Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre
| Location | Chula Vista, California |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 32°35′16″N 117°00′23″W / 32.587778°N 117.006389°WCoordinates: 32°35′16″N 117°00′23″W / 32.587778°N 117.006389°W |
| Type | Music venue |
| Opened | 1998 |
| Capacity | 19,492 |
Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre, formerly known as Coors Amphitheatre, is a 19,492-seat amphitheatre located in Chula Vista, California. It is the largest concert venue of its size in the San Diego area. The venue is owned and operated by Live Nation.
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[edit] History
Area around the amphitheatre had previously been open fields and at one time been part of a large dairy farm. At one point the 72 acres where the amphitheater sits was a fully developed industrial park with terraced lots in utilities in place. The site had lain fallow for a number of years, when Universal Concerts approached the city of Chula Vista and won approval to build the amphitheatre. The industrial park was bulldozed and the site graded to build the amphitheatre. In the late 1990s, a development plan was created and a water park and concert venue were planned for the area. White Water Canyon (now Knott's Soak City) opened in 1997, while Coors Amphitheatre opened July 21, 1998, the first venue of its kind in San Diego County. A month later, on August 21, 1998 the venue hosted its first sell-out concert with the Spice Girls. All of the Universal Concerts facilities, including Coors Amphitheatre, were purchased by House of Blues in late 1999. Live Nation purchased House of Blues, including 8 amphitheaters and eleven clubs, in July of 2006.
In April 2008, the venue was renamed Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre after naming rights were purchased by Cricket Communications, Inc.
[edit] Venue
The Amphitheatre features 9,468 chairback seats and 10,024 lawn seats. During the spring, summer and fall months it is used for most first-tier concert tours, due primarily to its capacity (there are more seats at the Amphitheatre than at the San Diego Sports Arena.)
