Snapdragon Stadium’s biggest draw is coming back to San Diego this summer.
Manchester United, the worldwide sensation English soccer team, will take on Spain’s Real Betis on July 31 at the Mission Valley stadium. Tickets for the match will go on sale Thursday.
Manchester United made its Snapdragon debut last summer, falling 3-1 to Wrexham AFC in a preseason exhibition that was marred by an injury to Wrexham star “Super” Paul Mullin. A stadium-record crowd of 34,248 packed the stadium to watch a Man United roster made up mostly of young players, 23-year-old goalkeeper Nathan Bishop and 35-year-old Jonny Evans. Fans of the docies “Welcome to Wrexham” outnumbered Manchester United fans at the night’s match, braving traffic snarls into and out of the stadium.
This year’s July 31 game falls in between Man United’s July 27 match against Arsenal in Los Angeles and an Aug. 3 showdown with Liverpool in Columbia, S.C. All matches are exhibitions as the team prepares for the Premier League season, which begins in mid-August. Wrexham is returning to California this summer, too; the club will face Chelsea on July 24 in Santa Clara.
Sevile’s Real Betis plays in Spain’s La Liga. Los Verdiblancos won the 2022 Copa Del Rey final on penalties, their first championship since 2005.
Manchester United and Snapdragon will be tied together beyond this summer. San Diego-based Qualcomm, owner of the Snapdragon system, has reportedly paid more than $80 million to put Snapdragon’s wordmark on the club’s jerseys starting in the 2024-25 season. According to Sportico.com, it’s the most lucrative front-of-jersey deal in soccer history.
In December 2021, Qualcomm and Snapdragon announced they would pay $45 million for the 15-year naming rights to what is now known as Snapdragon Stadium.
