Structural engineer: Magnusson Klemencic Associates Owner’s representatives: JMI Sports, Legends Tenants: San Diego State University football, San Diego Wave (NWSL), San Diego Legion (Major League Rugby)

“Our vision for this stadium was to create something that embodied San Diego.” “It was our design directive,” said Derek Grice, executive associate athletic director, Mission Valley Development. That’s embodied best by the Sycuan Piers, and also by ubiquitous local food and drink, a mural of late Aztecs alum and Baseball Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, and a collection of the kind of sun-kissed socializing settings that Californians relish. With a capacity of 35,000, it is far smaller than that longtime home of the Padres and Chargers, but it speaks to the local culture in a way that building never did, and in a way many college venues never have. The new venue, which opened last month, sits on the graveyard of its predecessor, best known as Jack Murphy Stadium or Qualcomm Stadium.

Three levels of bars, starting on the main concourse, are stacked upon each other with an actual pier at the top, a premium space that looms over the south end zone seating bowl and is uniquely San Diego. The designers of San Diego State’s new $310 million Snapdragon Stadium tried to capture that same dynamic with the Sycuan Piers, one of college football’s most unusual perches.

Anyone can meet there and stroll to the end and back, stopping to lean on the railing and look at lines of bobbing surfers in the crashing waves. The four public piers that line the San Diego coast are common ground for the city’s residents, regardless of their nationality, background, or economic status. The Sycuan Piers provide a unique vantage point to watch college football and is just one distinctive feature of the stadium, which also houses the NWSL’s San Diego Wave and Major League Rugby’s San Diego Legion.

Events that sycuan casino has sponsored