Frontwave Arena - Oceanside, California

Louis Canedo

A very nice and new venue. $55/30 to park. The $30 General Lot isn’t a bad walk. The venue itself has some good places to eat like Tanners burgers which were very good. The outdoor areas are also very new and clean. I wish there were restrooms and concessions on the Floor level instead of always having to take the stairs back up and then come back down but it really wasn’t that far or bad. The floor seats for a concert are VERY close to the stage and speakers (I should’ve worn ear protection) but overall very cool venue.

Michelle

Overall a nice venue. Parking was very reasonable at $23 for general (dirt) lot. The concert I went to was not very crowded so getting in and out of the venue was easy. Their flow of traffic after the show to get out onto the street is constantly moving which is very helpful when cars stack up. There are a few poorly lit areas from the parking lot to the road that get hard to see in the dark.

The venue itself is fairly small making every seat a good seat. Plenty of food and drink options though I found the snacks to be a bit overpriced (kettlecorn or cotton candy at $12). They have also set up a queue lines outside all restroom doors to help with foot traffic.

Seats were fairly easy to find, though if you do have an issue finding your seat, there were no attendants there to help. Seats themselves were average stadium seats with cupholders.

I had a special request for the box office after they shuffled some seats around to fill space. They were gracious enough to work with my request and I'm very grateful. Looking forward to visiting again in the future!

Shawn Armstrong

We went on November 8th, Opening Night as well as our first time at Frontwave Arena. Parking was affordable and close. There wasn't a bad seat in the arena, that's 7,500 great seats. Quick lines to purchase food and drinks, with prices, (being what they are) it was comparable to most places. We enjoyed the Cardiff "Crack" Nachos and the Chicken Strips & Fries. Thumbs Up to both items! Great G League basketball game with the new San Diego Clippers winning on Opening Night and Bill Walton Night. I give it a 5 out 5 and I certainly can't wait to see another Clippers, SD Sockers. Possibly a concert if the right band stops by this intimate venue.

Horizon Cool

Great venue! Watched an exciting Sockers futbol game on a Friday night vs. the Texas Outlaws with the family. Close game and the Sockers pulled it out at the end.
Easy to get in and out. Parking is $15 which isn’t bad. Drinks are steep like at any sporting event. I’ll be back to FrontWave for a game or show soon.

David Borough

Went to the Dec 28 Sockers game. Fan since the early days of this team filled with an amazing legacy. It was a great venue. Very moden and every seat has an full view (though may have some plexyglass distortion).

Some interesting things -- the huge jumbotron already has damage. Gotta assume a soccer ball slamming into it might injure it. Lol.

And while we're there, a banner screen gets smashed and three sections are dangling down.

The field turf, to my great surprise, still looks piece meal. Lots of visible seams and the border (restart areas for out of bounds) looks kinda rough. I know -- I'm not playing -- just watching. But for a game that needs to grow in popularity, at a brand new venue -- it just like cheap and unprofessional, like nobody cares.

I avoid parking as much as I can, so we got dropped off and picked up, whick worked great.

Enjoyed the game. I'm so close to giving 5 stars, and I'm only likely to go for the Sockers, but just needs a little classy touch for the game itself. Go Sockers!!!

Erich Cervantez

First off, five stars to whoever decided to build an arena deep in Oceanside just five minutes from my house.

Like, seriously.

Before we had to drive an hour north to Irvine, or an hour south to Petco or Chula Vista. Now we have an arena for concerts, games, you name it right in our backyard. Love it!

The arena is brand new so of course it's super clean. Drink prices are high as expected. Plus there's tax/tip. $18 for a well vodka tonic. $20 for a Ketel One tonic. They also have Cutwater canned cocktails, but paying a lot for a can of anything is just outrageous. Go have a drink at The Draft, The Junkyard, Enzo's or anywhere else then come here. And just wait till I get to parking.

Bathrooms are a good size, but getting into and out of the bathroom is a weird endeavor due to the stanchions and retractable belts that guide people into the bathrooms. That area takes up way too much space! I can't imagine what the hallways would be like when it's sold out here.

During our CAKE concert, many people were at the outside patio bar watching the Padres game (including us). Sad part is they only had one little TV out there for everyone to watch. They need to add more and make them bigger! And some outside if possible. Come on, TVs are cheap.

The concert itself was great. I wish they had large Jumbotron somewhere in the middle of the venue so we could see the band members up closer, otherwise you are squinting to see what's happening on stage. I have a Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and my pics and videos in the dark were not that great. Maybe it's just a problem for us old-timers lol.

Parking looks like a huge mess to me. When we pulled into the arena to park, all I could see is a huge sea of red brake lights of people trying to get in. Not much movement. At that point, I flipped a U-turn, crossed the intersection, and parked over by the hotels across the street. Plenty of free parking there and it was barely a 10 min walk. Best part, when we leave, it's instantaneous. No waiting in a single-file line to drive out which is bonkers.

EDIT: We went to the Junkyard last night for karaoke and noticed a big sign saying no Front Wave parking (they had a rock concert there last night), or you will be towed. No worries, plenty of free parking elsewhere at the nearby businesses. Just stay away from the hotel parking lots.

Overall, love the new arena! Can't wait to explore more, and grab some Tanner's burgers next time.

Greater Nethland

I went to this arena for the Rocktober Fest Rock Festival to see Seether and admittedly was a bit anxious because of the concert being inside of a stadium...but this stadium is perfect! You can walk around outside the concert area to stretch your legs if your ears need a break, there's plenty of food and drink options with a friendly staff, and there's even an outdoor lounge area. As for the concert it went well and was very clean.

Though there are no earplugs sold in the area, so you'll have to buy some at a gas station or bring your own.

T

Pretty cool venue that's not too big and not too small with floor seats that are too close together (think Humphreys almost). But at least the floor seats are right up close to the stage!
Good food like Cardiff "Crack", smash burgers, the typical venue beverage options and also this airy lounge area with a full bar.
I didn't like how there weren't clear indicators for wrist bands, which entrances were GA or VIP, or if a bathroom stall was occupied or not.
The parking situation is weird; they have the parking attendants standing out there in the dark directing you to drive up and around a dark dirt road into a dirt lot, but it's really close to the venue. I thought it was going to be bad getting out of there BUT we were out and back on El Camino in no time. Easily 5 stars with some adjustments.