SOMA is a popular San Diego concert venue in Point Loma right next to the San Diego Sports Arena. It is slowly becoming one of the more popular concert venues in San Diego just like the San Diego Sports Arena, the Coors Amphitheater and the Cox Arena. SOMA used to be a theater and was bought and renovated into a concert venue. It is an indoor venue that can hold up to 2000+ occupants in its main hall, side stage 500+. The venue has also turned many of the theater's old production offices into dressing rooms for the bands which overlook the stage. There is a snack bar and merchandise area in the lobby of SOMA as well. SOMA does not have an age requirement for their shows and does not have a bar, serve alcohol or allow the consumption of alcohol or drugs within the venue. There are no seats in the venue and all concerts are general admission. SOMA holds concerts throughout the year and both local and popular bands have been known to play there. Since the venue is located within the San Diego Sports Arena's parking lot, its parking lot is located within the sports arena's. But unlike the sports arena, its parking is free. SOMA began as a smaller club located in downtown San Diego, just south of Market Street. At that time, the venue was mostly known as a dance club, but eventually made the transition to hosting live music. One unique feature of the club was that in addition to the main concert hall located on the ground floor, it had a basement area, known as "The Dungeon" that held approximately 100 people. It was in the dungeon that many local San Diego bands would get their first opportunity to play at the club. If bands could bring in a large-enough following, they would often be given the opportunity to play upstairs on the main stage in support of more popular local acts, or even nationally touring acts. It was at this downtown location that such well-known San Diego bands such as blink-182, Unwritten Law, and Buck-O-Nine built a strong local following before moving on to tour nationally in the mid 1990's. SOMA's second location was near Morena Blvd/Linda Vista Road, just south of USD (The University of San Diego).
