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1983

The property was originally deeded to the City in 1983 and the first tenant was the San Diego Polo Club (“SDPC”). The SDPC developed the property primarily for equestrian activity, polo training, polo matches and started using the property in full in 1986.

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1992

In 1992 in an effort to raise funds for polo club operations, the SDPC signed a sub-lease with Surf Cup and later that same year the 13th annual edition of the San Diego Surf Cup took place onsite. Also in 1992, Surf Cup began an exclusive relationship with the “Hu Property”, which is the 24 acre plot of land directly north of the westernmost playing fields, for event parking and storage. In 1993, San Diego Surf Soccer Club also began to use the facility for daily practices and weekend matches. In 1997, the property partnership was certified with a 15-year soccer exclusivity agreement with San Diego Polo Club, guaranteeing Surf Cup and Surf Soccer Club a home. In 1995, Surf added a second major tournament over Thanksgiving weekend named Surf Girls Cup which eventually was re-branded the Surf College Cup.

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2012

In 2012 the original lease between the City of San Diego and SDPC expired and SDPC remained on a month to month lease option. In 2015, after years of sub-standard maintenance, the condition of the property was in steep decline, and the City issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to secure a long-term tenant. Surf Cup Sports offered to jointly respond to the RFP with the SDPC as 50% partners in the facility, but that offer was declined by the SDPC. Surf Cup Sports applied on its own for the lease, promoting both a dedication to youth sports activities and a significant economic benefit to the County of San Diego. Surf Cup Sports pledged to make necessary improvements, treat the facility as a community asset, and make the fields more accessible and accommodating. On July 25th of 2016, by a vote of 8 to 1 the City of San Diego granted the new 28.5 year lease to Surf Cup Sports.

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2017

Based mostly on declining membership numbers, in 2017 the San Diego Polo Club ceased operations due to insolvency, leaving behind substantial debt to Surf Cup Sports and other creditors, and millions in repairs to a community trail they damaged with their use. Surf Cup Sports, in a desire to protect the historical usage of the property, worked with former polo club members to create Surf Polo Club. However, that project only lasted until 2019 when Surf Polo Club also become insolvent, leaving $80k+ in unpaid bills to Surf Cup Sports.

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2017 - Present

Between 2017 and 2019 Surf Cup Sports invested $3m into upgrades on the property These investments included $1.8m in a state-of-the-art irrigation system that will be used to save millions of gallons of water per year and improve the health of the grass. A further $1.2m was spent on safety improvements, property clean up and beautification. In 2018, SCS partnered with OMWD (Olivenhain Municipal Water District) to bring reclaimed water to the facility – a win for the local environment.

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