For the first time in its 17 years of existence, Petco Park will be the home of this year's Holiday Bowl.
On December 28, The UCLA Bruins will face off against North Caroline State University for the 43rd annual football championship between the Pac-12 powerhouse and the Big-10's Wolfpack of NC State.
This annual trophy was traditionally held at the once-existing Qualcomm stadium before it was eventually deconstructed after the Chargers' departure to Los Angeles.
The Wolfpack arrived in San Diego on Wednesday, marking the first time many of their active players visit the West Coast, as this will be the only game in California they would have played in all season long.
As for the Californian team, the UCLA Bruins arrived earlier today on Christmas Eve. They are looking to secure their eighth victory of the season with a Holiday Bowl victory.
UCLA head coach Chip Kelly has kept his team disciplined recently as the Omicron variant is on the rise in California.
During this week's preparation leading up to the Bowl game, Los Angeles-based team has taken precautions in regards to the variant, as they decided to collectively wear face masks not to risk losing the opportunity to play in their first football bowl game since 2017, in which they lost to Kansas State at the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in a blowout.
"Our players, we've been around this group for a while with this and, they've done an unbelievable job but there are also some variants that it sounds like it's really highly transmissible, so we've got our fingers crossed," said UCLA head coach Chip Kelly.
Both NC State and UCLA enjoyed some special destinations in San Diego, with NC State visiting the San Diego zoo on Wednesday and UCLA visiting Sea World after their arrival on Friday.
This won't be the last time the Holiday Bowl is held at Petco Park, as the San Diego Bowl Game Association partnered with the San Diego Padres to allow the annual bowl game to be hosted at Petco Park for at least until 2025, according to the agreement made over the summer.
