After struggling in recent years to attract large crowds to its home football games, San Diego State has responded by reducing season ticket prices at Snapdragon Stadium, while creating a new discount ticket package that also might help boost turnout.
For 2026, season tickets cost 4% to 35% less than they did a year ago, depending on the seats and section, according to the university.
The starting base price for single games remains in the same range, at about $23-30, including fees, depending on the seating area and opponent. But medium-priced and higher-priced single-game tickets have been lowered, depending on the row and section.
Season ticket prices this year range from $175 to $775, down from $200 to $1,200 per seat in 2025.
“Season ticket pricing has been lowered across the board to make tickets more affordable and accessible for the loyal fans and community,” the university said in a statement.
Also new for 2026 is a “family four-pack” option, in which a quartet of tickets can be had for $76, plus fees. Parking is included, which further adds to the value: last season, parking prices ranged from $30-45 alone, depending on the lot, vehicle size and whether the pass was purchased in advance or on game day.
SDSU’s home opener is set for Saturday vs. Portland State. Tickets remained available at multiple price points as of Thursday evening.
The Aztecs have for years struggled to come close to selling out Snapdragon Stadium, which opened in 2022 and has a capacity of 35,000 for football games.
Last season, the team drew an announced average attendance of 26,189 fans per game. That ranked 82nd among all NCAA Division I football teams, according to data from d1ticker.com, a digital media service that covers NCAA Division I college athletics.
It should be noted, however, that the “official announced average” is different from what’s known as the “turnstile” average, which counts the number of people who physically pass through a gate or scanner at the stadium, rather than the number of tickets distributed.
Last year, the turnstile average was 17,406 people for Aztecs football games, according to sports data site Aztec Mesa and other local media outlets. That number, which is about 8,700 fewer than in the official average attendance count for the year, is less than half of Snapdragon’s capacity.
In 2024, the Aztecs officially averaged 24,799 attendees per game, but the reported turnstile average was 16,759. In 2023, the announced average per-game attendance was 24,800, but the turnstile average was 17,066 fans per game.
The per-game increase in attendees – both in official and turnstile numbers – from 2024 to 2025 can be attributed in part to the Aztecs having a better year on the field compared to the prior two seasons.
Under then-second year head coach Sean Lewis, SDSU went 9-4 (6-2 in the Mountain West Conference) in 2025, compared to 3-9 (2-5 MWC) in Lewis’ first season and 4-8 (2-6 MWC) in 2023 under former coach Brady Hoke.
With SDSU now in the Pac-12 conference, which has a higher national profile and wider name recognition than the Mountain West, its games will be on national television more often and against better-known opponents – such as Washington State, Oregon State and non-conference foe UCLA.
“Top to bottom, it’s a very competitive league,” SDSU Athletic Director John David Wicker said of the Pac-12 during a July 24 media conference. “We know that we’ve got teams (in the conference) that are investing and competitive at the highest level.”
And if San Diego State invests and competes at a top level along with other Pac-12 schools, the end result for the Aztecs might not be just more wins and better recruiting classes, but more spectators at their games on a regular basis – perhaps justifying a return to higher ticket prices.
