In a surprise move, moments before Duran Duran and Mumford & Sons took the stage to close out KAABOO 2019, festival organizers announced its moving from Del Mar to Petco Park in 2020.
After years of looking (from Otay to Temecula) for a new location, KAABOO signed a multi-year agreement with the San Diego Padres to move the upscale festival to Petco Park in downtown San Diego.
“As the KAABOO brand and our live event properties continue to grow and evolve, it’s imperative that we continue to deliver an unparalleled experience for our guests by holding KAABOO in a world-class venue with exceptional room for growth,” says Jason Felts, managing partner of KAABOO, in a statement. “The location of Petco Park and its surrounding venues in downtown San Diego provides fans and artists alike the opportunity to enjoy everything that the vibrant metro area has to offer. We couldn’t be more ecstatic about this partnership and our relocation.”
Translated, after five years of building its brand in Del Mar, KAABOO is looking to increase its curfew, footprint, and bottom line. Between rent, concessions, and parking, doing business with the fairgrounds isn’t a cool ocean breeze for concert promoters. Additionally, uptight Del Mar residents put restrictions on set times and volume levels, a major bummer for festival goers.
On the flipside, working with the Padres, KAABOO gets the venue for free (in theory,) expansion into the East Village, hotel taxes, and a curfew that goes into extra innings… but, not without risk. Anyone remember the last Street Scene? Also, Wonderfront is coming.
Erik Greupner, Padres president of business operations added, “As part of the continued expansion of our concert and events lineup, we are extremely excited to welcome one of the largest and most successful festival experiences in the country, KAABOO San Diego, to Petco Park. Our venue and the downtown Ballpark District offer the perfect setting for an event of this magnitude and further establishes Petco Park as the premier entertainment destination in Southern California. We look forward to hosting an unforgettable and amazing weekend in the heart of downtown.”
As part of the announcement, KAABOO San Diego is offering general admission passes for $199 and VIP passes priced between $799 and $2,999 at kaaboosd.com.
