The 44th annual Holiday Bowl is returning to Petco Park on Wednesday, Dec. 27. This beloved San Diego tradition comes with more than just the football game — there is a parade, a 5K run, tailgates and more.
Here’s everything you should know about this year's Holiday Bowl.
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Who's playing in the Holiday Bowl 2023
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On Wednesday at 5 p.m., the favored Louisville Cardinals will play the USC Trojans. Gates will open at 3 p.m., and the first 10,000 fans entering the gate will be give one-day SeaWorld San Diego tickets. The game will be followed by the KGB Sky Show.
The Trojans will bring a disappointing 7-5 record into the game after losing five of their last six contests and finishing tied for fifth place in the Pac-12 Conference.
The Cardinals finished 10-3 and lost the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game to Florida State, 16-6.
The two schools have never met on the football field, but the Trojans have played in three previous Holiday Bowl games. They beat Nebraska in 2014, 45-42, fell to Wisconsin the following year, 21-23, and lost to Iowa 24-49 in 2019.
Louisville has never played in the Holiday Bowl.
Snapdragon Bowl Bash
Festivities for the Holiday Bowl kick off Tuesday with the Snapdragon Bowl Bash in the Gaslamp Quarter.
The event, sponsored by the bowl game and Qualcomm Technologies, will run from 5 to 7 p.m.
One of the big draws is the Battle of the Bands, featuring the marching bands for the University of Louisville and University of Southern California, whose football teams will face off at Petco Park on Wednesday.
The battle begins at 6 p.m. In addition to the Battle of the Bands, the free event includes live music, games, contests, photo opportunities and more.
"We encourage San Diegans of all ages to attend the Snapdragon Bowl Bash," said Dennis Dubard, president of the 2023 DIRECTV Holiday Bowl. "Everyone can enjoy the incredible university marching bands, have dinner, check out all the other entertainment and get caught up in a college football atmosphere at its best."
Holiday Bowl 5K Walk/Run
As a big part of the Holiday Bowl celebration, you can take part in the Port of San Diego Game Day 5K Walk/Run. It takes place along the Embarcadero at 9:45 a.m. on Wednesday.
Participants can pick up their bibs at 8 a.m. on the day of the race at the corner of Harbor and Ash, the 5K's starting point. Everyone will get a finisher medal and are welcome to join the post-race party with live music and food.
The route can be found here or below.
You can register for the 5K here.
The Port of San Diego Holiday Bowl Parade
The Port of San Diego Holiday Bowl Parade along the Embarcadero will take place on Wednesday at 10 a.m. It will feature unique floats, huge balloons, magnificent marching bands and drill teams. The parade has also deemed itself “America’s largest balloon parade,” so this is a can’t-miss opportunity.
The parade route can be found here or below.
Holiday Bowl Tailgate Party
Before the game, you may be thinking tailgate. The Holiday Bowl has an official tailgate party with locally-brewed beer, a buffet and more fun pre-game activities. It takes place on Wednesday from 2-4 p.m. at Venue 808, located at 808 J St., across the street from Social Tap.
The tailgate is open to all ages. You can buy tickets here.
Road closures for San Diego's Holiday Bowl
With over 35,000 people expected at Wednesday's parade and Holiday Bowl at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., respectively, authorities are closing roads around Petco Park downtown and urging people to take public transportation to the game.
On Wednesday, several roads along San Diego's waterfront will be either closed or severely impacted in the morning for the Holiday Bowl Parade and 5k Run/Walk. The main closure will be along Harbor Drive from Grape Street to the intersection with Pacific Highway near Ruocco Park. Stretches of Pacific Highway, F Street and West G Street will also be closed for the parade route's marshaling and disbanding areas.
The grandstand and TV area will be located across from Waterfront Park in the parking area next to the Maritime Museum.
With these road closures, several bayside parking areas, including the B Street Pier, ABM and Navy Pier and USS Midway Museum parking lots, will be blocking vehicles from entry or exit between 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. while the 5K and parade are underway.
Parking and transportation
Stadium parking will be available starting at 9 a.m. at Tailgate Park and Padres Parkade for those driving to the game. Parking passes for these lots start at $50 and can be purchased on Ticketmaster ahead of time.
For those wishing to avoid parking in downtown or traffic congestion, the Metropolitan Transit System will be running extended service all day Wednesday along all three of its trolley lines providing direct service to and from Petco Park.
Those coming from North County or South Bay can take the UC San Diego Blue Line, while East County residents can use either the Green or Orange lines to head downtown. Trains will depart all stations every 15 minutes for most of the day.
Fans using the trolley's Green Line can get off at the Gaslamp Quarter for easy access to Petco Park. All lines have a stop at 12th & Imperial Avenue where fans can disembark to get to the game.
For those headed to the pre-game Holiday Bowl Parade, the Orange Line will drop fans off at Courthouse Station, just a short walk away from the parade route. The Blue and Green lines will make stops along the route at the County Center/Little Italy and Santa Fe Depot stations.
After the game, service will continue running every 15 minutes on all lines for about 45 minutes, according to the MTS.
