Details of ipayOne Center at the San Diego Sports Arena and the Ticket Luck value
ipayOne Center at the San Diego Sports Arena
Ranked as #1 among indoor arenas housing 10,001 - 15,000 seats, in 2000 by Billboard Magazine, San Diego Sports Arena was built with the reasonable sum of $6.4 Million by Robert Breitbard, a local football player, and was opened on November 17, 1966.
Originally the facility was named San Diego International Sports Center; however the name was changed to iPayOne Center in 2004, when the naming rights were sold off to a real estate savings company iPayOne.
According to the deal company had to pay $2.5 Million to retain the naming rights for next five years, but iPayOne failed to comply with the terms and failed to pay which is why the remaining contract was terminated by the Arena Group 2000. Afterwards the name was reverted back to San Diego Sports Arena in 2007.
San Diego Sports Arena was a former home ground for Western Hockey Leagues San Diego Gulls that remained stadiums regular tenant since 1966 till 1974.
As the Gulls became the members of International Hockey League, they once again played their home games, from 1990 till 1995, and remained stadiums regular tenant during 1995 to 2006 as the members of East Coast Hockey League and after 2006 the franchise folded.
Also in the same year, another one of stadiums tenant since 2002, San Diego Riptide of af2, folded. Apart from that National Basketball Associations San Diego Rockets also played their home games at the stadium from 1967 till 1971. Arena also provided with the home ground to World Hockey Associations San Diego Mariners from 1974 to 1977.
Venue has been serving as a multipurpose arena, hosting all kinds of events including wrestling, circus, basketball, soccer, hockey and also live concerts. Annually San Diego Sports Arena hosts more around 20 to 25 concerts, and stands among some of the finest concert halls across San Diego.
This average count was exceeded in the year 2007, when 35 live concerts were hosted at the arena. Around the San Diego County area, San Diego Sports Arena is the only ice facility that hosts events like Disney on Ice and several other ice skating events, apart from ice hockey.
Arena has been the site for several historic moments in the sporting history, including the ever so memorable fight between the boxing legend Muhammad Ali and San Diego local Ken Norton, in which the latter was able to over run the brute of Ali. 1971s NBA All-Star Game was also held at the arena.
San Diego Sports arena has housed some of the most memorable live performances by the musicians like Metallica, pop legend Elvis Presley, Britney Spears, Madonna, Pink Floyd, Elton John, James Brown, Neil Diamond, Garth Brooks and American rock band U2, which opened its Vertigo World Tour at the arena on March 28, 2005.
Upcoming events at the arena include High School Musicals Ice Tour starting from January 28, 2009 till February 1, 2009. It is then followed by Stars on Ice on February 7 and Harlem Globetrotters on February 13 and 15.
