Exterior of amphitheatre under Cricket Wireless sponsorship
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Former names | Coors Amphitheatre (1998-2008) Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre (2008-12) |
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Address | 2050 Entertainment Cir Chula Vista, CA 91911 |
Location | Greater San Diego |
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 |
Owner | Live Nation Entertainment |
Type | amphitheatre |
Capacity | 20,500 |
Opened | July 21, 1998 |
The Sleep Train Amphitheatre (formerly known as the Coors Amphitheatre and the Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre) is a 20,500-seat amphitheatre located in Chula Vista, California. It is one of the larger concert venues in the San Diego area. The venue is currently owned and operated by Live Nation.
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 and 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 Aquatica San Diego) 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. In January 2013, the venue was renamed to Sleep Train Amphitheater after the naming rights were purchased by Sleep Train signing a five-year naming rights deal with concert promoter Live Nation Entertainment for the amphitheater in eastern Chula Vista.
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.