San Diego State University is seeking a contractor to help market its proposed stadium project, issuing an RFP for interested parties last week.
Under current plans, the city-owned SDCCU Stadium site in Mission Valley would be redeveloped to include a new SDSU football stadium, along with an outpost for the university. The stadium would provide a new home for SDSU Aztecs football, be designed to accommodate professional soccer, and have the ability to expand from 35,000 seats to 55,000 seats in the event that the NFL returns to San Diego.
Voters helped moved the planning process forward in a November referendum, and SDSU has since proceeded with several contracts relating to the proposal while engaging in negotiations with the city over a potential purchase of 132 acres. For its latest step, SDSU issued a request for proposal (RFP) on Thursday for firms to help develop a marketing strategy. This comes as SDSU continues negotiations with the city over the Mission Valley site. More from the San Diego Union-Tribune:
The stated objective is to “control (the) narrative in a dynamic way to showcase the Mission Valley stadium and its importance to not only San Diego State University but the San Diego community at large and outside of California,” and to “increase … sales revenue” from sponsorship and ticket sales.
The university’s story-telling endeavor is just the latest in a string of preemptive moves made as it works to buy 132 acres of land in Mission Valley from the city of San Diego. The parties are still hammering out the terms of a sale and are currently evaluating a draft version of a land appraisal.
Last year, voters approved a citizens’ initiative that directed the city to negotiate with SDSU for the sale of a portion of its Mission Valley holdings. The university’s Mission Valley redevelopment plan calls for a new 35,000-capacity football stadium, 89 acres of parks and open space, 4,500 faculty and market-rate housing units, 1.6 million square feet of office space, 95,000 square feet of neighborhood-serving retail uses and 400 hotel rooms spread across two hotels.
Although the parties have been in talks since November, more formal negotiations did not start until the spring with both hiring consultants to advise on the deal. At the same time, SDSU has forged ahead with an environmental impact report and multiple project contracts, including awards to Gensler and Clark Construction Group for design and construction of a $250 million, multi-use stadium.
The contract would be awarded next month and run through SDSU’s first football game at the new stadium, which the university is anticipating will take place in the fall of 2022. The football program currently plays home games at SDCCU Stadium, which was first built in 1967 and previously hosted both the NFL’s Chargers and MLB’s Padres.
Rendering courtesy SDSU athletics.
RELATED STORIES: SDSU Partners with JMI Sports, Legends on Proposed Stadium; Gensler Tabbed as Proposed SDSU Stadium Architect; Potential Hurdles Surface in New SDSU Stadium Negotiations; New SDSU Stadium Construction Contract Awarded; Existing Facilities Could Inspire New SDSU Stadium; Potential SDSU Stadium Tenants Courted; SDSU Mission Valley Plan Environmental Review to Launch; SDSU West Construction Could Begin in 2020; It’s Decision Day on New SDSU Aztecs Stadium; Vote on New SDSU Football Stadium Set for November; SDSU West Initiative Tops Competing SoccerCity in New Poll; Vote on New SDSU Football Stadium Set for November