What pro sports teams does San Diego actually have?
The Padres in MLB, San Diego FC in MLS, San Diego Wave FC in the NWSL, the Gulls in the AHL and SDSU Aztecs college football. No NFL and no NBA.
- MLB
- Padres
- MLS
- San Diego FC
- NWSL
- San Diego Wave FC
- NFL / NBA
- Neither
Petco Park, downtown
First season 2025
Since 2022
No team in either
The short version
- San Diego has one major-league franchise in the traditional big four: the Padres, in Major League Baseball.
- San Diego FC joined MLS as an expansion club and played its first season in 2025, at Snapdragon Stadium.
- San Diego Wave FC has played in the NWSL since 2022, also at Snapdragon Stadium.
- The San Diego Gulls play in the AHL at Pechanga Arena; SDSU Aztecs football plays at Snapdragon.
- The San Diego Legion rugby club merged with an LA side in 2025 to form the California Legion — it is no longer a San Diego-only team.
San Diego is the largest American city with only one of the traditional big-four leagues represented. That is the honest headline, and it shapes how sport works here — the Padres carry a load that in most cities of this size is spread across three or four franchises.
Who plays here, and where
| Team | League | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| San Diego Padres | MLB | Petco Park, East Village |
| San Diego FC | MLS | Snapdragon Stadium, Mission Valley |
| San Diego Wave FC | NWSL | Snapdragon Stadium, Mission Valley |
| San Diego Gulls | AHL (Anaheim Ducks affiliate) | Pechanga Arena, Midway |
| SDSU Aztecs football | NCAA Division I | Snapdragon Stadium, Mission Valley |
Three of the five share one stadium in Mission Valley, which is why Snapdragon is busier than its size suggests.
The soccer arrivals
The most significant change to San Diego's sporting landscape since the Chargers left has been soccer. San Diego Wave FC began playing in the NWSL in 2022 and drew crowds that repeatedly set attendance records for the league. San Diego FC was awarded an MLS expansion franchise in 2023 and played its first season in 2025, opening away at the LA Galaxy in February and at home in March.
What San Diego does not have
No NFL team, since the Chargers left after the 2016 season — see why the Chargers left. No NBA team; the Rockets played here as the San Diego Rockets from 1967 to 1971 and the Clippers from 1978 to 1984, and both moved on. No NHL team, though the Gulls are the Anaheim Ducks' top affiliate and play a genuine professional standard.
The college and bowl picture
SDSU Aztecs football is the city's college programme and plays at Snapdragon Stadium. The Holiday Bowl is still played, also at Snapdragon — and in a change worth knowing, the 46th edition was held on January 2, 2026, the first time in the bowl's 46-year history that it moved out of December.
SOURCES
Everything above traces back to one of these. Follow them — if one has changed and we haven't, that's our mistake, not yours.
Major League Soccer · 2025
That San Diego FC's first MLS season was 2025 and its opening fixtures.
California Legion / Major League Rugby · July 30, 2025
The merger of the San Diego Legion with RFC Los Angeles and the creation of the California Legion.
- PrimarySnapdragon Stadium — Vision
Snapdragon Stadium / SDSU · Checked September 30, 2026
That SDSU Aztecs football, San Diego FC and San Diego Wave FC are the stadium's tenants.
Holiday Bowl · 2025
That the Holiday Bowl is played at Snapdragon Stadium and moved to January for the first time in its history.