The San Diego city council’s denial of the Convention Center expansion the other day has left a lot of questions for the city—like can they keep the Chargers there or will THEY move to LA, Las Vegas or Anaheim? There’s also the problem of repairing the “Sails” area, as shown in the above photo from the convention center’s Steven Johnson. But the expansion may not quite be dead, as a statement from Mayor Kevin Falconer released on Tuesday shows:
Today Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer released the following statement regarding the Convention Center expansion project. The statement comes after the City Council voted to not appeal an adverse appellate court ruling on the project’s financing.
“Expanding the convention center is one of the most important actions we can take to grow our local economy and create thousands of new jobs for San Diegans. This is an opportunity to put this litigation behind us and move forward with a successful plan.
Over the past several weeks my office has been meeting with stakeholders, including the lodging and convention industry, the Chargers, JMI Realty, and various experts to discuss options for moving forward. My review of these proposals, many of which have been covered by local media outlets, is preliminary.
As I take a fresh look at expanding the convention center, I am open to all options. These include finding alternative financing for the current plan to expand directly next to the existing convention center as well as exploring a non-contiguous expansion at a different location that could include a new stadium for the Chargers. I continue to believe that any proposed Chargers stadium project should be brought before voters.
The public is the most important stakeholder, and I believe that a successful project must involve public participation and transparency.
Our great city has proven time and again that when we work together we can accomplish great things, and I am confident we will rise to the challenge once again.”
As you can see, the Chargers problem is tied at the hip to the whole convention center problem. While the mayor’s statement may just be political bluster, both these projects remain key to the future of San Diego’s downtown. As long as they don’t touch Sushi Deli, I’ll be happy, but developing…
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