Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
The San Diego Legion have announced a change of venues ahead of the 2022 Major League Rugby season. Instead of Torero Stadium, their home since the inaugural 2018 campaign, the team will play their home games at the San Diego State University Sports Deck.
It’s not immediately clear why the change was made. Torero Stadium will welcome a new team – San Diego Wave FC of the National Women’s Soccer League – in addition to San Diego Loyal SC, a men’s team in the United Soccer League Championship. As recently as June it was reported all three would be playing at the University of San Diego venue.
A statement made by the Legion on social media suggests the move is a temporary one:
“We are excited about our new partnership with SDSU and any opportunities this may lead to in the future. It will be a fun and exclusive experience at the SDSU Sports Deck this season.”
Construction is underway on a new 35,000-seat venue at SDSU that will be named Snapdragon Stadium. A recent press release indicates the new facility is on schedule to be completed by September of 2022.
In the meantime Legion fans will have a drastically different experience during the next MLR season. Though the team only managed to play two games at Torero Stadium during the 2021 season due to the pandemic, it was one of the most prominent venues in the league having previously hosted both the 2018 and 2019 Championship Finals.
The Sports Deck is a soccer and track field constructed on top of SDSU’s two-story parking garage. It opened in 2000 and features a natural grass surface. According to the SDSU website it seats 1,500 with a maximum capacity of 3,000, making it the smallest venue currently slated for use in the 2022 season.
