Jaime Dimas held the most enviable spot in a long line wrapped around the Snapdragon Stadium concourse at Sunday’s San Diego FC Season Kickoff Party.
Dimas, of Paradise Hills, was first in the queue for season ticket holders receiving a gift for investing in the Major League Soccer club’s inaugural campaign. But for Dimas, having the organization bring the top North American professional league to San Diego is its own gift.
San Diego FC plays its first match Feb. 23 against the LA Galaxy in Carson. The club’s first home game is scheduled for March 1 against St. Louis City FC.
“I wanted to the local soccer community,” said Dimas. “The spirit of football is a beautiful thing in San Diego. I hope (San Diego FC) is successful. We’ve got to stand behind them.”
Dimas has been invested in the San Diego soccer community for decades. One of his children, Venezio Dimas, played center back on Cuyamaca College’s state championship-winning team last fall.
The Coyotes’ California Community College Athletic Association title added to the long and still-growing legacy of soccer in San Diego — a legacy that San Diego FC leadership hopes the fledgling organization can lead as the area’s highest-level team.
“San Diego always should have been in Major League Soccer,” vice chairman Cody Martinez told the crowd on hand for Sunday’s event.
MLS celebrates its 30th season in 2025, with San Diego FC debuting as the league’s 30th franchise.
“Nowhere in America is the spirit of soccer embedded in the DNA of the people like (in) San Diego,” Martinez added.
MLS might have taken its time to arrive, but the ion for the sport has long been here. From the original San Diego Sockers in the North American Soccer League to the successful arena-league club bearing the same name that now plays in Oceanside, and in more recent years the popularity of San Diego Wave FC in the National Women’s Soccer League and the San Diego Loyal of the USL Championship, the county has proven willing and ready to local teams.
And if that requires setting up temporary residency at Snapdragon Stadium to see as much of the beautiful game as possible, bring it on, said Ashley Mathews and Jorgen Tonne.
The San Diego State alumni and couple said they already spend plenty of time at the venue, cheering on Aztecs football — American football, it is important to note on this Sunday — along with the Wave.
Mathews joked that the two will have to live at Snapdragon Stadium during soccer season with the two professional clubs now playing there. But his trip from Vista to Mission Valley is hardly an exhausting trip; Tonne has traveled to his family’s native to see Hamburger SV of the Bundesliga in action.
Not every soccer fan in San Diego has had the dedication to travel across the Atlantic for matches, but the community’s love affair with the game is on full display in neighborhoods across the county.
Youth league games played out on the auxiliary fields directly west of Snapdragon Stadium; to the east, visitors were welcomed by a sea of flags flying over tailgates.
Many of the banners waving in the gentle breeze on an otherwise idyllic San Diego afternoon represented the club’s er union, Barra 18. If Sunday was any indication, San Diego FC could have a decided homefield advantage.
of the group brought their flags from the tailgate into the stadium along with bass drums, doing their part to set the tone for home matches once the season begins.
“All I’ve heard from my friends, from former teammates, is that this is a very ionate area about sports, about the community, about the culture of San Diego,” said San Diego FC goalkeeper CJ dos Santos. “It’s an amazing culture and an amazing city to be a part of.”
Or, as midfielder Aníbal Godoy described it when asked during a fan Q&A what his favorite part of coming to San Diego from Nashville SC: “Primero, la gente — the people. I like the people of San Diego.”
