San Diego, CALIF.- News from the campus of San Diego State University this week.
A new survey was sent to San Diego State University football season ticket holders and other alumni to gauge their interest in a new 40,000-seat stadium located in Mission Valley.
The survey highlighted the very real opportunity San Diego has to transform the valley into park lands and higher education expansion.
The tenants proposed in the survey are similar to what’s offered in another measure. That measure allows for the university expansion, which includes the 40,000-seat football stadium, protects and expands park lands, and sells the existing Qualcomm Stadium site to the highest bidder.
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, the president of SDSU, Elliot Hirshman, endorsed the measure in April. The article quotes Hirshman as saying the measure would lay the legal groundwork to turn the 166-acre site into an extension of the SDSU campus.
The same measure would also change the way tourism dollars are allocated, and ensure a more transparent process for voters. But the lasting legacy for the city could lie in its effort to reimagine Mission Valley. It’s that component of the measure that inspired long-time San Diego city councilwoman Donna Frye to sign the measure.
The park protection plan and higher education uses lie in stark contrast to two other plans making the rounds.
The first of which is County Supervisor Ron Roberts’ plan that was made public in 2015. Roberts and Mayor Kevin Faulconer offered $350 million in taxpayer dollars for a new Mission Valley stadium and redevelopment. That plan was rebuffed by the team who stated they wanted to relocate downtown.
The other plan floated for Mission Valley involves City Councilman Scott Sherman. Sherman endorses a massive, multifaceted development, including more hotels and over 6,000 condominiums. It’s an idea that many worry would gridlock traffic in the valley.
At a recent political gathering, Sherman clarified his reason for the 6,000 condominiums telling the crowd, “I proposed the 6,000 condos to let the public know what it would take to build a stadium with no taxpayer money.” His proposal was scrutinized as environmentally and economically infeasible.