San Diegans will get a rare opportunity to take a realistic look 65 million years into the past when “Walking With Dinosaurs — The Arena Spectacular” pays a visit to America’s Finest City. There will be nine productions from Jan. 1-4 at the San Diego Sports Arena. “It could be a once-in-a-lifetime deal to see an event like this,” said Ernie Hahn, general manager of the Sports Arena. “It’s significant in my mind for sure.” “Walking With Dinosaurs” is based on the award-winning British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) television program that first aired in 1999. The arena show made its debut in 2007 in Sydney, Australia, and has been on tour in North America since March. Hahn can speak about the show from personal experience. He attended a performance in Los Angeles when the tour came to the Staples Center in September. “You’re looking at over $20 million of robotics, dinosaurs and puppetry in a 100-minute show that is unlike anything else you’ve ever seen,” Hahn said. “It’s so realistic that it feels like it would if you were actually back there at the time. You find yourself mesmerized and captivated by the scenery around you,” he said. In the program, 10 different species of dinosaurs are represented over a span of 200 million years. These species range from the well-known and perhaps most favorite species (Tyrannosaurus Rex and stegosaurus) to the lesser-known but crowd-pleasing varieties such as (plateosaurus and torosaurus). The show follows the evolution of dinosaurs from origin to extinction. “There’s also a narrative, so people are learning about dinosaurs at the same time,” Hahn said. “That’s why it’s a great show for kids and for adults — it resonates with everyone,” he said. All of the dinosaur models are lifelike in size and appearance. The largest model is the brachiosaurus, which stands 36 feet tall and is 56 feet from head to tail. “The fact that they’re lifesize, they sound like dinosaurs would sound, they move like dinosaurs would move — it’s incredible for their size,” Hahn said. “It’s all lifelike.” Performances at the San Diego Sports Arena are as follows: • Jan. 1 at 7 p.m., • Jan. 2 and 3 at 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., • and Jan. 4 at 1 and 5 p.m. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster and range from $29.50 to $79.50. “I’ve been in the arena for 17 years and I’m not sure I have seen any show of this nature,” Hahn said. “It’s incredible.”