticipated event

Venues

Sports

Baseball

Football

Basketball

Ice hockey

Soccer

Golf

Lacrosse

Rugby Union

Tennis

Ultimate

Former teams

Major professional former teams

Other former teams

See also

References