The Holiday Bowl begins for the first time in the brand new Snapdragon Stadium

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) – The Holiday Bowl has been a staple of San Diego for four decades. For a soccer town without a professional sports team, this annual event is even more exciting.

“When the Super Bowls were still here, one of them, Al Michaels and Jon Madden, said, ‘Why don’t we have the Super Bowl here every year?'” said Holiday Bowl spokesman Rick Schloss. “It’s a whole topic without the Chargers not being here… but this is our Super Bowl of college football.”

The Holiday Bowl was originally played at San Diego Stadium, then converted to Jack Murphy Stadium – “The Murph” – and finally converted to Snapdragon Stadium. On Friday, Syracuse will play Washington State in the Holiday Bowl for the first time in the brand new stadium.

“Brings in huge revenue for hotels and restaurants in slow times. They delivered great duels with incredible results and we hope it will be the same tomorrow evening,” said Schloss.

As the coldest months approach in the United States, the Holiday Bowl puts the spotlight on San Diego as a community, keeping the skies warm and sunny even in the darkness of winter.

“It will be broadcast nationally on your network on FOX, with the best announcing team, Joel Platt and Gus Johnson. So it’s electric…It also brings tourism, but it also brings to people’s minds the fact, ‘Why don’t I live here?'” Schloss said.

Kickoff is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time (8:00 p.m. Eastern Time) on FOX.