San Diego State will not play a single home game in 2021. To be clear, the Aztecs will play six or seven games where they're designated as the home team -- but none of them will be anywhere near San Diego.
SDSU announced Tuesday the Aztecs will play their home games at Dignity Health Sports Park in 2021 before moving into their brand new stadium in 2022.
For those unfamiliar with the Southern California sporting landscape, Dignity Health Sports Park is located in Carson, and Carson is located in the southern portion of Greater Los Angeles.
Google Maps lists this as a 110-mile trip. Each way. In SoCal traffic.
"Once the sale of the site was finalized with the city and we knew we could play football in Aztec Stadium in fall 2022, based on all the information we had gathered, it became clear the existing stadium had to come down in the first quarter of 2021," SDSU AD John David Wicker said. "Our intention had been to play a final season in SDCCU Stadium. Unfortunately, COVID-19 has forced our hand and we must move the spring 2021 games as well."
How did San Diego State wind up playing "home" games in LA? Blame the Chargers.
Unable to reach a deal on a new stadium in San Diego, the Bolts bolted for Los Angeles, where they now serve as the Football Clippers to the Rams' Lakers. And with no pro team to share the toilet bowl that is SDCCU Stadium -- truly, the worst football stadium still going in America -- SDSU and the city reached a solution to bulldoze SDCCU Stadium and build a 35,000-seat, multi-purpose stadium in its place.
Unfortunately, that stadium won't be ready until 2022 and the closest suitable stadium for an FBS football team happened to be 100-plus miles north.
Ironically, San Diego State will use the same stadium that the Chargers borrowed from 2017-19. Dignity Health Sports Park is the full-time home of Major League Soccer's LA Galaxy.
"Although I am disappointed that we will not be playing our home games in San Diego next year, I remain incredibly excited about playing in our new stadium in the fall of 2022," Wicker said. "While we wait for completion of this transformational facility, I am thrilled that Aztec fans will be able to cheer on our team while enjoying a remarkable game-day college atmosphere. The staff at Dignity Health has experience running marquee events and our staff looks forward to working with them to make this a great experience for our supporters."
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.