- Details
- By Tribal Business News Staff
- Economic Development
Pechanga Arena San Diego will keep its name through December 2026 under an extended naming rights agreement with Pechanga Resort Casino.
The Temecula, Calif.-based casino originally secured naming rights to the former San Diego Sports Arena in 2018. The arena generated $29.1 million in ticket sales in 2024, according to a Pechanga news release.
Pechanga Resort Casino is the arena’s longest-serving naming rights partner, according to Ryan Golden, general manager at Pechanga Arena San Diego.
The deal builds on a series of partnerships between the resort and local sports teams, including agreements with the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team, and the San Diego Wave soccer club.
Those strategic partnerships reflect a broader trend of collaborations between tribal enterprises and event venues or sports teams. The Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians’ Mad River Brewery announced a partnership with the Sacramento Kings basketball team in August 2024; earlier this year, the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians brought its travel center brand to Palm Spring’s Acrisure Arena.
Such partnerships typically leverage intersecting customer bases and increased visibility to boost both involved businesses, per prior Tribal Business News reporting. Sports partnerships in particular have been on the rise amid the advent of sports betting across the country. For example, casinos spent $1.4 billion per season on NBA sponsorships between 2021 and 2023, according to data published by basketball website Dunkest.com.
Pechanga Development Corporation President Sean Vasquez said the extended San Diego arena partnership strengthens the casino's "position as the premier entertainment brand in Southern California.
"The Pechanga Arena partnership isn't just about a logo on a building,” Vasquez said. “This venue hosts over 130 events annually, creating unparalleled touchpoints with demographics that directly align with our growth strategy. We're doubling down on what works.”
