
Snapdragon Stadium Is Shiny New Home for San Diego State University Athletics, NWSL's San Diego Wave In past five seasons, SDSU's Aztecs played in San Diego Stadium, Dignity Health Sports Park By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor
Wednesday, November 23, 2022 - 7:00 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
San Diego might not pop up in a discussion of large media markets, but, at the collegiate level, the city boasts one of the newest football stadiums in the U.S. At just over three months old, Snapdragon Stadium, the $310 million permanent home of San Diego State University (SDSU) Athletics, is providing a stellar fan experience for a community that's passionate about sports.
I think [the Aztecs] are thrilled to have a place to call home and create an experience that's 100% their own, says Brian Smith, director, operations, Snapdragon Stadium, Oak View Group, which manages the venue. They can now come in and develop a show that they want without someone telling them they can't do something.
Amongst the Bricks: Crew Overcomes Challenges Throughout Construction A little over two years after the groundbreaking, Smith joined the project in November 2021. Having served as director, events, during LAFC's first season at Banc of California Stadium in 2018, among other positions, he offered in-venue production experience tailor-made for the SDSU project. New builds always pose multiple challenges, but, with the stadium inaccessible until a month and a half before the first football game (vs. University of Arizona on Saturday, Sept. 3), Smith was particularly integral to navigating this phase. During construction, Oak View Group and SDSU relied on the partners chosen for the job, particularly Clair Global Integration for equipment procurement and installation and AmpThink for networking.
A mix of professional freelancers and SDSU students work productions in the control room.
When the workload of technologies became heavier in April and May, [Oak View Group A/V Broadcast Manager Ceci Becerra] and I sat down to plan out the venue, says Smith. Some of the areas that we discussed were the modifications that were needed, what training needed to be done, and what systems needed to be worked on.
Besides figuring out the necessary adjustments on the tech side, Becerra was tasked with recruiting freelancers who had worked at Dodgers Stadium, SoFi Stadium, and other sports venues throughout Southern California and pairing them with students working on games inside the control room. To bring the recruits up to speed, the department relied on Ross Video for training on the Ross-powered production tools deployed. Getting the crew acclimated to the new space was pivotal, and, although the team successfully grasped these workflows, these lessons were done amid unforeseen changes to construction.
Timelines shifted constantly, Smith explains. Working within a post-COVID world, we've dealt with the ongoing supply-chain crisis, so we secured more than one set of pieces from different places and saw which one came first. Today, there are still some things that we'll eventually replace with more of what is in line with what we were looking for.
In-Venue Arsenal: Control-Room Technologies, 7.5 Million Pixels of LED Heading into the Aztecs' first full season in Snapdragon Stadium, the in-venue production crew is armed with some of the industry's newest technologies. Inside the control room near the top of the building, Ross Video has a heavy presence throughout the back-of-house infrastructure. Driving each show are a Carbonite production switcher, Mira replay stations, XPression graphics for real-time and engaging visuals, and an Ultrix router. Other notables in the space are ClearCom for seamless communication, a Yamaha QL5 audio console, and Daktronics' Show Control system software that drive the LED displays throughout the stadium. Equipment in the control room is also managing the Tripleplay IPTV system in the concourse, suite level, and general areas.
Ross Video has a heavy presence at Snapdragon Stadium, including a Carbonite production switcher.
Outside of the control room, fans at Snapdragon Stadium are treated to an exciting in-venue show featuring 19 Daktronics LED video displays at 10-mm pixel spacing. Totaling 8,400 sq. ft. and 7.5 million pixels, several fixtures anchor each production, including a 42-ft-high by 73-ft.-wide main display at 3,000 sq. ft. and a 26.5-ft.-high by 50.5-ft.-wide structure in the opposite corner.
The LEDs provide real-time stats and pre-produced content, along with social-media-generated material through a partnership with Tagboard. For sponsorship opportunities and activations, two large ribbon displays - one measuring 2.5 ft. high by 420 ft. long, the other 2.5 ft. high by 400 ft. long - are mounted to the seating fascia. In addition, 14 ribbon boards offer advertising-partner messaging: nine at 2.5 ft. high and a total of 290 linear ft., five at 6 ft. high and a total of 167 linear ft. On the building's exterior, a 13-ft.-high by 23-ft.-wide marquee display welcomes fans.
A 42-ft.-high by 73-ft.-wide video display with 3,000 sq. ft. of LED is the main video attraction at Snapdragon Stadium.
Besides SDSU football, the marketing department is responsible not only for men's and women's soccer and other programs but also for providing entertainment for the National Women's Soccer League's (NWSL) San Diego Wave. Headlined by U.S. Women's National Team standouts Alex Morgan and Abby Dahlkemper, the first-year franchise made it all the way to the NWSL Semifinal vs. eventual champion Portland Thorns. The club's inaugural season was played mostly in the University of San Diego's Torero Stadium - less than 10 miles from Snapdragon Stadium - before moving to their new digs
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
27/05/2026
Telestream has announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Benjamin Desbois as Chief Executive Officer, effective July 1, 2026. Desbois, currently Teles...
27/05/2026
ESPN garnered 10 awards; NBC's Sunday Night Football received the Outstandin...
27/05/2026
Matrox Video is celebrating its 50th anniversary, marking five decades of operations from its headquarters in Montreal, Canada. Founded in 1976, the company has...
27/05/2026
Major League Baseball has announced a series of initiatives tied to America's Semiquincentennial, including a national marketing campaign, Fourth of July br...
27/05/2026
Advanced Systems Group (ASG) has announced that Brian Gross has joined the company as an Account Manager on its Audio team, based in the Burbank office. He will...
27/05/2026
Nielsen has released new research on soccer fandom ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2...
27/05/2026
ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) has unveiled a new partnership with TikTok to bring broad...
27/05/2026
FIFA's Oscar Sanchez gives a deeper look to how this tournament will be cove...
27/05/2026
The soon-to-be senior from Charlottesville is building her skills in replay, TD, and even creative content for HokieVision and its ACC Network productions
In t...
27/05/2026
FOX Sports' Mike Davies breaks down the vision for this summer's showcas...
27/05/2026
HBS's Paul King, FIFA's Oscar Sanchez preview how the masses at home wil...
27/05/2026
FOX's MLB coverage dominated the night at the 47th Annual Sports Emmy Awards...
27/05/2026
One of the most memorable Postseasons in baseball history would have had no memo...
27/05/2026
NBC's Sunday Night Football is among the most decorated and most watched programs in the history of television. It added to its jam-packed trophy case on Tu...
27/05/2026
The 2026 Sports Emmys marked a watershed moment for Prime Video Sports. After bu...
27/05/2026
With the Opening Match just over two weeks away, the entire sports-production-te...
27/05/2026
Spotify already brings together listeners' favorite music, podcasts, and audiobooks in one place. Now, we're trialing a new format that expands the cont...
27/05/2026
The best podcast moments deserve more than just a mental note. That's why today, we're making those moments easier to save and share with clips.
Whethe...
27/05/2026
On Purpose is one of the most popular podcasts in the world, known for conversat...
27/05/2026
On May 8, 1,500 of Olivia Rodrigo's top fans gathered in Barcelona's Tea...
27/05/2026
Hybrid design combines large-diaphragm capsule & ribbon
JZ Microphones have teamed up with Grammy-winning producer and engineer Marc Urselli to develop a ne...
27/05/2026
Three new plug-ins inspired by classic tape effects
AIR Music Tech's latest release delivers a set of plug-ins that aim to capture the character, moveme...
27/05/2026
Piano played on the edge of silence
The Crow Hill Company's Vaults collection offers a continual rotation of instruments that are given away for free fo...
27/05/2026
Recreates Moog's iconic Memorymoog polysynth
Arturia's vast software instrument range offers a combination of new and old, with innovative modern so...
27/05/2026
Offers loudness levelling for speech and dialogue
Accentize have built up a solid reputation with their audio-restoration tools, and their latest plug-in is...
27/05/2026
10,000 units strong - The Rohde & Schwarz R&S M3SR Radio 4400 Rohde & Schwarz celebrates a major manufacturing milestone, producing its 10,000th R&S M3SR Radi...
27/05/2026
The XL Converge 300P radio system emerges with a groundbreaking feature set enhancing the mission-critical communications of public safety, federal and critica...
27/05/2026
Pairing Two47 MCX software with existing LTE networks means tailored system upgrades that can save time, money and lives....
27/05/2026
PAC-3 MSE offers improved range, speed, and maneuverability, making it an effect...
27/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/05/2026
Star Trek VFX: Recreating John Knoll's Iconic Warp Stars without a Slitscan ...
27/05/2026
Adventure World Uses Blackmagic Replay for Marine Live
Brie Clayton May 27, 2026
0 Comments
Large screen displays and slow motion replays dynamically ...
27/05/2026
Berklee Alumna and Assistant Professor Olivia P rez-Collellmir to Premiere Origi...
27/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/05/2026
Co-founder Dan Castles to transition to Executive Chair; internal promotion reinforces continuity and long-term growth
Telestream, a global leader in media wor...
27/05/2026
Big Blue Marble today announced that its Nakolos platform is the first end-to-end 5G Broadcast solution worldwide to implement the complete feature set introduc...
27/05/2026
Lightware recently hosted the Girls' Day event in April at its headquarters in Budapest, welcoming students for an interactive introduction to engineering a...
27/05/2026
27 May 2026
VEON's Kyivstar and Uklon Launch Ukraine's First Live Testi...
27/05/2026
May 27th, 2026 May 27, 2026
Press Materials Available Here
TRIBECA X Announc...
26/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...