A rose by any other name may smell as sweet, but nothing smells sweeter than a cool crisp $6 million. Just ask SDSU!
San Diego State's on campus venue Cox Arena will no longer be named after the cable company. Instead, it will be named...
Drum roll, please...
Viejas Arena!
SDSU will receive a sexy $6 million donation over the next 10 years from the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians. In exchange for the donation, the college is naming its sports and entertainment location after them. Expect to see lots more concerts held at the arena as Viejas is one of the leading concert bookers in the region.
Vice Chairman of the VIejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians Robert Welch, Jr. said that Viejas chose SDSU for the donation because the Kumeyaay Indians are committed to educating its people and hope to inspire others to pursue higher learning. He also cited the Kumeyaay as being a generous people who feel obligated to give back to the community that has given to them.
“It’s just in our nature to give,” he said. “Even if we don’t have anything, we give.”
Cox Communications $5 million/12-year contract with the school will expire June 30. The official name change will take place the next day. The Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians operates the Viejas Casino & Outlet Center in the Alpine community in East County.
Since it first opened in 1997, the venue was known as Cox Arena. It can seats about 12,500 fans and has been the site of countless concerts and Aztec basketball games.
