Live Nation to Restore San Diego's Historic Wonder Bread Building Into a New 4,000-Capacity Music Venue
Key Takeaways
Preserving a San Diego Landmark: Live Nation unveiled plans to restore the historic Wonder Bread Building, and its distinctive façade, for use as a 4,000-capacity venue.
Filling a Gap in San Diego’s Music Scene: The new space will give artists a purpose-built downtown stage at a capacity currently missing from the market.
An Investment in San Diego: The venue will generate $97 million in economic impact and support 660 jobs as fans visit local restaurants and hotels as part of their night out.
Live Nation today unveiled plans to transform the historic Wonder Bread building near Petco Park into a new 4,000-capacity music venue, restoring a landmark property and closing a gap in San Diego's market that has long left mid-size touring artists without a downtown home.
San Diego currently has no purpose-built venue between its small clubs and its large arenas. 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.
Key Details:
- The historic Wonder Bread building – long owned by Bob Sinclair and his family – will be preserved and adaptively reused rather than demolished, with modern production capability built into the existing structure.
- Blueprint Studio, Live Nation's in-house design group, and Gensler are designing the venue around artist and fan experience: acoustics, sightlines, and backstage amenities.
- The venue fills San Diego's only capacity gap of this kind – there is currently no other venue like it in the market.
- Expected to open in 2028; will also host private, corporate, and community events.
Key Quotes:
- John Schalk, Vice President, San Diego Market at Live Nation: “This project represents an investment in San Diego’s future as a destination for live music and entertainment. 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.”
- Megan Heine and Torrey Lee, whose family has owned the Wonder Bread building for many years: “We have always believed in the importance of honoring the history of this building. We agreed to support this vision because it respects what makes this place special while giving it a new purpose that will serve the community for generations to come.”
- Bruce Coons, Executive Director of Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO): “We appreciate the project’s thoughtful approach to the adaptive reuse of the historic Wonder Bread building. Restoring the building’s character-defining historic façade, retaining and renovating the historic silo, and recovering the building’s earliest brick façade 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.”
Economic Impact:
An analysis by Oxford Economics estimates the venue will:
- Generate approximately $97 million in annual economic impact
- Welcome 316,000 fans each year, including 126,000 traveling from outside the San Diego Metro area
- Drive $53 million in spending including nearby restaurants, hotels, and retail establishments
- Support 660 jobs
- Contribute $12.6 million in state and local tax revenue