Here it is (I think). It was an Atlas Air cargo plane, carrying smaller planes direct from Portugal for this weekend's plane races around San Diego Bay. Apparently SAN does see it's fair share of 747s and 767s every now and then, from all over the world (and an Airbus 340). Hawaiian Airlines and many of the cargo planes opperate 767s daily, so those don't count.;)


http://www.flickr.com/photos/souther...7600616233925/


Here is a picture of a Saudi Arabian 747 at Lindbergh Field. :whatthefuck:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/souther...57602023685916
http://www.flickr.com/photos/souther...7600616233925/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/souther...7600616233925/

A JAL 747 for the World Baseball Classic.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/souther...7600616233925/

Here is an LAN 767 from Santiago, Chile, forced to land here due to heavy fog at LAX. Another one from Peru was also diverted here.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/souther...7600616233925/

A North American (Charter) 767 flying into SAN.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/souther...7600616233925/

A Delta 767 landing here.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/souther...7600616233925/

A Saudi Airbus 340 of the Saudi royal family at SAN.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/souther...7600616233925/







I was bored, sorry! All photos taken by So Cal Metro on Flickr.

What a bummer about Cosmo Square :( . While we knew that some of the proposals wouldn't get far, I was really hoping that this one would. We can only hope that the potential buyer will go ahead with was has already been approved.

It's not an illusion at all. At 32 stories, that will be one slender tower. Let's hope it looks as good as the rendering in the end.


Even though it's not related to downtown, here's the only rendering I've seen of the proposed Charger stadium in Chula Vista. It's crazy that it's hanging off the hill like that.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...t%203/st-2.jpg

^It looks stupid. Keep it in Mission Valley! :(

If they really try to build a stadium out east in Chula Vista, they will probably lose a huge number of fans going to the games.

A typical NFL game at Qualcomm already costs a few hundred dollars for a family of 4 to attend. The new stadium will certainly be 30% to 40% higher.

Adding an extra hour of travel (and gridlock) time to the experience will make that even worse.

I know that the Q is antiquated and needs to be replaced but I truly believe that the NFL has hit the limit on what people will pay to see games live.

I see arguments that all of the other new stadiums sell out. That is probably true but San Diego already has one of the highest cost per game. I don't know what the limit that people will pay but I imagine that they are approaching it.

Plus, there won't be a trolley station. :(

(Well, I haven't heard any proposed yet.)

Oh I don't know. I can't speak to cost, but I know people in other cities drive farther to get to games than people in SD would be driving to get to ones in Chula Vista.

Plus, the 125 is a toll road. Maybe they want to place it off the 125 on purpose, for added revenue from vehicle traffic. Which is stupid.

I think the stadium should be ina central location near readily available mass transportation. And although the Bayfront site would have 1 or 2 trolley stations near it, it is too far south. To me, ideally a stadium should not be south of downtown San Diego.

My preferred site has not been discussed anywhere but here... Mission Bay Park immediately northwest of I5 - I8 interchange and the SD River; southeast of Fiesta Island. I can imagine after a little terra-forming that plenty of space is avaialble for a stadium, parking, mixed-used retail and residential, more boat slips, and quite possible the area becming the terminal location for the proposed California High Speed Rail Authority (either here or downtown?)

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n...ortsArena1.jpg

^I remember you talking about that from the first thread. I totally think that your idea is a very good idea. :tup:


(Though, I think a high speed rail terminal should go downtown. ;))

I think that is a great idea for a location. The only thing is that the environmentalists would be beside themselves.

I also agree that Chula Vista is too far south given traffic and other considerations. The big thing is that it would be stupid for the Chargers to want to move farther south if they plan to stay in this city. All the serious money is north of the 8. These are the people who can afford boxes and season tickets, not to mention ticket's for their buisness purposes.

Because that is such a desirable location for wildlife and the water is so clean. :rolleyes:

This is very true. I think CCDC could do all of us downtowners a favor and require developers to offer subsidized rent on ground floor retail, or at least escalating rents. If someone wants to have some fun, go take pictures of ALL the ground floor retail for rent in Downtown. That aint a pretty picture, in fact it is depressing. Time for the developers to see the reality that retailers don't want to pay $3 or $4 or $5 a foot for the stuff. In order for downtown to succeed it needs good retail, enlivened streets, and a neighborhood feel.

there's also another proposed site in CV, on the bay, where some power plant is on right now

Does anyone know what the city plans to do with that huge chunk of prime land just sitting there west of I-5 and south of Fiesta Island. Hmmmm just another underutilized peace of land that the city is probably hemmiraging (sp.?) money on....

I think that would also be a great place for a stadium. I can't believe that a deal can't be worked out between the city, Spanos, and another developer. Think of all the land there is that is sitting vacant: Sports Arena, Qualcomm, the aforementioned Mission Bay site. Plus all that land where the people were supposed to have moved out of there mobile homes at the North East corner of Mission Bay.

I don't even think that plot of land has been looked at by the Chargers or anybody, I think it's only popped up here on the forum.

STADIUM SITE SEARCH
'World-class' complex proposed at Qualcomm

By Ronald W. Powell
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

September 18, 2007

A local real estate and finance firm is pitching a plan to city and county officials to convert Qualcomm Stadium into a $2.2 billion sports, entertainment, residential and commercial development that would include a new Chargers stadium and an arena.

The plan is to convert Qualcomm into a sports arena by renovating and enclosing it. It would become the home of a professional basketball or hockey team and would host concerts and trade shows, according to a proposal by CB Richard Ellis Capital Markets Debt and Equity Finance.

“This would create a world-class sports and entertainment destination for San Diego,” said Jeff Rice, senior financial analyst for CB Richard Ellis, who developed the plan over four years. “It would be a place that could host Super Bowls, soccer championships, major concerts and trade shows.”

City and county officials said yesterday that they have not had time to analyze the plan.

Ellis said developing the property could generate millions for the city in annual hotel room, property, sales and other taxes. The city currently operates the stadium at an annual deficit of about $10 million.

The proposal includes about 20 projects at the 166-acre Qualcomm Stadium property that would be built in phases over about 20 years. They include four hotels, office buildings with retail space, 1,500 apartments, student housing, three parking garages, a shopping center, a 16-acre park and an electronic display similar to Times Square in New York City.

The Chargers and the National Football League would pay most of the costs for the new stadium, with the city and county pitching in $50 million each in bond financing for a $600 million facility – a cost the Chargers believe is low. The city also would be expected to contribute an additional $50 million in bond financing for a $190 million arena.

Rice, a San Diego State University graduate, said he began researching the proposal because he feared his alma mater would not have a place to play football if the Chargers developed a stadium in another city. He said the plan was developed independently of a group of businessmen who have been working on their own stadium development plan for the Qualcomm site.

He said the plan is “fiscally responsible” and should be considered by the city if it wants to make money at the Mission Valley site.

“If the mayor doesn't deem that this plan has enough merit to pursue it, then what can you do?” Rice said. “It's pretty much a dead issue.”

Some elements of the Ellis proposal are similar to a development plan that the Chargers proposed for the Qualcomm Stadium site in 2003. But the Chargers wanted to build more than 6,000 condos, which would have required the city to give the team ownership of the acreage where the housing was built. Team executives abandoned that plan in early 2006.

The Chargers are now evaluating two sites in Chula Vista and one in Oceanside for a new stadium. A group of businessmen, including members of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp., were working on a Qualcomm Stadium development option in case efforts failed in Chula Vista and Oceanside. But they say the focus should now be on the two Chula Vista sites that were identified as best suited for a stadium in a study released last week.

Under the Ellis plan, the real estate firm would oversee the deal and bring in a master developer to organize the project. Separate developers would handle parts of the plan after entering into long-term leases with the city. Once the debt was retired on any project within the development, the developer would have the right to negotiate with the city to buy that portion of the property.

The Chargers have met with Rice about his plan but aren't optimistic.

“The basic fact is that a project of this magnitude is unlikely to move ahead in a city like San Diego, where you have an indifferent mayor and an openly hostile city attorney,” Fabiani said.

Mayor Jerry Sanders has a copy of the proposal but has not had time to review it. City Attorney Michael Aguirre said he had not read it, nor had Councilwoman Donna Frye, whose district includes Qualcomm Stadium.

A spokesman for county Supervisor Ron Roberts said he had not read it.

Supervisor Dianne Jacob said she had not seen the proposal, but she supports a new stadium at the Qualcomm site as part of a “world-class sports complex.” Her idea includes youth sports facilities, trails, parks and housing and educational facilities for SDSU.

That article is so negative. :(


I don't really like it though. The idea is good, but Qualcomm needs to be completely replaced, not just "convert" it. A city like San Diego should not have an enclosed stadium anyways. A new "sports arena" should be an entirely different project located elsewhere away from the Chargers' stadium.

Alta looks good with that new Longs Pharmacy creating some foot traffic. :D

I think they meant that the Q would somehow be turned into a basketball/hockey arena, in addition to building a new football stadium. I dont know how they'd save any money using the existing Q structure though, a football stadium is SOOO much larger than a normal basketball arena, seems like it would cost less to just demolish the Q and build from scratch. What a spectacular demolition that would be!

Oh, I see what you are saying.:)


But I still think that a sports arena and a football stadium should not be located right next to each other.