San Diego axes Poinsettia Bowl

The Poinsettia Bowl is finished after 12 years and the Holiday Bowl may need to move to Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres, to survive.

The San Diego Bowl Game Assn. announced Wednesday that it is dropping the Poinsettia Bowl to focus on the Holiday Bowl, and that it has begun discussions with the Padres about playing the game at downtown’s Petco Park if Qualcomm Stadium closes after 2018.

The announcement came less than two weeks after the NFL’s Chargers said they would move to Los Angeles starting with the 2017 season. That prompted the city to begin considering closing aging Qualcomm Stadium after 2018 rather than continuing with costly maintenance. The Chargers left because they couldn’t get a deal with the city to replace Qualcomm Stadium.

Mark Neville, executive director of the bowl game association, said the move to end the Poinsettia Bowl was not related to the Chargers’ leaving.

“It’s a completely different environment. Doing two games in San Diego, in the span of a week, is becoming more and more challenging in relation to ticket sales and sponsorships,” Neville said. “This is absolutely the best move, not only for our organization but for the community. All of that effort going into the Poinsettia Bowl is now going to go squarely into the Holiday Bowl.”

The Holiday Bowl began in 1978 and quickly gained a reputation for wild, high-scoring games. It has matched teams from the Pac-12 and Big Ten conferences since 1998.

The San Diego Bowl Game Assn. will host the Navy-Notre Dame game at Qualcomm Stadium on Oct. 27, 2018. It will be Notre Dame’s first visit to San Diego.

San Diego State’s football program could be in peril if Qualcomm closes after 2018. However, a private group on Monday announced plans for a smaller stadium that could host a Major League Soccer team and the Aztecs.