A story from last week we didn’t have time for: San Diego has announced a planned 300,000 sq. ft expansion of their existing convention center, adding to the 525,000 sq. ft. existing floor space. The Convention Center expansion has long been mentioned by SDCC organizers as a necessity for the show to remain in the city of its birth. The new section wouldn’t be open until 2014, however.

The proposed new area would be built in back along the waterfront — a weedy, forklift-strewn area we’ve been exploring for our own mental health breaks for the last five years or so. The article is a bonanza for San Diego Kremlinologists, with a list of the city’s most lucrative shows, many references to Comic-Con as a convention the expansion would benefit, and interesting discussion from the locals about parking and other matters in the comments. There’s also this:

Adding another wrinkle, another major convention space is brewing in Chula Vista, just south along the bayfront. Gaylord Entertainment has proposed a resort hotel of 1,500 to 2,000 rooms with 400,000 square feet of meeting space. The Chula Vista project, on the table since 2005, isn’t expected to receive permits until the end of next year. San Diego convention officials said they don’t view Gaylord’s proposal as competition because of its smaller size.

Another potential player departed last month. Marriott was seeking permits for a 1,900-room hotel with 215,000 square feet of convention space next to Petco Park. But Marriott dropped the plan, citing the tight credit market.


So much for that secret intel from our cabbie!

4 COMMENTS

  2. This would be good, though, if I were a SD resident, I’d hate to hear where my tax dollars were going. But with the recent economic woes, I wonder if this is still viable?

  3. I don’t know if this will happen in the short term because of the credit crunch. I could be very wrong about it, though. I don’t want an even bigger SDCC. That may prevent me from coming back.

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