By TR Robertson
Thursday was a very proud day for the City of Oceanside and the owners of the cities newest venue, Frontwave Area, as the facility was formally opened with a Red Ribbon Cutting Ceremony sponsored by the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce. Frontwave Arena actually opened for business on Monday and Tuesday of that week with a two-show performance by the Gold Medal Olympic Gymnast Simone Biles “Gold Over America Tour”. The Thursday Red Ribbon Ceremony took place in the large outdoor San Diego Safari Park Plaza with a short ceremony followed by a tour of the arena and a sampling of food from each of the concessionaires in Frontwave.
The Red Ribbon Ceremony began with MC Craig Elsten, radio personality from 97.3 FM “Annie & Elsten” mid-day show, welcoming those in attendance to the Red Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and tour of the 7,500-seat arena. Frontwave is part of the 450-acre masterplan for this area next to the Oceanside Senior Center and the SoCal Sports Complex. Elsten called the arena the “heartbeat of the community” and said the city of Oceanside and visitors to the arena will benefit from the events and activities it will host for years and years to come. Elsten introduced Frontwave CEO Josh Elias who spoke about the eight-year timeline from the dream of having an arena like this, first talked about by Phil Salvagio, Owner of the San Diego Sockers Indoor Soccer Club and CaliFino Tequila, in 2017. The dream began to grow, with partners joining the development and planning, forming the Oceanside Arena Holdings LLC. The land the arena now sits on was acquired in 2021. As grading and all of the steps leading to that point began, construction of the arena began in 2022. The beginning of 2023 would be significant as Frontwave Credit Union would be awarded naming rights and the Simone Biles “Gold Over America Tour” was signed for the opening performance. Along with this the arena was to become the home of the San Diego Sockers Professional Indoor Club and the Los Angeles Clippers NBA G-League Team. There are several other sports teams that may soon call Frontwave Arena home.
The various sponsors and partners working with Frontwave were listed and include: Frontwave Credit Union, Pala Casino, Cutwater, M5 Production, CaliFino Tequila, Modelo, SeaBaker Electric, COX Business, Visit Oceanside, Level 10 and Group Signs. Speaking next was Leslee Gaul, President and CEO of Visit Oceanside, who spoke about the importance of Frontwave Arena to the Oceanside community and industry in making a sustainable Oceanside. She also spoke about the significance of the tourism trade that many businesses in Oceanside depend on feeling that 150+ events that may be hosted in Frontwave could represent a 10-20% revenue increase for these businesses. The final speaker was Chasen Eddow, Director of Sports & Youth Community Relations. Chasen spoke about the endless possibilities Frontwave offers to Oceanside and other community groups, including youth, military, business, arts and a multitude of other organizations. He said he was excited about working with these groups in whatever collaboration is possible.
Ryan Ewart, Representative from State Assemblymember Laurie Davies Office, presented CEO Josh Elias with a Certificate of Recognition. Vanessa Lee, from the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce, then invited the participants in the Ribbon Cutting to come up to the staging area. Oceanside Mayor Ester Sanchez and Deputy Mayor Ryan Keim joined Elias, Salvagio, Frontwave personnel, along with others important to making the Frontwave Arena a reality joined in on a countdown to welcome Frontwave Arena to the Oceanside community.
Following this, everyone in attendance was invited to go into Frontwave Arena for a tour and to enjoy samples and bites from the various eateries that are in the arena. As we walked into the arena, we were greeted by servers passing out glasses of champagne as staff members of Cutwater Bar greeted everyone. Most socialized then began to circle around the arena, stopping by the various businesses to grab a bite to enjoy. The first stop this reporter made was to the Seaside Market (Cardiff-by-the-Sea) to try barbecue pork sliders. Next was Tanner’s Prime Burgers for smashed burger sliders and fries. The Coors Light Chill Zone and Modelo Cantina were also open and serving beverages. The Gelati & Peccati Pizza Shop had peperoni slices and large churros for everyone. The Baja Tacos eatery was delicious as well. Staff members invited those in attendance to stop in the CaliFino Tequila bar area to enjoy shots and walkout onto the open-air patio area. As you wandered around the arena, you saw there was plenty of seating both in the arena and at areas around the top section of the seats and in the VIP viewing deck and the exclusive lounges. On the second level you could see the 16 luxury suites.
The Frontwave web site has information about pricing on the various suites and other ways to book special events, www.frontwavearena.com. As well as the sporting events like the Clippers G-League NBA Team and the San Diego Indoor Socker Team, you will have a chance to see the Los Angeles Clippers play a pre-season match against the Brooklyn Nets on October 8th. For information on this you can email Caitlin Teno at Caitlin.Teno@frontwavearena.com . Concerts will also be coming to Frontwave with Cake performing in concert on October 5th, go to the website for more information and to purchase tickets. Frontwave Arena is located at 3475 Hero Drive. There is a Public Parking lot and a Premium lot available.
