Week 106: Frontwave Arena
- elenalilamartin
- Jan 11, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 5, 2025
Week 106: January 5th-11th, 2025
A great part about going to a big school like SDSU is that I met people with all sorts of interests and careers who are now spread out across the country, chasing their dreams. A friend of mine, Kevin, is currently in Utah, and works as the Assistant Athletic Trainer for the NBA G League Salt Lake City Stars. This week, we got to go support Kevin and check out the brand new Frontwave Arena in Oceanside when the Stars played the San Diego Clippers.
During the hour-long drive up, due to my usual need for useless information and detail, I sat passenger princess and did some research. I'm not too familiar with the NBA G League, (though I did wear my Santa Cruz Warriors socks) so I wanted to know a bit more before we got to the arena. I didn't recognize any of the players' names on either team's roster, but I read their stats aloud to provide some thrilling entertainment on our drive. Currently, the Salt Lake City Stars are ranked 7th in the Western Conference and the San Diego Clippers are ranked 6th.
My in-car research wasn't confined to just the G League, as I was reminded that Frontwave Arena opened officially in September 2024. It is the first large venue of its kind in North County and apparently cost $100 million to build. After seeing it in person, I can see how. The whole area felt so new it was almost sterile, and it still had that new-paint smell. It felt oddly bougie for a place on a random hill in Oceanside. It was surrounded by new developments and apartments, so I assume the city will have a lot more activity in the area as time goes on.
Our seats were in Section 115, and we were surrounded by at least 50 of Kevin's family and friends. It was impressive. He probably was the reason for the stadium actually feeling relatively lively and full during a G League game.
We kept our "Go Kevin!" cheers to a minimum, as we didn't want the players to get distracted. I fueled myself with a Cutwater Canned Mango Margarita and some overpriced chicken tenders and fries, which are a must at any stadium sports event. I have to share this photo of a very pleasing rainbow of Heinz condiments, and I was surprised to see an actual compost bin alongside the recycling and the trash! San Diego is very late to the composting game, so this is good news.
The Salt Lake City Stars surprisingly outplayed the San Diego Clippers on their home turf, and from my novice-level knowledge of basketball talent, it seemed they were the superior players. I may be a bit biased, as I know Kevin is their athletic trainer, but they seemed to mesh better as a team. The Stars beat the Clippers, with a final score of 91-85. It was probably a nice treat to win for the Stars as the away-team in a bougie new arena.
I'm curious to see if Frontwave Arena will hold more concerts and other events aside from housing the San Diego Clippers (NBA G League), the San Diego Sockers (indoor soccer) and the San Diego Strike Force (indoor football). I'd definitely return, even if only to try more of the overpriced arena offerings.
Bonus: it was also Kevin's birthday this week, and the Stars posted on their Instagram to wish him a happy birthday!
See you next week.
Comments