Holiday Bowl: How Not to Miss the Kickoff While Hunting for a Parking Place

With more than 61,000 people expected to fill San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium and its 18,000-space parking lot for the 10th annual Sea World Holiday Bowl today, transit and stadium officials and police have prepared a list of suggestions on how to avoid traffic congestion and parking difficulties.

People not attending the game--which has an early kickoff at 4:30 p.m.--are encouraged to take alternative routes during game hours to reduce congestion on the main roads to the stadium, said George Story of the city’s Public Information Office.

And after the game, eastbound traffic on Friars Road will be subject to delays up to 20 minutes as police controlling the flow of post-game traffic let out stadium traffic first, Story said.

“Because there will be so much more traffic in the stadium than on the road, they (police) will let cars come out of the stadium for 15 to 20 minutes at a time,” said Story.

Lot Open at 1:30 P.M.

The stadium parking lot will open at 1:30 p.m. Stadium officials and police urge tailgaters to arrive early and be prepared to leave any space outside their individual parking stall an hour before game time to make room for other fans.

Ticket holders are encouraged to car pool to ease congestion. Meeting friends and relatives at a prearranged location away from the stadium and bringing just one car to the stadium lot will help trim congestion, Story said.

For fans who want to leave the driving to someone else, San Diego Transit will begin shuttle services to the stadium from four locations at 2 p.m. Shuttle tickets are $2 each way.

For fans leaving from downtown San Diego, a shuttle stop will be set up at 10th Avenue and C Street. A second shuttle will leave from near the Bank of America branch at Grossmont Shopping Center. Shuttles will also depart from Convoy and Othello Streets in Kearny Mesa, and from the College Grove Shopping Center parking lot near the Bob’s Big Boy restaurant.

The service leaving for the stadium will end at 3:30 p.m.

After the game, the shuttle buses will load behind the stadium scoreboard.