The Padres have begun talking with architects about configuring the seating at Petco Park to accommodate college football games.

“We’re not going to let Division I football disappear,” Padres executive chairman Ron Fowler said Monday.

San Diego State football and the two bowl games run by the San Diego Bowl Game Association are in danger of being homeless if the city closes Qualcomm Stadium after 2018, which officials say is a possibility due to high maintenance costs.

The stadium proposed by the group seeking to bring an MLS expansion franchise to San Diego would not be ready until 2020. That stadium would hold 20,000 for soccer and expand to 30,000 for football.


One issue with Petco Park being home to Aztecs games is the overlap of the college football and baseball seasons. The National Funding Holiday Bowl and San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl are played in December, well after baseball season has concluded.

“As it relates to San Diego State, we’re probably the last option,” Fowler said. “… I think downtown might be a better option for the Holiday Bowl.”

The larger seating capacity would also likely be attractive to the Holiday Bowl, which has averaged more than 52,000 fans over the past five seasons. The smallest crowd in the Holiday Bowl’s 39-year history was 42,324 in 1985.

The Poinsettia Bowl generally draws fewer than 40,000.


The Padres’ lease agreement with the city prohibits football from being played at Petco Park, though Fowler believes that can be changed. He said he thinks Petco Park can hold 40,000-45,000 for football with temporary seating installed. He did not have a cost estimate but said the Padres have already begun talking with Populous, the architectural firm that designed Petco Park, about a possible transformation.