OCEANSIDE – A naming rights partnership has officially termed a new sports arena in Oceanside’s 465-acre El Corazon Park.
Frontwave Arena, named after Frontwave Credit Union, will be the new permanent home of the San Diego Sockers, according to a recent release.
“We’re thrilled to have secured the exclusive naming rights to their new Oceanside home,” said Frontwave CEO and president Bill Birnie in a statement to The Coast News.
Frontwave will also be the “official credit union” of the Sockers and sponsors of the 2021-22 season.
In 2009, the Sockers first played in the 3,500-seat Del Mar Arena at the Del Mar Fairgrounds during the team’s first season before moving to the Pechanga Arena in San Diego three years later. Since 2012, the club has struggled to schedule games due to conflicts with other events at Pechanga.
The 170,000-square-foot arena is currently under construction in the El Corazon sports complex near Oceanside Boulevard and Rancho del Oro Drive and is scheduled to open by fall 2023.
The arena can seat more than 6,000 fans for sporting events and up to 7,600 for concerts. A full-service restaurant, bars, concessions, a plaza area and sixteen luxury suites will be included.
Besides Major Arena Soccer League games, the arena will host concerts, amateur sports (including high school and college games), and community events throughout the year.
“We see Frontwave Arena becoming a hub of activity for North County, the likes of which we have never seen before,” stated Oside Arena Management President Sean Bowers in the naming rights partnership announcement.
Starting on Camp Pendleton in 1952, Frontwave Credit Union reached out to the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce to find out ways to get involved with the arena.
“We felt supporting this new venue would be a great opportunity to support our community as well as economic growth in the region,” said Frontwave spokesperson Amber Gabrenas via email. “Once the arena received final approval from the City of Oceanside, we then signed the naming rights agreement for Frontwave Arena.”
With Frontwave, Bowers hopes to “change the face of entertainment in San Diego’s North County.”
