I can’t say that the Valley View Casino Center has ever struck me as a beautiful building here in San Diego. But there it sits in the Midway district, currently home to San Diego’s professional ice hockey team, the San Diego Gulls. Built in 1966, this 15,000-seat venue has housed many of San Diego’s sport’s teams. The San Diego Rockets, for example, were based at the Valley View Casino Center from 1967-1971 until they moved to Houston and became…that’s right…the Houston Rockets. A handful of tennis and soccer teams have also called it home. Music events have included The Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana, Madonna, the Bieber, and Taylor Swift. On this fateful evening, Ed Sheeran took the stage for his Divide Tour, which blew my socks off.
But before we go there, let’s take a moment to look a little deeper at the Valley View Casino Center. Particularly the name. Originally known as the San Diego International Sports Center, then the San Diego Sports Arena, the concert center took the name “iPayOne Center” from 2004-2007 when a real estate savings company based in Carlsbad held the naming rights. The company soon defaulted on its payments to the city, and the name changed back to San Diego Sports Arena. Enter the San Pasqual Band of Digueno Mission Indians. In 2010, the tribe entered into a $1.5 million agreement giving them the naming rights to the sports arena, and the “Valley View Casino Center” was born.
Back to Ed Sheeran. I always chalked up his fame to screaming groups of giddy girls who loved his red hair. Then his most recent album “Divide” came out. And I listened. I actually bought the CD, put it in my car, and listened to it on repeat for… 4 months. It’s that good. Imagine Ed Sheeran sitting next you at a bar and telling you about his life—love, death, friends, the stupid things he does when he is drunk, human existence—those are his lyrics. Throw in an acoustic guitar, some traditional Irish sounds and there you have it. In concert, he is a one-man show, just him, his voice, his guitar and a loop recorder. And yet his music is complicated, layered, interesting, and captivating. I’m so glad I became a convert before he made a stop in San Diego. And more importantly, I’m glad Ed Sheeran is 26, leaving decades of good music to come. Just ask Tom Petty, who has been touring for 40 years.
So there you have it. Valley View Casino Center. Not the most pleasing to the eye, but a piece of San Diego history, and home to many a talented team and musical performer. Thanks to Jenna for convincing me to buy Ed Sheeran’s new album, and then screaming her lungs out at the concert with me. And thanks to Karl for reminding me how much I love to research and write my blog, even when life seems too hectic to sit down and breathe.