SAN DIEGO (AP) — The San Diego Seals indoor lacrosse team will play the Vancouver Warriors on the flight line at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar on Feb. 22.
The “Rumble on the Runway" will be the first regular-season professional sporting event on an active Marine base and the second ever on an active military base. The Miami Marlins beat the Atlanta Braves 5-2 at Fort Bragg on July 3, 2016.
“San Diego is one of the largest and proudest military cities in the United States. We have over 11,000 Marines, sailors and civilians who live and work aboard this base and we take and relish every opportunity we have to open our doors and collaborate with organizations that live within the community," base spokesman Capt. Matthew Gregory said Monday.
The Seals are owned by Joseph Tsai, who also owns the NBA's Brooklyn Nets. The Seals play in the National Lacrosse League.
The team will build a temporary open-air arena seating between 4,000 and 4,500 to accommodate season ticket holders, active duty military, reservists and retired military personnel.
“With more than 100,000 active-duty military personnel calling San Diego home, we are forever grateful for their commitment to protecting our freedom, this city and this great country,” Seals President Steve Govett said. “This game, and the events surrounding it, are a way for us to say ‘thank you’ to them and their families for their service.”
San Diego was the site of the first college basketball game on an active aircraft carrier, when No. 1 North Carolina beat Michigan State 67-55 on the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson at North Island Naval Air Station on Nov. 11, 2011. President Barack Obama watched from courtside.
