Soma San Diego
| Address | 3350 Sports Arena Boulevard San Diego, California United States |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 2700 (mainstage) 500 (sidestage) |
| Current use | music venue |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1990's |
| Reopened | 1994, 2002 |
| Website | |
| somasandiego |
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SOMA is a concert venue in the Midway neighborhood of San Diego, California, adjacent to the San Diego Sports Arena. It is an all-ages venue with a strict alcohol-free policy to permit attendance by minors. It has been described as San Diego's "leading all-ages venue for punk and alternative-rock concerts." It is located at 3350 Sports Arena Blvd.
SOMA was originally opened in the early 1990s by Len Paul at an old warehouse in downtown San Diego on 555 Union Street, just south of Market Street – hence the name “SOuth of MArket." At that time, the venue was mostly known as a dance club, but eventually made the transition to hosting live music. One unique feature of the club was that, in addition to the main concert hall located on the ground floor, it had a basement area, known as "The Dungeon" that held approximately 100 people. It was in the dungeon that many local San Diego bands got their first opportunity to play at the club. If bands could bring in a large enough following, they would be given the opportunity to play upstairs on the main stage, in support of more popular local acts or nationally touring acts. At this downtown location some well-known San Diego bands such as Rocket from the Crypt, blink-182, Unwritten Law, Stone Temple Pilots, and Buck-O-Nine built a strong local following before moving on to tour nationally in the mid 1990s.
In 1994, SOMA moved to a former warehouse on Metro Street, just south of the University of San Diego. Major artists such as Faith No More, Fugazi, Pavement, The Ramones, The Smashing Pumpkins and Weezer performed here, as well as many local bands. The venue closed in 1999.
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