With San Diego Wave FC president Jill Ellis stepping down, the club is heading into a new era. 

Why it matters: The team made a historically successful, record-breaking entrance into the NWSL in 2022, but major changes to its roster and front office throughout a disappointing 2024 season set the club on a new path.

Driving the news: Ellis departed Tuesday to pursue a senior leadership position at FIFA as chief of football.

• Now, the new owner of the Wave, the Leichtman-Levine family, is focused on the next chapter. 

Catch up quick: After a hot start as an expansion team, the Wave had a rough season on and off the field while undergoing a transformation. 

• New owners acquired the team in a NWSL record-breaking deal valued at $120 million. 
• The Wave fired head coach Casey Stoney in June as the team struggled to win games early on.
• Days later, former employees alleged on social media that Ellis cultivated a toxic workplace, which the club and Ellis immediately denied. Those allegations were previously investigated by the NWSL, which found no policy violations, and prompted Ellis to file a defamation lawsuit and the former employees to sue the club and Ellis. 

State of play: On the heels of winning the 2023 NWSL regular season trophy and 2024 Challenge Cup, the team lost its home opener in March.

• While consistently leading the league in attendance, the troubles continued throughout the year even under new leadership. Landon Donovan replaced Paul Buckle as interim coach mid-season, but the former MLS all star won't return. 
• The Wave didn't make the NWSL playoffs for the first time in its short existence, finishing 10th out of 14 teams with just six wins.

What's next: After a global search, the club is in the final phase of hiring a new, permanent head coach ahead of the 2025 NWSL season.

• The schedule has not been released yet.

Between the lines

The San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce is looking for a new president and CEO for the first time in 12 years, after former San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders announced his retirement Monday.

Why it matters: The region has undergone a political seachange in the 12 years since it hired the Republican and former San Diego police chief to lead its largest pro-business advocacy group.

Context: When Sanders left City Hall, Republicans held the mayor's and city attorney's office and four of the city's nine city council seats — now, there isn't a Republican elected official in the city, and none even qualified for the November ballot.

Driving the news: Sanders will step down from his position at the end of the year, and the organization aims to announce a new leader by the end of February, according to a press release.

• Jessica Anderson, the Chamber's executive VP and COO, is expected to step in as acting director until a new CEO can take over.

Between the lines: San Diego's blue transformation was underway when Sanders took the job, but he quickly asserted himself as the voice of the region's business community, successfully halting multiple progressive initiatives along the way.

• In 2013, Sanders' chamber led a campaign to overturn a council vote to charge a fee on commercial development to pay for affordable housing, dubbing it the "jobs tax."
• That same year, he and other business leaders championed the move to kill zoning changes to combat pollution in Barrio Logan, arguing the changes threatened the nearby shipyards.

Yes, but: Each of those victories proved temporary — the city has since increased the housing fee and passed a Barrio Logan plan.

The minimum wage fight

🫰 Mayor Todd Gloria announced during his State of the City speech that a $250,000 donation would become the basis of a philanthropic that hoped to fundraise over $300 million to solve homelessness.

• Nearly one year in, it has raised about $1 million, and its only expenditure is for t-shirts for a volunteer downtown cleanup. (KPBS)

🥢 Yakitori Tsuta took home best new restaurant and Tara Monsod of Animae and Le Coq won chef of the year in Eater San Diego's annual end-of-year awards. (Eater)

🎄 December Nights returns to Balboa Park this weekend and, for the first time, will include a 45-foot Ferris wheel, with rides available for free. (Union-Tribune)

👏 Congrats to Celina E. for recognizing the Balboa Theatre, which turned 100 this year!

Driving the news: The historic venue in the Gaslamp Quarter opened in 1924, and is San Diego County's oldest operating theater with the oldest organ of its kind. 

• It's been renovated and restored to host a variety of music, dance and comedy shows featuring SNL stars and the San Diego Opera Chorus. 
• This year, Mayor Todd Gloria gave his state of the city speech from the stage. 

Fun fact: Like Balboa Park, it's named after Spanish explorer Vasco Nuñez de Balboa — the first European to discover the Pacific Ocean in 1513.

The intrigue: The theatre opened with a screening of the silent film "Lilies of the Field," and continues the tradition with silent movie Mondays accompanied by an organ.

• The next one is Dec. 9.

💭 Kate's thought bubble: There are no bad seats in the house, and the ornate interior designs and Spanish Revival-style structure make it a beautiful place to catch a show.