San Diego Sports Arena Becomes a Player as AEG Live Gains Control of Venue

Much-maligned and a secondary player in the concert and event market in recent years, the San Diego Sports Arena suddenly became a major player again as AEG Facilities Inc. has acquired a controlling interest in the San Diego Sports Arena from Arena Group 2000, whose lease on the city-owned, 67-acre site runs through 2017, according to an article in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

AEG Facilities is a division of AEG Live, the nation's second largest concert, sports and live entertainment production company. AEG Live owns major sports and concert venues around the world, including the $400 million Staples Center in Los Angeles and the $1 billion O2 complex in London.

The 14,000-seat arena opened nearly 42 years ago and for decades it was the only game in town, and despite its marginal acoustics, it was the only indoor venue large enough to host the biggest names in music, from Elvis Presley to Sinatra to Led Zeppelin to U2 to Bruce Springsteen. Recent years saw the opening of newer facilities such as Cox Arena and Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre and the Sports Arena saw its concert bookings decline.

Aligning with the AEG powerhouse opens the Sports Arena's doors to the concert promotion muscle of AEG Live, and in turn, access to the top-tier concert acts. According to the Union-Tribune article, at least one industry expert believes AEG's dominant role at the Sports Arena could lead to the razing of the current building and the construction of a new, state-of-the-art sports and concert facility. Sports Arena general manager Ernie Hahn has long sought to bring a new or existing professional sports team to San Diego, and hasn't had a major league sports tenant since the Clippers left for Los Angeles. With AEG already owning the Los Angeles Galaxy soccer team and the Los Angeles Kings hockey team, that goal could now be bolstered.

Read more about this on the Union-Tribune site.