SAN DIEGO — Soaring temperatures are expected to coincide with San Diego State’s season opener at Snapdragon Stadium, prompting SDSU officials to take a number of precautions to help ensure the safety and well-being of fans attending the first game at the new stadium.
Kickoff for the contest against Arizona is 12:30 p.m.
The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning this week for San Diego County. It forecasts a high for the east end of Mission Valley of 92 degrees.
SDSU is encouraging spectators to take additional precautions for health and safety.
“We are aware of the concerns of our fans for the Saturday opener at Snapdragon Stadium,” said John David Wicker, SDSU’s athletic director. “That is why we have been proactive in making sure we provide the best stadium experience given the unusual heat wave.
“We are encouraging fans to take extra precautions and to utilize our water stations and misters located at different areas of the stadium.”
A school spokesman outlined what fans are allowed to bring into the stadium and what accommodations are being made inside it:
Factory-sealed plastic water bottles (unfrozen) up to 32 ounces are allowed.
Empty, refillable water bottles up to 32 ounces are allowed.
Bottles can be refilled at any of six water stations located throughout the stadium. Each station includes a bottle refill and water fountain.
Empty spritzer bottles also are allowed in as long as they comply with other water bottle policy.
Water misters will be placed at several locations around the stadium.
Note that umbrellas are not permitted inside the stadium, which seats 33,000 and includes very few shaded seating areas for midday games.
Shaded standing areas can be found under the northwest and southeast video boards, between the upper and lower stands on the east side and along the south concourse.
Some have questioned why SDSU did not include shaded areas on the upper level of the stadium.
It was considered, but it would have added 20-25% to the cost of the $310 million stadium.
Also, the Aztecs traditionally play more than 75% of their games at night.
By the way, Saturday’s forecast for Tucson calls for a high of 102. Asked if that means Arizona players will be cold here, SDSU head coach Brady Hoke said, “they might be.”
Taking it in stride
Hoke verbally shrugged his shoulders earlier this week when asked about any impact heat might have on the Aztecs or the game.
“This fall camp, August, it was hot,” Hoke said. “For us, especially when we got on the (artificial) turf, it’s really hot. So I think we’ve had a enough of that.
“We’ll hydrate. We’ll do everything we possibly can from the standpoint of keeping our guys hydrated and ready to play.
“But it’s going to be hot.”
Grass is good
SDSU is the only team in the Mountain West Conference that plays on natural grass — in this case, Latitude 36 Bermudagrass — rather than artificial turf.
That’s especially good in this instance.
“Natural grass runs about 20-25 degrees cooler (than turf),” said Mike Kerns, director of field and grounds for Snapdragon Stadium. “I would expect the air temp on field to creep into the mid- to upper-90s.
“If this was artificial turf, I’d fully expect the field temps would reach 115-120.”
The hot list
If Saturday’s game does, indeed, reach 92 degrees, it will be the fourth-hottest home game since 1994, when SDSU officials began regularly tracking the kickoff temperature.
SDSU’s top 10, and ties, warmest home games during that time:
97 degrees: vs. North Dakota St., 49-41 win, Sept. 15, 2012
95 degrees: vs. UC Davis, 38-17 win, Sept. 2, 2017
93 degrees: vs. UCLA , 35-7 loss, Sept. 8, 1984
88 degrees: vs. New Mexico, 24-21 loss, Oct. 9, 1999
88 degrees: vs. Navy, 45-31 win, Sept. 5, 1997
88 degrees: vs. Cal, 28-14 win, Sept. 10, 1983
87 degrees: vs. Utah State, 41-7 win, Sept. 25, 2010
86 degrees: vs. New Mexico, 35-10 win, Nov. 24, 2017
85 degrees: vs. Idaho, 35-21 win, Nov. 8, 2014
85 degrees: vs. San Jose State, 38-34 loss, Sept. 22, 2012
85 degrees: vs. BYU, 47-12 loss, Oct. 22, 1983
