RIMAC Field

When your school doesn’t have a football team but has a huge football field… what do you do? You host the annual Sungod Music Festival! Before coming to UCSD, I was aware of this «tradition» but didn’t think that it would be such a grandiose deal! It is literally like a «free» coachella to those who couldn’t make it. And the best part? It is on campus! Since UCSD doesn’t have close by rival schools, and we are divided into six colleges, the best way to bring the school together is by music.
Sungod is hosted at RIMAC Field Spring Quarter, May time around Week 5-​Week 8. This year it was on May 3, 2015. The theme is «carnival», so there were a lot of free carnival rides, carnival food, and amazing performances! Rockstar was one of the sponsors and came out to pass out free Rockstar drinks for the (dehydrated) students.
This field is also used for Graduation in the June, and it is also located right next to RIMAC Annex (where the basketball games are), RIMAC Gym, and ERC college. Most of the time when I pass by, I only see the baseball/​softball/​soccer team practicing, so majority of the time it is empty.
RIMAC field can hold up to about 20,000 people comfortably… with still lots of rides and space to sit around and chill! There are a few restrooms located by the very bottom of the entrance upon entering, but during Sungod they bring in many more portables.
Overall, RIMAC field is HUGE and definitely a fun place to host any type of large scale event! A concert would be amazing here! But I wonder how they keep up with watering the grass, since its so large…
Either way, if you come to UCSD, RIMAC Field is probably something you will drive by/​walk by/​pass by! On weekends, there are a lot of games hosted here.

I would give it more stars if they were organized and kept in communication with each other of which parking lots are full and where to direct traffic to. Parking lots are all over the place and don’t make sense. We parked at the glider port because everything else was full. So wear comfortable shoes to walk in. Leave early to find parking. It was a nightmare. Leaving the venue was like trying to cross the border. It took us so long to get out and the cars moved so slow and no one lets you into the line.
The concert itself was amazing. I didn’t have any problems with acoustics. Jack Johnson sounded amazing! I loved it being outdoors. Bring a picnic blanket, a sweater, wallet, and your patience. They had a beer ID line so long you might consider staying sober. Leave everything else at home. You can bring an empty water bottle. I saw a fill station and a couple of people with aluminum bottles. These might be just for Jack Johnson due to his charities. So ask about this before bringing a bottle to your event.
Oh and will call was easy. Organized alphabetically, with unorganized lines, but it goes by quick. There was a long row of porter potties at the other side of the entrance so no problem getting in to one if needed.
This review is for the outdoor field. Don’t confuse with basketball court events.

I attended a Jack Johnson concert here at RIMAC Field on August 30, 2014.
My husband got the tickets and I didn’t realize that the concert was at RIMAC field and not the arena. It’s an outdoor field area, described on Google Maps as «North Campus Recreation Center»
Here is UCSD’s information about the space:
We parked pretty far away in a parking structure near the Conrad Prebys Music Center. School wasn’t in session at the time, so we didn’t pay for parking & didn’t get ticketed. You can find closer parking if you check out the map ahead of time.
Security was there to check our bags. Note that there were no backpacks allowed.
It’s a great space for a big outdoor concert like Jack Johnson. HUGE field with all open seating. Since there are NO REAL SEATS, this one pays to get there early to be seated close to the stage. See the ticket for 5pm entrance to 6:30pm show:
The people who planned ahead brought blankets and towels to sit on. This particular concert allowed people to bring empty reusable water containers and fill up for free at the water filling stations. There were plenty of families with kids, which is something I haven’t seen at many concerts. HUGE line for getting your ID checked to get a wristband to buy alcohol. There was only wine and beer at this event. I would’ve liked some frozen cocktails. There were also a bunch of food vendors. I didn’t partake, but we saw people with hot dogs, nachos, pretzels, wood fired pizza, crepes, lemonade, etc. The food vendors were CASH ONLY. There were some ATMs there, but unfortunately issues with the network or electricity, so those without cash without cash were out of luck. There was a booth with merchandise, but unfortunately they ran out of sweatshirts very early in the evening.
It was a really fun concert even with us being really far back on the grass field. We could hear everything and are still able to have a conversation with our friends. Pretty good for a concert venue in San Diego. I would definitely want to show up early, bring a blanket and sweatshirt!