Pechanga Arena

Due to the rights to name the arena being sold over time, the arena has changed names:[14]

• San Diego International Sports Arena (November 17, 1966—1970)[15]
• San Diego Sports Arena (1970—March 19, 2005; May 9, 2007—November 12, 2010; December 1, 2018—December 5, 2018)[16][17]
• iPayOne Center (March 20, 2005—May 8, 2007)[18]
• Valley View Casino Center (November 13, 2010—November 30, 2018)[19]
• Pechanga Arena (December 5, 2018—present)[20][21]

From 2004 until 2007, iPayOne, a real estate savings company based in Carlsbad, California, held the arena's naming rights. The deal was worth $2.5 million over five years. In April 2007 the leasing rights holder Arena Group 2000 cancelled the remainder of the contract due to non-payment by iPayOne.[22]

On October 12, 2010, it was announced that the arena's name had been changed to the "Valley View Casino Center", under a $1.5 million, 5-year agreement between the arena operator AEG, the San Pasqual Band of Diegueno Mission Indians and the city of San Diego.[23]

Valley View Casino's naming rights expired November 30, 2018, leaving the arena without an official name until the city council announced on December 4, 2018,[14] that the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians, owners of the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, had acquired for $400,000 per year the naming rights to the arena, officially renaming it "Pechanga Arena". The agreement runs through May 2020.[24][25]

In 1972, the Republican Party considered the arena for its National Convention. With little warning, however, the GOP decided to hold the convention in Miami Beach. To compensate for this blow to local prestige, then-mayor (and future California governor) Pete Wilson gave San Diego the by-name of "America's Finest City",[26] which is still the city's official moniker.[27]

The Stone Poneys played here on January 13, 1968.

Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, and Surprise Package played here on August 10, 1969.

Jimi Hendrix recorded his 13-minute jam version of "Red House" here, on May 24, 1969. The full concert was released in 1991 as part of the Stages box set.

Elvis Presley played here on November 15, 1970, and April 24, 1976. Attendance was 14,659 in 1970 and 17,500 in 1976.

The Grateful Dead played here on November 14, 1973.

The gatefold photograph inside KISS' album, Alive II, was shot here in 1977.

Alice Cooper played here on many occasions and was the venue for his concert film 'The Strange Case of Alice Cooper' in 1979.

The Bee Gees played to a sold-out crowd on July 5, 1979, during their Spirits Having Flown Tour.

ABBA played here during their 1979 world tour.

Heart performed here on August 24, 1980. The band's Greatest Hits/Live included a medley of "I'm Down" and "Long Tall Sally" recorded at the show.

Duran Duran played two nights here on April 16, 1984 and April 17, 1984 as part of their Sing Blue Silver World Tour. They played here again July 28, 1987 as part of their Strange Behaviour World Tour, also that night American all-female band The Bangles joined them on stage to sing their hit If She Knew What She Wants. They also played here on February 25, 2005 as part of their Astronaut World Tour when they reformed the band to its original lineup.

The German heavy metal rock group, The Scorpions, performed there during their 1984 World Wide live tour.

Van Halen played two shows on May 20 and 21 on their 1984 Tour; two shows on their 1986 5150 Tour on June 28 and 29, 1986; a show on their 1988 OU812 tour on November 19, 1988; two shows on their For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge Tour on May 1 and 3, 1992; and finally on their 1995 The Balance "Ambulance" Tour on April 2, 1995.

Dio performed during their Sacred Heart Tour on December 6, 1985. The show was recorded and later released as a live album, entitled Intermission.

Bon Jovi played a sold-out show on January 16, 1987 on their Slippery When Wet world tour.

Janet Jackson has performed six concerts at this venue. She performed a sold-out show on April 23, 1990 for her Rhythm Nation Tour. She returned to the venue on February 24, 1994 for the Janet World Tour, another sold-out show.[37] She performed sold-out shows for her The Velvet Rope Tour and All for You Tour.[38][39] She came back on September 20, 2008 for her Rock Witchu Tour.[40] She played a date here on October 7, 2017, during her State of the World Tour.[41]

Metallica performed two consecutive shows, during their Wherever We May Roam Tour, on January 13–14, 1992. The shows were recorded and later released on VHS/DVD, entitled Live Shit: Binge & Purge on November 23, 1993.

Nirvana performed during their In Utero tour on December 29, 1993.

Diana Ross was scheduled to perform during her Return to Love Tour on August 2, 2000, but the show was cancelled, due to low ticket sales.

Tina Turner was scheduled to perform during her Twenty Four Seven Tour on December 2, 2000, with Joe Cocker as her opening act, but the show was canceled.

Britney Spears opened her 2004 Onyx Hotel Tour.

U2 performed at the venue for the first two shows of their Vertigo Tour on March 28 and 30, 2005.

Lady Gaga performed at the arena on December 19, 2009, during her Monster Ball Tour.

Eric Clapton performed at the venue on March 15, 2007, with special guests JJ Cale, Doyle Bramhall II, Derek Trucks, and Robert Cray. Nine years later, Clapton released audio and video/DVD recordings of the show in honor of Cale who died in 2013 on the live album Live in San Diego.

Madonna played a date here on October 29, 2015, becoming her first-ever performance in the arena, during her Rebel Heart Tour. The show sold 10,500 seats and grossed over $1.6 million with ticket prices ranging from $50–355, becoming one of the most expensive concerts.

Muse played a date here on January 7, 2016, on their Drones World Tour.

Jason Aldean played a date here late in 2016, on his Six-String Nation Tour, with Kid Rock as his opening act.

Justin Bieber played a date here on March 29, 2016, as a part of his Purpose World Tour.

Sheryl Crow, Bob Dylan, and Willie Nelson played a date here in September 2017 as part of their Outlaw Music Festival tour.

Lana Del Rey performed at the venue on February 15, 2018, as part of her LA to the Moon Tour, with support from Kali Uchis.

Slayer kicked off their final tour here on May 10, 2018, with support from Lamb of God, Anthrax, Behemoth, and Testament.

Local radio station KHTS-FM held its annual "Summer Kickoff Concert" at the venue on May 31, 2019. It featured Halsey, Ellie Goulding, CNCO, Bebe Rexha, NCT 127, and five other artists.[42]

Country-pop superstar Carrie Underwood has performed in the arena multiple times, first on October 1, 2010, during her Play On Tour; the second on October 20, 2012, during her Blown Away Tour; the third on September 16, 2016, during her Storyteller Tour: Stories in the Round; and the fourth on September 10, 2019, during her Cry Pretty Tour 360, making her one of the artists with the most performances in the arena.

The arena has hosted several WWE events, including many episodes of Raw and Smackdown, some ECW episodes, one episode of the original NXT, many House shows (live events), Vengeance (2001), which saw the unification of the WCW Championship and WWE Championship, Taboo Tuesday (2005), and One Night Stand (2008).

The 2011 version of Wrex the Halls was hosted here over two days with headliners Florence and the Machine and Blink-182 headlining respective nights. Both nights were sold out.

The arena has also been home to events of the original Roller Games league, featuring its flagship team, the Los Angeles Thunderbirds, as well as the alternating Roller Derby leagues of the time, featuring their flagship team, the San Francisco Bay Bombers.

The arena hosted Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live in 2019.

The exterior of the arena and its parking lot are featured in an early scene of Cameron Crowe's 2000 film, Almost Famous.