The San Diego Wildcards were an ill-conceived Continental Basketball Association franchise that set up shop at the Sports Arena in the fall of 1995. The CBA was the official developmental league of the NBA at the time. The Wildcards lasted just 21 games before folding in midseason.
The greatest indoor soccer dynasty of all time started out as a struggling outdoor soccer team that couldn’t find a home. As outdoor soccer faltered in San Diego and nationwide in the early 1980’s, the Sockers found new life in the air conditioned confines of the San Diego Sports Arena, winning 10 indoor titles between 1982 and 1992. At the time the original Sockers closed their doors in 1996, they were the oldest continuously operating professional soccer club in the United States.
The San Diego Friars were a franchise in World Team Tennis that played primarily at the San Diego Sports Arena from 1975 to 1978. The Friars also played occasional matches at the Anaheim Convention Center. The team was best known for signing Rod “The Rocket” Laver in February 1976. The Australian superstar, then 38 years old, is one of the greatest tennis players of all time and the only person ever two have completed two Grand Slams (1962 and 1969). Laver played three seasons for the Friars from 1976 through the club’s final season in 1978.
The San Diego Barracudas rolled through four seasons of Roller Hockey International between 1993 and 1996. The club played most of their games at the Sports Arena, San Diego’s long-time home of professional ice hockey, major rock concerts and NBA basketball. But by late 1996, the money-bleeding Barracudas fortunes took on a distinct This Is Spinal Tap flavor. The ‘Cudas played their final home game at a youth inline skating rink called Stuart’s Roller World in Orange, California on August 15th, 1996.
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