San Diego State University (SDSU) has announced plans for a development in Mission Valley that will include a new football facility, and redevelopment of the SDCCU Stadium site.
SDSU backers had previously launched a citizens initiative for a plan that includes a new football stadium and other university-related development in Mission Valley. More information on that proposal has come to light, with SDSU officials unveiling some key details on Wednesday.
Dubbed SDSU Mission Valley, the project would include a new 35,000-seat stadium for SDSU football. The stadium would also have the ability to accommodate professional soccer, and offer the capability to be expanded if an NFL team were ever to be placed in San Diego.
Among its other features, SDSU Mission Valley would include two hotels, about 1.6 million square feet of office space, over 4,500 housing units, roughly 95,000 square feet of retail, and a 50-acre community river park. SDSU officials did not provide a firm cost estimate, but stated that the plan does not depend on taxpayer money and that the school is prepared to acquire the city-owned land at fair market value.
With the campaign to reach a 2018 ballot continuing, SDSU officials are touting this plan as a major initiative to accommodate the university as it grows. More from The San Diego Union-Tribune:
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to expand the university in a location that is both close to the main campus and large enough to accommodate the university’s growth needs,” SDSU President Sally Roush said in a prepared statement Wednesday.
“It is a plan with the heart and spirit of a modern university campus that will serve higher education and the community’s aspirations for the site.”
The SDSU ballot effort would authorize the city to sell the university the land at the stadium site. It has achieved more than half of its 100,000-signature goal, said Tom Shepard, the consultant running the campaign.
Shepard said on Wednesday they are on schedule to qualify for the ballot, which means a minimum of 71,646 signatures, by the end of December.
There has been considerable debate about the future of SDCCU Stadium and the surrounding area, particularly in the period since the NFL’s San Diego Chargers relocated to Los Angeles. A separate proposal emerged earlier this year to redevelop the site as part of SoccerCity, a concept that included a new stadium for an MLS expansion franchise. SDSU was at one point in discussions to use that stadium, but ceased those negotiations earlier this year.
If the SDSU citizens initiative gathers enough signatures, it could go before voters on the November 2018 ballot. SoccerCity is already slated to be considered by voters in November 2018.
Image courtesy SDSU.