The new stadium will host events including football, soccer and concerts. Photo by Chris Stone
Snapdragon Stadium will host soccer matches for the 2028 Olympic Games, leading up to the tournament’s final stages in Los Angeles. (File photo by Chris Stone/Times of San Diego)

The 2028 Olympics are coming to San Diego — at least, a small part of them – but local leaders are thrilled regardless.

Stadiums in six cities around the United States have been tapped to host Olympics fútbol (of the soccer variety) and Snapdragon Stadium is one of them, officials announced Tuesday at a news conference at the Mission Valley venue.

As Mayor Todd Gloria told Times of San Diego, “San Diego is a sports city and we can compete for global events and win.”

Five people in business suits stand in a row smiling -- four men and a woman.
Officials gathered at Snapdragon Stadium on Feb. 3, 2026 to make the Olympics announcement. They include, L to R, Mark Neville, CEO of Sports San Diego, John David Wicker, SDSU Director of Athletics, Mayor Todd Gloria of San Diego, Emily Neenan, chief business officer of San Diego Wave and Tom Penn, CEO of SDFC. (Photo by Kristos Zafiropoulos)

And the city will get an extra promotional shot from a temporary moniker. Throughout the 2028 Olympics, the name Snapdragon, based on a processor produced by Qualcomm Inc., will be set aside so the venue can be showcased to the world as San Diego Stadium.  

“In 2028 fans from around the globe will come to America’s Finest City, not just for these matches, of course that’s important, but also for the experience,” Gloria said. “They will see our incredible neighborhoods, they will see our wonderful culture, our great cuisine, our beautiful coastline. They will feel the pride that we have in our great city and they will know that San Diego is open, inclusive and ready to lead on a global stage”.

San Diego and the five other cities will host group stage and knockout matches of the 2028 Olympic tournaments, ultimately leading to the final stage matches in Los Angeles.

SDSU Director of Athletics John David Wicker recounted how plans for Snapdragon, home of the Aztecs, SDFC and San Diego Wave, included building a versatile venue for the region, with soccer in mind.

“From day one we said we wanted to build a stadium for the entire community of San Diego,” Wicker said. “We wanted all the events that you can possibly get. We worked with MLS specifically to make sure this not only met the need for Aztec football, but it met the need for an MLS soccer team to come here.”

In addition to San Diego, preliminary and knockout stages are set occur in San Jose, New York, Columbus, Ohio; Nashville, Tennessee and St. Louis, Missouri, before ending up at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, according to the LA Olympics 2028 website.

The official match schedule for the Olympics has not been finalized. Tickets for the games go on sale this April. Fans can register for the event on the official website, https://la28.org.

Updated 3:55 p.m. Feb. 3, 2026.