Game days and race days: San Diego's event traffic, and how to dodge it

San Diego's two big stadiums both sit on the Trolley, and both punish drivers. The racetrack at Del Mar doesn't, but it sits beside one of the county's worst afternoon freeway bottlenecks. Here's what's coming up this fall and how to get there without sitting in it.

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Leaflet | © OpenStreetMap contributors

Venues

1. 1Petco Park — Meters within half a mile cost $10 an hour from 2 hours before games and big events
2. 2Snapdragon Stadium — Green Line every 15 minutes or better; lots open 5 hours before SDSU kickoffs
3. 3Del Mar Racetrack (Fairgrounds) — Bing Crosby Season Nov 7–29, first post 12:30pm. Next to I-5's Via de la Valle bottleneck

Snapdragon park & ride

1. 4Old Town Transit Center — 412 spaces
2. 5Morena/Linda Vista — 199 spaces
3. 6Grossmont Transit Center — 220 spaces
4. 7El Cajon Transit Center — 469 spaces

Park-and-ride spaces from Snapdragon Stadium's directions page; Petco meter rates from 10News (September 2025). Locations from OpenStreetMap.

See these on the full San Diego map

What's on this fall

Petco Park vs Snapdragon Stadium

A Trolley ride costs $3 one way since October 1, 2026, or $7 for an earned day pass. See the fare changes, getting to Petco Park without driving, what Petco parking really costs and the Trolley to Snapdragon.

Del Mar: race day meets the I-5 squeeze

The Bing Crosby Season runs 13 days from Friday, November 7 to Sunday, November 29, with racing Friday to Sunday plus Thanksgiving Day, when the first race goes off at 11am instead of 12:30pm. The fairgrounds sit on Via de la Valle, where I-5 northbound is a top-20 afternoon bottleneck, and Lomas Santa Fe Drive, the county's #2, is the next exit north. Heading home north after the last race puts you in it; heading south, you're going against it. See the I-5 timing guide.