Sports Arena Welcomes New Owner

SAN DIEGO -- The nation's second-largest concert, sports and live entertainment production company has acquired a controlling interest in the San Diego Sports Arena, which could mean a rise in the number of major concerts and other live events at the venue, it was reported Tuesday.

AEG Facilities, a division of AEG Live, recently acquired a controlling interest from Arena Group 2000, whose lease on the 67-acre city-owned site runs through 2017, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

AEG Live is the same company that owns the $400 million Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Locally, AEG also already has exclusive booking agreements with Humphrey's Concerts by the Bay and Valley View Casino, in addition to presenting shows at such venues as Copley Symphony Hall, SOMA, the Civic Theatre, Concerts on the Green at Qualcomm Stadium, and the Del Mar Racetrack, the Union-Tribune reported.

"The truth is we wanted to be in the San Diego market," Rod O'Connor, the senior vice president of operations for AEG Facilities, said in Los Angeles Monday in remarks reported by the newspaper. "This is a great partnership for us, and this is far and away the best opportunity and the best place for us to be. Our goal is to bring more activity to the building."

The San Diego Sports Arena, which seats 14,400 people, held 120 events last year, according to the Union-Tribune.