Live Nation Entertainment announced Monday plans to transform the historic Wonder Bread building in San Diego's East Village near Petco Park into a 4,000-capacity music venue.
"San Diego currently has no purpose-built venue between its small clubs and its large arenas," a statement from Live Nation read. "This project is designed to close that specific gap, giving artists at that stage of their career a room built for them, and giving San Diego fans access to shows the city has largely missed out on."
The historic building will be "preserved and adaptively reused," the statement read. Blueprint Studio, Live Nation's in-house design group, and Gensler are designing the venue. It is expected to open in 2028.
"This project represents an investment in San Diego's future as a destination for live music and entertainment," said John Schalk, vice president of the San Diego Market at Live Nation. "We've been missing a venue of this size, and this project will help attract a broader range of touring artists, bring more shows to the region, and contribute to the continued growth and energy of downtown."
The building was constructed in 1897 and has grown over the decades to become four interconnected buildings. It has been the home of Mission Brewing for more than 15 years, but the building was recently sold, forcing the brewery to move operations. Its last day of operation in the Wonder Bread building is slated for Aug. 31.
"We appreciate the project's thoughtful approach to the adaptive reuse of the historic Wonder Bread building," said Bruce Coons, executive director of nonprofit building preservation group Save Our Heritage Organisation. "Restoring the building's character-defining historic facade, retaining and renovating the historic silo, and recovering the building's earliest brick facade from its concrete entombment is a major step in the right direction.
"At the same time incorporating a new entertainment facility demonstrates how historic resources can be preserved while continuing to serve San Diego's future."
Live Nation is a multinational corporation founded in 2010 following the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, both of which it continues to operate. It runs hundreds of venues, including local spots such as the House of Blues in San Diego, North Park's Observatory, the North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre, as well as dozens of other locations across Southern California.
According to an analysis by Oxford Economics, the venue could generate around $97 million in economic impact each year, along with 316,000 fans each year, including 126,000 from outside the county.
