Tag: sports

San Diego Stadium lights become art at Snapdragon!

Some very unusual art is installed in a concourse at Snapdragon Stadium. An array of 24 stadium lights has been mounted to one wall. Color changes at the center of each individual silvery floodlight. Over all are the words: San Diego.

When I attended a recent event at Snapdragon, I asked a knowledgeable employee who was working nearby about this art. I learned the old floodlights are from the demolished San Diego Stadium (aka Jack Murphy Stadium, Qualcomm Stadium, SDCCU Stadium), which stood on this same property in Mission Valley from 1967 to 2021.

Cool idea!

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Basketball court takes shape at Waterfront Park!

A new basketball court is taking shape at Waterfront Park, just north of San Diego’s County Administration Building! Check out the above photo taken this afternoon.

A large swath of the garden that originally existed on the north side of Waterfront Park has been removed, and recreational facilities are beginning to appear. Right next to this basketball court will be two pickleball courts. There will be table tennis and fitness equipment. A dog park will also be created.

These facilities will be welcomed by many downtown residents.

According to a banner on a construction fence, estimated time of project completion is July 2024.

(I’ve been told the Serpent Tree, a colorful sculpture by Niki de Saint Phalle that used to rise here, will not be returning. If true, that’s sad.)

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Snapdragon mural: Play hard and have fun!

Remember these two things: Play hard and have fun!

These words of wisdom were spoken by San Diego legend and hero, our beloved Mr. Padre, Tony Gwynn. They are also painted in a colorful mural at Snapdragon Stadium in Mission Valley.

Tony Gwynn is one of the greatest baseball players of all time. He won eight Major League Baseball batting titles and was a 15-time All-Star. Perhaps just as importantly, he was honored for his character and humanitarianism with the 1995 Branch Rickey Award, the 1998 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award and the 1999 Roberto Clemente Award, which USA Today called “baseball’s Triple Crown of humanity and kindness.”

Tony liked to smile and laugh. He loved everybody. He played hard and had fun. He was an example for all of us.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

San Diego FC brings Chrome Ball to Santee!

San Diego’s future MLS soccer team, San Diego FC, brought its Chrome Ball Tour to Santee today!

A huge crowd turned out at the Town Center Park East recreational fields to watch and play in a big multi-team soccer tournament. In addition to the games, there were opportunities to learn about San Diego FC, meet sports fans and enthusiastic booster clubs, obtain team merchandise, and generally have a good time. The party continued even when the rain began!

The fun included the big, shiny Chrome Ball, which features the names of tour cities throughout San Diego County. The Chrome Ball Tour will continue through the end of 2024 and stop in 18 cities! You can see which cities are coming up by clicking here.

As I walked around and spoke to participants, I learned that the Star Wars group 18th Battalion supports San Diego Football Club, and that the Riptides are super passionate fans who also perform community service. And there were others–click here to see many diverse supporters of San Diego FC.

Are you excited that Major League Soccer is coming to San Diego? I absolutely saw that many people are!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

USC Trojan Marching Band excites San Diego!

Two hours before the start of the 2023 Holiday Bowl football game, the USC Trojan Marching Band performed in Gaslamp Square.

An excited crowd gathered to listen to horns, drums, and the rattle, crash, boom hurrah of familiar fight songs, as smiling band members swayed in unison, danced, and gave each other and people watching high fives!

The Trojan mascot mounted the ladder, raised his bright sword in the San Diego sunshine and all those rooting for the University of Southern California cheered!

After their extended, very exciting performance, the band marched with a rattle and boom toward Petco Park, scene of this year’s big Holiday Bowl!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Padres baseball windglyphs return to San Diego!

Three colorful banners that celebrate the early history of the San Diego Padres returned in late October to Lane Field Park! I’ve noticed them flying near the corner of Harbor Drive and Broadway during recent Embarcadero walks.

Thanks to the nearby InterContinental Hotel, these windglyphs, depicting Pacific Coast League (PCL) San Diego Padres baseball players Ted Williams and Eddie Erautt, have replaced the originals that eventually became weather-beaten after debuting in 2017. The windglyphs are titled Spirits of the West Wind. They were designed by local artist Lisa Schirmer.

If you’d like to learn more about the inspiration behind these beautiful windglyphs, and see photographs taken the day the originals were first raised, click here.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Padres mural honors, remembers Peter Seidler.

Thank you Peter Seidler. 1960-2023.

A mural has been painted in downtown San Diego that honors and remembers Padres owner Peter Seidler, who passed away earlier this week.

Peter Seidler will be missed by many. He was a friend to all of San Diego.

The mural, on the north wall of the Copley Building at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, was created by the artists of Ground Floor Murals. You’ve possibly seen their other Padres murals around San Diego.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Outpouring of love, for one who loved San Diego.

I never met San Diego Padres owner Peter Seidler. Every voice I’ve heard agrees that he was a man who loved the fans, our city, and people in general.

He loved baseball. He gave so much to advance our team.

He was compassionate for the less fortunate, working to help those who are homeless.

Today there was an outpouring of love for Peter Seidler around San Diego. I heard it all day on sports radio. He touched so many people.

This afternoon, on the steps of Petco Park, members of the Padres staff were building a memorial full of flowers and memories. I walked by to see.

I offered my own thanks to Peter Seidler last year.

Thank you, again.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Photos at 2023 NWSL Championship Fan Fest!

Enjoy some photographs that I took this afternoon, just as the 2023 NWSL Championship Fan Fest officially opened outside San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium.

Around two o’clock fans of the OL Reign and Gotham FC (as well as those who root for our own San Diego Wave FC or who simply enjoy watching National Women’s Soccer League action) began arriving in earnest to the free Fan Fest.

Many family-friendly activities welcomed the public on the grass. People kicked soccer balls around, made signs for the big game, enjoyed face painting, took advantage of various unique photo opportunities. Others played sports video games, and others danced to music spun on stage by a DJ.

Players would sign autographs, and those in attendance a bit later on could listen to a concert by Bishop Briggs.

Fans were lined up to buy official NWSL merchandise and game sponsors had fun booths all over the place. The championship trophy was on display, too!

I took the trolley over to Snapdragon Stadium after work and walked about and took these photos. I’m sure the crowd continued to grow after I left.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

San Diego exhibit honors legendary drag racer.

Have you ever seen over 100 trophies won by one person?

You will when you view an exhibit at the San Diego Automotive Museum that honors legendary NHRA drag racer Don Prudhomme!

Don “The Snake” Prudhomme, California native and San Diego resident, has filled shelves with drag racing Wally Trophies during a 47 year career as driver, then team owner. He has been inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. On the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Top 50 Drivers 1951-2000, Don Prudhomme is ranked number three.

This impressive exhibit includes a documentary video that features lots of crazy drag racing action. I sat on a bench and watched for several minutes, wondering whether I would have the nerves of steel to race a dragster. Don Prudhomme was the first Funny Car driver to exceed 250 mph. Talk about white knuckles!

If you’re a motorsport fan, you must check out this exhibit. Then wander about the San Diego Automotive Museum to check out dozens of rare, breathtaking cars. I learned during my visit today that six new vehicles were added yesterday to the museum floor!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!