A standalone stadium and a standalone convention center expansion could feasibly be combined to lower costs dramatically. In effect, the new project would essentially be a non-contiguous expansion with a lid on top able to have football games.
My bet is that all the powers to be are colluding to conspire to get this done, since they all know they stand a much greater chance of success if they combine their efforts/interests. 2/3 votes is a vote on tax increases, and there are plenty of tricks to avoid this, I think. I'm not a tax expert nor do I follow this closely, I'll admit. In any case, I agree with your position that Spanos is in a do-or-die mode, trying to extract whatever he can by playing the fiddle to the city, apologizing and acting the 'good guy'. LOL. Whatever direction this takes in the upcoming year, one thing is for sure: It will be entertaining. Cheers. :cheers: |
Article kinda says it all:
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...own-san-diego/ |
Love how people villainize the Chargers for trying to leave to LA while praising Comic Con who's trying to do the same thing if they don't get their way.
I pick the Chargers over Comic Con. 8 days vs 4 days (well 2 because I work weekdays). And really, Comic Con is making a huge deal over non-contiguous space? It's maybe half a mile from the proposed site to the Convention Center. Maybe we can use the really expensive bridge we built! And it looks like they'll proceed without the $350 million from the city/county, what else do you want? Very eager to see the financials for this! |
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Without a head people are forced to just look at the body and the body is the economic impact of the event itself. If the owner of the Chargers was liked, similar to say a Paul Allen or The Rooney family, the conversation would be much different. Quote:
I have walked that half mile without needing to be anywhere during Comic Con and it's a bitch. Can you imagine someone trying to make an event from one exhibit hall to another? Each venue requires it's own setup from security to staging...all the way down the line. It's one thing to have some events that are secondary to the exhibit hall space events scattered but the request for contiguous space was to expand the exhibit hall space in one location. |
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I know I posted this before and the pro DT stadium crowd ignored it, but I'll say it again. Right now, well over a decade since Petco opened, there are tons of for lease retail spaces right next to it and in the surrounding area of Petco Park. One day when I have time I'll go take a picture of them all. I know we have at least one real estate agent who posts here saying he/she is in favor another stadium downtown, and many people talk about how great another stadium would be for the area. How do you explain the fact businesses can hardly stay open in the immediate vicinity of Petco Park, and what would be different with a Charger's stadium?? Other than chain stores who have enough collective financing to weather the off-season, non chain restaurants and stores go out of business constantly. TR produce, a prime location, is JUST NOW getting Underground Elephant in after sitting completely vacant and boarded up for over a decade. Commun was praised as an innovative restaurant and the guy who owns it appeared on Top Chef as a contestant and the show featured an episode in San Diego about SD's culinary scene. His restaurant had closed and became a vacant storefront before the episode even ran, and now it is not only vacant but the restaurant right next to it (formerly Toast) is vacant as well as the restaurant across the street in the old carnation building. Kitchen Showroom Bulthaup closed what about 5 years ago right in front of Petco Park, and it's remained vacant since, nobody is eager to move in there. Wine Steals is tremendously successful in Hillcrest and I believe Pt Loma too but they failed right next to Petco. And the list could go on .. These stadiums create a very specific type of foot traffic that comes in only at certain times. Expanding this "model" further into East Village would be bad, in my opinion. |
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There's a TON a vacant storefronts and failed businesses in North Park where there is a TON of foot traffic. Don't even start on Hillcrest, the turnover for stores and restaurants there is nuts too. I have a pretty hard time buying the Bogeyman theory when the same thing is/has been happening for many years in the most walkable of neighborhoods in the city, nowhere near Petco. My theory is that all those ugly condos in East Village are 50% full of folks that use them as income properties or vacation homes and 50% empty. Seems like the real estate people down there are shooting themselves in the foot if you ask me. And, no, I don't think Petco is to blame for that either. |
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I totally agree with your last paragraph except for the part of Petco not to blame. It may not be the sole culprit, but I think it has a role in why EV is like it is - how could it not? A development that major has shaped the area. Stadiums encourage development and amenities geared towards visitors (be they from far away or just other parts of the city) as opposed to locals living in the neighborhood. BTW, I'm not arguing Petco is bad, I'm trying to point out that it wasn't a magical solution to EV regentrification that many touted it would be. Having a stadium downtown is fine, but wanting to build another right next to it seems like major overkill. We need a better mix of different venues and amenities |
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If a store front one of those buildings is empty, that's merely an inconvenience and a point of frustration for others. But an empty or unused condo still pays the same taxes as if it's full. The building is still an improvement from what was there before. Now I don't know what you consider revitalization and removal of blight, but if you can convert a parking lot and/or single story abandoned structures to mid or high rise buildings that pay a MASSIVE increase in property taxes, that's about as close as you can get for me. |
After reading these comments, I have to say there's some truth to everything that is being said.
My hope is that Downtown will continue to mature. Signs point to yes. |
Originally Posted by Dales5050
Based on what I have read and been told by those who have gone, the current 'campus model' is a logistical nightmare and was only viewed as a temporary solution. I have walked that half mile without needing to be anywhere during Comic Con and it's a bitch. Can you imagine someone trying to make an event from one exhibit hall to another? Each venue requires it's own setup from security to staging...all the way down the line. It's one thing to have some events that are secondary to the exhibit hall space events scattered but the request for contiguous space was to expand the exhibit hall space in one location. I have walked that half mile without needing to be anywhere during Comic Con and it's a bitch. Can you imagine someone trying to make an event from one exhibit hall to another? I have walked that even, smooth paved route (from the downtown library to the Gaslamp area or Seaport Village) plenty of times and its not at all a bitch. There will be very few conventions were people would have to take such a journey and am sure that Comic Con would provide busses or shuttles for those unable or unwilling to. Most event goers walk that distance easy, going to events or meals all around the Gaslamp and adjoining downtown areas. In Las Vegas there are conventions like CES that are not at contiguous locations, and they are able to still hold them with out issue. |
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I have walked that even, smooth paved route (from the downtown library to the Gaslamp area or Seaport Village) plenty of times and its not at all a bitch. There will be very few conventions were people would have to take such a journey and am sure that Comic Con would provide busses or shuttles for those unable or unwilling to. Most event goers walk that distance easy, going to events or meals all around the Gaslamp and adjoining downtown areas. In Las Vegas there are conventions like CES that are not at contiguous locations, and they are able to still hold them with out issue. |
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Back to San Diego, I am not talking about the walk being physically difficult. I am talking about it being difficult to maneuver at a quick pace. Then you have to factor in passing security again. At the end of the day it's pretty clear that if they split the convention centers Comic Con will leave. What I am shocked about is that nobody has seem to run the numbers on what having 2 convention centers would look like the rest of the year. Comic Con has about 130,000 attendees. The next largest is the Society for Neuroscience at 32,000. Several are 20,000 and most are less than 10,000. What I would be interested in seeing is what the total attendance would look like if San Diego could run two large conventions the same week during peak season. For example, if we look at May-June of this year for multiday events over 3,000 you have: American Urological Association Annual ConventionThat's 119,500 in attendance over 28 days. Now say the second convention center could hold 20,000. If you double book each of these you have 239,000 over 56 days. That's just for 2 months. The net gain of having a second convention center might actually allow San Diego to double it's overall tourism from conventions and keep hotels booked on a more consistent basis throughout the prime season. Personally I think a single convention center on the bay is better for downtown overall but if you want to look at it from the Comic Con perspective, I think having two convention centers may actually be better for tourism. I would much rather see convention tourism contained to the bay and gaslamp and allow the East Village to become more of a residential neighborhood that is anchored by a stadium. But that's just me. |
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In point, SD would benefit so much more from an expansion of the center - even if Comic-Con left. In January alone, 75% (16 events, total of 160,000 room nights) of the lost business was because our space is too small! |
San Diego Streets tweeted a photo of a new "Downtown San Diego" sign along Harbor Drive:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CbxmgRZUAAAEqbL.jpg Source: https://twitter.com/sandiegostreets |
I've said it a billion times, but a downtown stadium for the Chargers would greatly hinder the East Village and take up valuable land that would otherwise go to much needed housing, commercial and educational development. Yes, the MTS bus yard is sitting there, but we shouldn't just put anything on it to make it go away. We need to be strategic and think about what the best possible use of that, and all of the surrounding land should be. Homes should be our priority - not billion dollar palaces. Education centers that attract talent and tech companies - not low wage employment and seasonal fanfare.
Honestly, stop dreaming and start thinking. Critically thinking. Because if we end up with a dead end in the EV we'll have handicapped one of our few urban development opportunities in this town. The Chargers have put a stake in the ground and it's going to lead them right to LA because this won't pass muster with 2/3 of voters. No way, no how. And whatever "clever" scheme they come up with to bypass it will get shot down in court. So, once again, goodbye Chargers! |
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Tech companies are more inclined to have a campus outside outside of the beat and path. If you want to talk about education centers, a redeveloped Mission Valley with the Q gone and SDSU and UCSD taking up space would be a good example of an area where spin off companies from the research and programs at those schools would want to locate. You know..because that's where the talent pool is located.... Quote:
The reason why the EV is a popular projection for urban development is two-fold. The first is that's it's underdeveloped at the current time. The second is that it's close to mass transit. If you put your personal agenda and preferences to the side and think critically, the key to unlocking the solution to the housing and office needs of the region is transit oriented development. Because San Diego is going to need much, much more than the EV to be developed to max capacity to solve the issue it's going to be presented in the future. Ask yourself why does the opportunity for 'urban development' in the EV end at the 5? Why can't you run a straight line trolley down Market from Santa Fe to the 15? There is block after block of underdeveloped parcels that are just outside of downtown. Are you saying a developer wouldn't find interest in building a dense urban mixed use project that had easy access to the 5 and 94 freeways, in addition to, a straight line trolley line into the heart of downtown? Because if you are, you really have no business talking about urban development. Quote:
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I think Spanos learned a thing or two from Kronke through this whole ordeal. He is ramming his plan through. Once all the signatures are gathered the only real role the city government has is to either approve the initiative or place it on the ballot. If they can finagle a way to make it a 50% approval in conjunction with the Briggs initiative passing, the Chargers will have successfully sidestepped the mayor and the hoteliers. The Briggs initiative prohibits public dollars from being applied to the stadium portion. I wouldn't be surprised if the hoteliers, seeing no way to build the contiguous expansion, (because the Briggs initiative prohibits it) jump on board with this plan and deduct their 2% from the now 15% tax bill and hand that money over to the convadium project. There is some sort of genius happening right now, I think we should all take the time to admire it. Imagine if Spanos and Briggs managed to pull this off. Tell Faulconer and Roberts to keep OUR money while raising the hotel tax and giving the hoteliers no other option but to pay for the convadium. It has also been rumored that Spanos might put forth a significantly higher dollar amount than if the stadium was in mission valley.
If the city managed to churn out another 10,000 degrees each year by handing off the site to the universities......wow. However this turns out and however anyone feels. It is kind of nice that all these important decisions about OUR city will be made by a public vote, not special interest deals (namely hoteliers). Comicon won't leave because of this. They like San Diego just as much as we do. They could possibly have an event that has a 65K person audience at one time? It could be like the opening Olympics ceremony with everyone in costume! |
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*hint, its the only area that allows such densities* Quote:
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And the area you're specifically mentioning (Sherman Heights, Logan Heights, Grant Hill) just updated its community plan to allow for marginally higher densities along the trolley line. However, those densities aren't even close to what we would need to make it similar to downtown or EV. This just happened, did you not read or hear about it? (surprising...) Quote:
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Thank you. :tup: |
Wow, I can cut the condescension with a knife.
Question for SDfan, what are you doing about your ideas for EV? Are you in the real estate, development, or construction industry? Are you Rob Quigley? It would be a shame if you were just talking about it and not working towards your vision. It seems like you have everything in place for a proposal that you believe in. I think you should take that into the bank and develop a spec, tech-hub building or whatever your idea is. If you're right, that's what us in the business call a slam dunk. |
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